Cultural Adaptation Map · WCN Brand Portal

WCNCULTURAL ADAPTATION MAP

11 · LOCALIZATION → C

Cultural adaptation · C

Translated,
then adapted.

A literal translation can be correct and still wrong. This cluster covers transcreation, local formats and the cultural nuance that makes the brand feel native, not imported. Tap any card to open its spec.

TRANSCREATE

UNITS

IDIOM

SYMBOLISM

IMAGERY

17%

CULTURAL ADAPTATION COVERAGE

0 shipped

2 in progress

4 planned

11C01 Transcreation WIP

For marketing and brand copy, a literal translation often lands flat or wrong. Transcreation recreates the intent — the feeling and persuasion — in Chinese, even if the words differ entirely.

METHODRecreate intent WHENMarketing · taglines VSLiteral OWNERNative writer

C01.1 · WHAT IT IS

Translate the effect.

Transcreation asks “what should this make the reader feel and do” and rebuilds that in Chinese — rather than converting words one to one. The brief is the intent, not the text.

ASKSFeel · do

REBUILDSIn ZH

BRIEFIntent

NOTThe words

C01.2 · WHEN TO USE

Where words persuade.

It’s for taglines, campaigns and hero copy — anywhere the wording carries persuasion or emotion. Functional UI text and docs are translated normally.

FORTaglines · campaigns

ALSOHero copy

NORMALUI · docs

LINEPersuasion

C01.3 · VS LITERAL

A pun doesn’t survive.

A literal translation of a clever English line usually loses the cleverness. Transcreation finds a Chinese line that works on its own terms — different words, same job.

LITERALLoses wit

INSTEADNew ZH line

OWNTerms

SAMEJob

C01.4 · THE PROCESS

Native, with a brief.

A native-speaking writer works from a creative brief — intent, tone, constraints — not just the source text. Their version is reviewed against the brief, not the literal words.

WRITERNative

FROMA brief

REVIEWVs intent

NOTLiteral

DON'T

Don't translate taglines literally — Recreate the intent.

Don't brief only the text — Brief the intent.

Don't review against words — Review against effect.

Don't use it for UI — Functional text translates.

“A translated pun is just a pun that no longer works.”

11C02 Dates & units WIP

Numbers, money, dates and units all carry local conventions. Getting them right is invisible; getting them wrong instantly signals a foreign product. This sets the locale formatting rules.

CURRENCY¥ / $ DATESLocal format UNITSMetric NUMBERSGrouping

WCN

C02.1 · CURRENCY

The right symbol.

Amounts show in the locale’s currency and format — ¥ with Chinese conventions, $ for English. Currency is never just a symbol swap; placement and grouping differ too.

ZH¥ conventions

EN$

NOTJust symbol

ALSOPlacement

C02.2 · DATES

Year first, in 中文.

Chinese dates run year-month-day, often with 年月日 characters; English uses its own order. Dates are formatted by locale, never hardcoded in one style.

ZH年月日 · Y-M-D

ENOwn order

BYLocale

NEVERHardcoded

C02.3 · UNITS

Metric, and sensible.

Measurements use metric for the Chinese locale and the audience-appropriate system for English. Units convert meaningfully — not a raw number with a swapped label.

ZHMetric

CONVERTMeaningfully

NOTRelabel

SENSIBLERounding

C02.4 · NUMBERS

Grouping and 大写.

Number grouping follows locale, and large numbers may use Chinese conventions (万/亿 rather than thousands/millions). Formatting is handled by the i18n layer, consistently.

GROUPBy locale

LARGE万 · 亿

HANDLEDi18n layer

CONSISTENTYes

DON'T

Don't hardcode date order — Format by locale.

Don't just swap currency symbols — Placement differs.

Don't relabel units — Convert meaningfully.

Don't ignore 万/亿 — Group the local way.

“A dollar sign in a Chinese price is a tiny crack that says ‘not for you.’”

11C03 Tone register PLANNED

Chinese carries formality and politeness differently from English. WCN’s plain, confident English voice has to be calibrated into a Chinese register that feels the same — neither stiff nor flippant.

REGISTERCalibrated ZHFormality MATCHBrand voice MAPDocumented

C03.1 · REGISTER IN 中文

Formality is a dial.

Chinese has clear registers — formal, neutral, casual — signalled by word choice and structure. The same content can read as a government notice or a chat message depending on the dial.

REGISTERSFormal → casual

SIGNALLEDWord · structure

SAMEContent

DIFFERENTFeel

C03.2 · MATCHING VOICE

Confident, not stiff.

WCN’s English is plain and confident. The Chinese target is the equivalent — clear and assured, avoiding both bureaucratic stiffness and overly-casual hype.

ENPlain · confident

ZHClear · assured

AVOIDStiff

ALSOHype

C03.3 · CALIBRATION

Tuned with natives.

The register is calibrated by native speakers reading real copy, not set by rule. They judge whether a line feels like WCN — the same gut-check applied to English.

BYNatives

ONReal copy

JUDGEFeels WCN?

SAMEGut-check

C03.4 · THE MAP

Written down.

The agreed register — with do/don’t examples in Chinese — is documented alongside the English voice guide. Translators and writers calibrate to examples, not vibes.

DOCWith examples

ALONGSIDEEN guide

CALIBRATETo examples

NOTVibes

DON'T

Don't map register one-to-one — Calibrate to feel.

Don't default to bureaucratic — Confident, not stiff.

Don't over-casualise — Avoid hype tone.

Don't leave it to vibes — Document examples.

“The same sentence can sound like a law or a text — register is the dial.”

11C04 Idiom swaps PLANNED

“Move the needle,” “low-hanging fruit” — English idioms translate into nonsense. This is the practice of swapping them for Chinese equivalents that carry the same meaning naturally.

RULESwap NOTLiteral idiom EQUIVALENTLocal AVOIDConfusion

C04.1 · WHY THEY BREAK

Images don’t cross.

Idioms are culture-specific images. Translated literally, “move the needle” becomes a baffling sentence about needles. The meaning lives in the cultural reference, not the words.

IDIOMSCultural images

LITERAL= baffling

MEANINGIn reference

NOTWords

C04.2 · THE SWAP

Find the local match.

The fix is to find a Chinese expression with the same meaning — often a 成语 or common phrase — or to drop the idiom for plain language. The intent survives; the image changes.

FINDZH equivalent

OFTEN成语

ORPlain language

INTENTSurvives

C04.3 · EQUIVALENTS

Same punch, local roots.

A good swap lands with the same force for a Chinese reader as the original did in English. The test is effect, not literal correspondence.

LANDSSame force

FORZH reader

TESTEffect

NOTLiteral

C04.4 · CAUTION

Don’t over- localise.

Swaps should feel natural, not forced — cramming a famous 成语 where plain words would do reads as trying too hard. When in doubt, say it plainly.

NATURALNot forced

AVOIDTry-hard 成语

DOUBTSay it plain

JUDGENative

DON'T

Don't translate idioms literally — Swap for equivalents.

Don't force a 成语 — Plain beats try-hard.

Don't keep dead metaphors — Drop if no match.

Don't judge by words — Judge by effect.

“An idiom translated word-for-word is the fastest way to sound machine-made.”

11C05 Symbolism PLANNED

Colours and numbers carry cultural weight — red is fortune, 8 is lucky, 4 sounds like death. This is the checklist that keeps WCN from an accidental, avoidable cultural misstep.

COLOURCultural weight NUMBERSLucky / unlucky CHECKBefore use CAUTION红 · 8 · 4

C05.1 · COLOUR MEANING

Red means fortune.

In Chinese culture red signals luck and celebration, white can imply mourning. WCN’s vermilion reads positively — but colour choices in campaigns are checked against these meanings.

REDFortune

WHITECan = mourning

VERMILIONPositive

CHECKCampaigns

C05.2 · NUMBERS

8 lucky, 4 not.

Eight sounds like “prosper” and is auspicious; four sounds like “death” and is avoided. Pricing, quantities and dates steer clear of unlucky numbers where it matters.

8Auspicious

4Avoided

STEERPricing · dates

WHEREIt matters

C05.3 · CHECKING

A quick pass.

Before a campaign ships, colours, numbers and symbols get a quick cultural check. It’s a five-minute review that prevents an embarrassing, expensive mistake.

BEFOREShip

CHECKColour · number

QUICK5 min

PREVENTSEmbarrassment

C05.4 · BRAND CAUTIONS

Known traps.

A short list of documented traps — avoid prominent 4s, watch white-heavy designs in certain contexts — keeps the team alert without over-thinking every choice.

LISTKnown traps

EXAMPLES4 · white

ALERTNot paranoid

DOCUMENTEDYes

DON'T

Don't ignore number luck — Avoid prominent 4s.

Don't assume colour is neutral — It carries meaning.

Don't skip the check — Five minutes saves face.

Don't over-correct — Use the known-traps list.

“The cheapest cultural mistake to avoid is the one you simply checked for.”

11C06 Imagery fit PLANNED

Photography and illustration carry cultural cues — settings, faces, gestures, context. This ensures WCN’s imagery feels relevant and respectful in each market, not generically Western by default.

CHECKCultural fit RELEVANCELocal AVOIDTone-deaf REVIEWNative

C06.1 · CULTURAL FIT

Does it belong?

Imagery is checked for whether it reads as relevant to the local audience — settings, people and context that feel familiar, not imported. The default Western stock photo rarely fits.

CHECKRelevance

SETTINGSFamiliar

PEOPLERepresentative

DEFAULTOften wrong

C06.2 · LOCAL RELEVANCE

Speak to the audience.

Where imagery shows people or places, it should reflect the market it serves. A Chinese-market page full of obviously-Western imagery quietly signals the product wasn’t built for them.

REFLECTThe market

PEOPLEOf the place

ELSESignals foreign

QUIETLYErodes trust

C06.3 · AVOIDING MISSTEPS

Gestures and context.

Some gestures, symbols and contexts carry unintended meaning across cultures. Imagery is screened for these so a friendly stock photo doesn’t accidentally offend.

SCREENGestures

ALSOSymbols · context

AVOIDUnintended

OFFENDNever

C06.4 · NATIVE REVIEW

A local eye.

Final imagery for a market gets a native review — the same check applied to copy. A local eye catches what an outside one simply can’t see.

REVIEWNative eye

LIKECopy

CATCHESBlind spots

FINALCheck

DON'T

Don't default to Western stock — Reflect the market.

Don't ignore gestures — They carry meaning.

Don't reuse blindly across markets — Check fit each time.

Don't skip native review — A local eye sees more.

“Imagery built for one culture quietly tells every other it wasn’t meant for them.”

In progress

Native, not imported.

Transcreation principles and locale formats are in progress. Tone register, idiom, symbolism and imagery fit are scoped — the difference between technically translated and genuinely local.

WCN Cultural Adaptation Map · 6 topics · C01–C06

11 · LOCALIZATION · C · v1.0