China's top (and pretty much monopolist) taxi app, Didi Chuxing, is quietly trialing an English version.
The app, which doesn't even have an English listing in the App Store yet, started showing English translations to some users, according to Shanghai resident, Mathieu Bouchara.
SEE ALSO:You can track someone's live location and where they live for just a couple of dollarsBouchara said that not only was his app's interface in English, Chinese addresses were also getting automatically translated.
However, this might be more trouble than it's worth for English-speaking users, he noted in an email.
Credit: mathieu bouchara/bonjourchine.com
Credit: MATHIEU BOUCHARA/BONJOURCHINE.COMAddresses were not spelled out in Chinese phonetics, but pretty much machine-translated for meaning, thereby becoming an entirely different word in English. That's likely to be confusing for some, who will suddenly be presented with English approximations of landmarks, rather than their Chinese names.
Bouchara said he was headed to "Tai Fu Ming Di Nan Men," but realised the Chinese characters were gone from the address. He wasn't shown the hanyu pinyin, or phonetics version either, but "Territory Shanghai China South Gate" -- a phrase that didn't make sense to him.
The app's help section was also translated to English, but parts of the app such as user credits remain in Chinese for now.
Credit: MATHIEU BOUCHARA/BONJOURCHINE.COM
Credit: MATHIEU BOUCHARA/BONJOURCHINE.COMDidi's English version appears to be in closed trial. Several China-based users with phones set to English we spoke to said their apps were still in Chinese.
Didi's effort to translate to English likely helps fill the gap left behind by Uber, which all but exited the country last year after selling its Chinese business to Didi.
The U.S. taxi app couldn't handle the cost of competing with the massive Didi -- itself a merger of two huge warring taxi companies, when Kuaidi Dache and Didi Dache decided to stop fighting and become one in 2015.
TopicsUber
(责任编辑：熱點)
Donald Trump and 'Playboy': A lengthy historyViral Thanksgiving grandma and guest celebrate together for seventh year
Apple Music Replay reminds you which songs you binged the most in 2022'Quordle' today: See each 'Quordle' answer and hints for December 11
Honor 8 smartphone with dualYahoo reportedly built software to search incoming emails
Business isn't looking too good for Yahoo. 。The company that is in the midst of being sold to Verizon
...[详细]Donald Trump has an aide who follows him on the golf course to show him positive articles
Former President Donald Trump is as addicted to Being Online as the rest of us. But he also happens
...[详细]Apple Music Replay reminds you which songs you binged the most in 2022
Apple Music Replay is back, and this time it's designed to be viewed on your phone. Once again, it's
...[详细]Election Day memes lighten the mood. And they talk about Katy Perry, too.
Election Day in the U.S. is an important day, for sure, but it's also a great day for memes and joke
...[详细]Social media companies suspend Geofeedia's access after reported police tracking
Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have suspended Geofeedia, a platform that collects real-time social
...[详细]What’s going on with Drake's fake press tour?
Drake and 21 Savage have been busy promoting Her Loss, their joint album released Nov. 4. They've ap
...[详细]Wordle today: Here's the answer, hints for November 20
Can't get enough of Wordle? Try Mashable's free version nowIt's Sunday at long last, so why not unwi
...[详细]Donald Trump has an aide who follows him on the golf course to show him positive articles
Former President Donald Trump is as addicted to Being Online as the rest of us. But he also happens
...[详细]Town in David Bowie's 'Let's Dance' vid is holding a festival in his honour
You'd be hard-pressed to pick it out on a map, but dusty outback town of Carinda in Australia has a
...[详细]Wordle today: Here's the answer, hints for November 25
Can't get enough of Wordle? Try Mashable's free version nowIt's that time again, word nerds! A new W
...[详细]The Derrick Rose rape trial is off to a graphic and disturbing start
FBI director shares TikTok data privacy concerns