why does it always go to simplified instead of traditional chinese?

Aug 7, 2019

Hi User 1361550938086890421, are you talking more about Google Search results and how sometimes Chrome can ask you about translating the webpage? If so, you do need to ensure that the correct language is chosen both in your Google Account settings and the Chrome language settings so it can change it to the language you want (https://googlesupport.serverhump.com/chrome/answer/173424?hl=en and https://googlesupport.serverhump.com/accounts/answer/32047).

If you are talking about Google Translate so translate.google.com, read the answer that Aveline gave.

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A nyctophile. A dreamer. A thinker. A lifetime student.

Dec 7, 2019

Hi Loren, I would encourage you to read all the previous posts on this thread since several other people have commented about traditional and simplified Chinese (user Dave H has screenshots) and how simplified is favored over traditional even for the people who frequently chose traditional. This problem has been escalated to Google but no fix yet.

I will note that this particular thread is not about the input tools (which does have things called "Cantonese" but I am unaware of where "Mandarin" is found however) so the icon found on the bottom right of the input box in translate.google.com. The only thread I am aware of that has talked about the Input Tools issues is https://googlesupport.serverhump.com/translate/thread/11615204?hl=en.

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Aveline

Product Expert Alumni

Mar 23, 2019

Hi Bruce,

by default, Google will use simplified Chinese on Google Translate. If you would like to use Traditional Chinese, you have to choose Traditional Chinese before.

Please try https://translate.google.com/#view=home&op=translate&sl=en&tl=zh-TW

Cheers,

Last edited Jun 4, 2019

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Aveline

Product Expert Alumni

A nyctophile. A dreamer. A thinker. A lifetime student.

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Mar 23, 2019

Hi Bruce,

by default, Google will use simplified Chinese on Google Translate. If you would like to use Traditional Chinese, you have to choose Traditional Chinese before.

Please try https://translate.google.com/#view=home&op=translate&sl=en&tl=zh-TW

Cheers,

Last edited Jun 4, 2019

Diamond Product Expert MosheTLV recommended this

Mar 19, 2020

Hey Lyon Chen, thanks for letting me know and I have included this in my report. Sorry for not seeing this earlier.

Luke Weng

Mar 19, 2020

Hi Peneleope,

Thanks!

Oops, my bad. Looking back, I thought I never provided it! Nevertheless, here is my updated version: 6.6.0.RC08.299269846

I really look forward to Google Translate including Traditional as a choice, and not a default. (And maybe even Cantonese too!)

Raymond Luc

Mar 20, 2020

Hi, can you please pass along to the Translate team to just keep Chinese simplified/traditional as two separate languages? No need to infer or try to combine them into one. They are entirely different scripts and knowing one does not mean you know the other.

I'm using Translate on Android, and like others, for "input" you can only select Chinese, and for output you can decide on traditional/simplified. However when translating traditional Chinese text to English, all "alternate translations" are only in Simplified, which myself and many others can't read.

Last edited Mar 20, 2020

Mar 20, 2020

Hey Luke and Raymond, I will pass along to my team!!

And thanks, Luke, for letting me know it even persists on an updated version.

User 5021013857259860206

Apr 3, 2020

I have the same problem for years. Firefox Browser 74 and all the others before.

Penelope, is there any way you can make an inquiry to your team to be able to set a "preferred option for chinese" with the options traditional or simplified?

Or is there possibly any other channel we can use to contact your team? This problem bug or intention, goes long for so long, its really depressing experiencing this from google.

Thanks

Last edited Apr 3, 2020

so bee

Apr 4, 2020

me too. Same pattern. Google should give user the option to choose the defaults they like to use in translation. This is not to say favour what kind of lanuage, but giving people the right to choose what they prefer equally. Please help to fix this issue. Thanks Google.

User 15602705747965964674

Apr 6, 2020

Hi User 5021013857259860206 and so bee, thanks for the feedback and will ask my team.

User 5021013857259860206, you can always submit feedback via the "send feedback" option that should be available both on the Translate mobile app and translate.google.com web version.

Mar 23, 2021

I have had the same problem too, and recently the situation has gone far worse. I have tried to search for "translate to traditional chinese", and it translates the word "to traditional" into Simplified Chinese instead of allowing be to directly translate to Traditional Chinese, this is very infuriating as every time I want a Chinese translation I always get simplified Chinese instead of traditional Chinese.

User 14871548545368061338

Mar 23, 2021

Hi User 15602705747965964674, thank you for the update. I will see what information I can find out for you and will make sure I submit feedback about this as well.

Mar 28, 2021

I too have this problem and would love to be able to have traditional chinese as a preference over simplify chinese. Also I have never heard that anyone who reads traditional chinese would prefer simplify chinese, the two major countries that I know who uses simplify chinese are mainland china and singapore, and mainland china I believe blocks people from using google, so why google favours simplify chinese is puzzles me, yes there is a large population of mainlander that lives from abroad

I don't see google fixing this as I have "report" this problem many times

User 3221475312548691106

Mar 30, 2021

Thanks for addressing this issue. I have the same problem in my cell.

#Google techs, please fix the bugs as soon as possible, I don't read and write simplified Chinese at all. Thank you.