Face-to-face
Hakka interpreters on site for appointments, hearings and meetings.
Asian languages
Hakka interpreting and translation
Hakka is a Chinese language spoken by communities in southern China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and across South-East Asia and the wider diaspora. We provide Hakka interpreters and translators matched to the speaker's dialect and region.
In its own words
客家話
- Script
- Chinese characters (Traditional and Simplified), Latin (Pha̍k-fa-sṳ and Taiwan romanisation)
- Direction
- Left to right
- ISO 639-3
hak
Hakka is one of the major Sinitic (Chinese) languages, alongside Mandarin, Cantonese, Wu and Min. It is not mutually intelligible with Mandarin or Cantonese, although it shares Chinese characters and much vocabulary with them. Its heartland is the hill country where Guangdong, Fujian and Jiangxi meet, and the speech of Meixian (Meizhou) in Guangdong is often treated as the reference variety.
Hakka communities moved over centuries to Guangxi, Sichuan, Hainan, Hong Kong's New Territories and Taiwan, and from the nineteenth century to Malaysia, Indonesia (notably West Kalimantan and Bangka), Singapore, Thailand, Mauritius, the Caribbean and Europe. In Taiwan, Hakka is recognised as a national language, and the main varieties there are Sixian and Hailu, with Dabu, Raoping and Zhao'an spoken by smaller groups.
Like other Chinese languages, Hakka is tonal and has many local varieties. Speakers from Meixian, Huiyang, Taiwan or Malaysia may differ noticeably in tones and vocabulary, and overseas Hakka often borrows from Malay, Indonesian or English.
Hakka is mainly a spoken language. Formal writing by Hakka speakers is normally in standard written Chinese. Hakka-specific characters exist, and Latin romanisations are used, including the church romanisation Pha̍k-fa-sṳ and Taiwan's official Hakka romanisation, but they are used mostly in teaching, dictionaries and cultural work.
- Main areas: China (Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi)
- Also used: Taiwan, Hong Kong
Communities abroad are not shown. Point to an area to see its name.
How we help
Hakka services
Video (VRI)
Secure video interpreting when people are in different places.
Telephone, 24/7
Telephone interpreting 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Certified translation
Certified Hakka translation accepted by UK authorities.
SILA Linguists®
Hakka interpreting, translation and transcription with SILA Linguists®
Hakka is a Chinese language in its own right, and it is not mutually intelligible with Mandarin or Cantonese. SILA Linguists® supplies Hakka interpreters and transcribers, along with Chinese translators, to hospitals, care providers, solicitors, heritage projects and businesses throughout the UK, North America, Australia, New Zealand and beyond. Speakers trace their roots to the hills where Guangdong, Fujian and Jiangxi meet, to Taiwan and Hong Kong's New Territories, or to Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Mauritius, and we match the interpreter to that origin.
Hakka interpreters who follow the client's own variety
Tones and vocabulary shift noticeably between Meixian, Huiyang, Taiwanese Sixian or Hailu, and the Hakka of Malaysia or West Kalimantan, which often borrows Malay or English words. Tell us the town or country, and we will find an interpreter who will follow the client without strain.
Many younger Hakka speakers prefer Mandarin, and those from Hong Kong or Malaysia often speak Cantonese, so we ask the client's preferred language before booking. Older clients, especially in elderly care, may speak only Hakka. Our interpreters work face to face in GP surgeries, hospital wards, care homes, solicitors' offices and court hearings, by telephone 24 hours a day and 365 days a year, and by video, which helps when names are spoken in Hakka but written in standard characters. When patients describe symptoms through traditional Chinese medical concepts, interpreters briefly explain the term rather than replacing it.
Written Chinese for Hakka speakers
Hakka is mostly spoken, so translations for Hakka readers are written in standard Chinese: Traditional characters for Taiwan, Hong Kong and many overseas readers, Simplified characters for mainland China and Malaysia. We ask about the reader's background and choose accordingly. Romanised Hakka, such as the church Pha̍k-fa-sṳ system, can be used for heritage and community projects.
Names often exist in several romanised forms based on Hakka, Mandarin or Cantonese pronunciation, so we keep the spelling used in passports throughout. Certified translations of family, property and court documents carry a signed statement of accuracy, accepted by UK authorities such as courts, the Home Office and universities, and by employers. Chinese-language records for North American authorities are certified as they require, through a US certificate of accuracy or a Canadian provincially certified translator.
Transcribing Hakka speech
Oral history interviews, family recordings, research interviews and recorded evidence in Hakka are transcribed with time stamps and translated into English. Where the speaker moves into Mandarin, Cantonese or Malay, each passage is labelled.
Sectors we support in Hakka
Our vetted, trained and qualified Hakka linguists can support elderly care and the NHS, immigration and family lawyers, courts, museums and heritage projects, universities and companies trading with Taiwan, southern China and South-East Asia. SILA Linguists® gives you a single project team and vetted linguists bound by NDAs and UK GDPR. Hakka interpreting is available for courts, hospitals and immigration lawyers in Canada and the US as well as in the UK.
Good to know
Working with Hakka
Interpreting
- Tell us where the speaker comes from: mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong or South-East Asia, and the town if known. A matched Hakka interpreter will follow the client's tones and vocabulary more reliably than an interpreter from another region.
- Many younger Hakka speakers are fluent in Mandarin, and Hong Kong and Malaysian Hakka speakers often speak Cantonese, so some clients prefer one of those languages for formal matters. Older clients may speak only Hakka. Ask the client's preferred language before booking.
- Hakka interpreting is available face to face, by video and by telephone. Video helps the interpreter confirm names, which may be spoken in Hakka but written in standard characters or romanised in different ways.
- In healthcare and elderly care, Hakka-speaking patients may describe symptoms with traditional Chinese medical concepts or family terms that have no direct English equivalent. Interpreters explain such terms briefly rather than replacing them, so that clinicians understand what the patient means.
Translation
- Written translation for Hakka speakers is normally into standard written Chinese, in Traditional characters for Taiwan, Hong Kong and many overseas readers, and in Simplified characters for mainland China and Malaysia. Tell us the reader's background so we choose the right script.
- Names often appear in several romanised forms, based on Hakka, Mandarin or Cantonese pronunciation, so documents should keep the spelling that appears in passports and official records. Certified translations, with a signed statement of accuracy, are accepted by UK authorities such as the Home Office, courts and universities, and by international bodies. For documents going to authorities in the United States or Canada, we arrange the certification those authorities require, whether that is a translator's certificate of accuracy for US immigration authorities or a translator certified by a Canadian provincial association.
Related languages
Hakka and its neighbours
Choose a language to see its page. Getting the right variety matters: tell us the region or dialect if you know it.
Where Hakka is often needed
- Healthcare and elderly care
- Immigration and family matters
- Legal and court proceedings
- Community and heritage projects
- Business with Taiwan, China and South-East Asia
Explore more asian languages or see all languages A to Z.
Get in touch
Need a Hakka interpreter or translator?
Our bookings team will confirm the details with you and arrange the right linguist. Have the language (and dialect, if you know it), the type of assignment and the date ready.