Hindi Help Center Translation: Complete Guide for SaaS Teams

India's tech economy is exploding. With 900+ million internet users and the world's third-largest startup ecosystem, Indian customers are a massive growth opportunity for SaaS companies.

But here's the disconnect: while 57% of Indians prefer consuming content in Hindi, most SaaS help centers are English-only. This creates friction for the hundreds of millions of Hindi-speaking customers who would engage more deeply with localized support.

This guide covers everything you need to translate your help center for Hindi-speaking customers: formal register, script considerations, Hindi vs Hinglish decisions, and practical translation approaches.

Why Hindi Translation Matters

The numbers are staggering:

• 602 million native Hindi speakers (4th largest globally)
• 57% of Indian internet users prefer Hindi content
• 900+ million internet users in India
• $10 trillion projected Indian digital economy by 2030
• Fastest-growing SaaS market globally

For B2B SaaS, India represents a particularly interesting opportunity. Indian businesses are increasingly digitizing, and the SMB segment is massive. Companies that provide Hindi support gain significant competitive advantage over English-only alternatives.

The business reality: Hindi-speaking customers who struggle with English documentation either churn, flood support queues, or underutilize your product. Companies with Hindi help centers report 30-50% reduction in support tickets from Hindi-speaking regions.

Understanding Hindi: Key Considerations

Devanagari Script

Hindi uses the Devanagari script (देवनागरी), written left-to-right like English. Unlike Arabic or Chinese, this makes layout relatively straightforward for Western products.

Key characteristics:

• Phonetic script: Words are spelled as they sound
• No uppercase/lowercase: Formatting must use other emphasis methods
• Character combinations: Some characters combine in complex ways (संयुक्त अक्षर)
• Unicode support: Modern systems handle Devanagari well

Your help center platform needs proper Unicode support and fonts that render Devanagari correctly. Intercom handles this automatically.

Formal vs Informal Register (Critical)

Hindi has three formality levels, and choosing correctly is crucial:

Level	Pronoun	When to Use	Example
Formal (आप)	आप (aap)	Always for help centers	आप क्या कर सकते हैं
Familiar (तुम)	तुम (tum)	Casual conversation with friends	तुम क्या कर सकते हो
Intimate (तू)	तू (tu)	Very close relationships	तू क्या कर सकता है

Always use आप (aap) form for documentation. Using तुम or तू in professional content is inappropriate and damages brand perception.

This applies throughout: verb conjugations, imperative forms, and honorifics all change based on register. Your translation must be consistent.

Hindi vs Hinglish

Hinglish (Hindi-English code mixing) is how urban Indians actually speak. The question is: how much English should you keep in Hindi translations?

Pure Hindi example:

अपने खाते में प्रवेश करने के लिए, अपना उपयोगकर्ता नाम और गुप्त शब्द दर्ज करें।

Hinglish example:

अपने account में login करने के लिए, अपना username और password enter करें।

Recommendation: Use light Hinglish for technical content.

Why this works:

1. Technical terms are clearer in English: Indian users know "login," "dashboard," "settings"
2. Pure Hindi sounds awkward: Translated terms like "गुप्त शब्द" (secret word) for password feel artificial
3. Consistency with UI: If your app uses English terms, documentation should match
4. Search optimization: Users search "login kaise kare" not "प्रवेश कैसे करें"

What to translate, what to keep:

Keep in English	Translate to Hindi
Login, logout	Instructions and explanations
Dashboard	Navigation context
Settings	Feature descriptions
Account	Support guidance
Button names matching UI	Conceptual content

Regional Considerations

India is linguistically diverse. Hindi works differently in different regions:

The Hindi Belt (Primary Market)

These states have Hindi as their primary language:

• Uttar Pradesh: 230 million (largest state)
• Madhya Pradesh: 85 million
• Bihar: 125 million
• Rajasthan: 80 million
• Jharkhand: 40 million
• Chhattisgarh: 30 million
• Delhi NCR: 30 million

This region represents 600+ million people who strongly prefer Hindi content.

Hindi as Second Language

These regions understand Hindi but may prefer English or regional languages:

• Maharashtra: Hindi understood, Marathi preferred
• Gujarat: Hindi understood, Gujarati preferred
• Punjab: Hindi understood, Punjabi preferred
• West Bengal: Hindi understood, Bengali preferred

South India (English Preferred)

Southern states often prefer English over Hindi:

• Tamil Nadu: Strong English preference
• Kerala: English or Malayalam
• Karnataka: English or Kannada
• Andhra Pradesh/Telangana: English or Telugu

Practical approach: For pan-India reach, offer both Hindi and English. Let users choose. Don't assume Hindi works for all Indian customers.

Translation Approaches for Hindi

Four main options, each with tradeoffs:

1. AI Translation Tools (Best for Speed + Scale)

How it works: Tools like TranslateDesk use DeepL or Google Translate to convert content automatically, then sync with your help center platform.

Pros:

• Fast (50 articles in hours, not weeks)
• Affordable ($500/year vs $3,000+ for human translation)
• Automatic change detection and updates
• Good quality for standard Hindi

Cons:

• May miss formal register nuances
• Technical terms need configuration
• Cultural context can be off

Best for: SaaS companies wanting to launch Hindi support quickly and iterate based on feedback.

Cost: ~$500/year with TranslateDesk

2. Professional Translation Agencies

How it works: Human translators convert content, often with subject matter expertise.

Pros:

• High quality formal Hindi
• Cultural nuance handled correctly
• Industry-specific terminology

Cons:

• Expensive ($0.08-0.15/word)
• Slow (weeks for large projects)
• Updates require new quotes
• Finding good Hindi translators is hard

Best for: Enterprise companies with budget and compliance requirements.

Cost: $2,400-4,500 for 50 articles (30,000 words)

3. Freelance Translators

How it works: Hire individual translators from platforms like Upwork or ProZ.

Pros:

• Lower cost than agencies
• Direct communication
• Can find specialized expertise

Cons:

• Quality varies significantly
• No backup if translator leaves
• Manual project management

Best for: Small projects or specific content needs.

Cost: $0.05-0.10/word

4. Hybrid Approach (Recommended)

How it works: Use AI translation for initial draft, then have native speakers review.

Pros:

• Speed of AI with quality assurance
• Cost-effective at scale
• Easy to update and maintain

Cons:

• Requires Hindi-speaking team member or contractor

Best for: Most SaaS companies balancing speed, cost, and quality.

Cost: AI tool ($500/year) + reviewer ($500-1,000 for initial review)

Implementation Checklist

Before You Start

• Audit existing content: What articles get the most traffic from India?
• Choose formality level: आप form (formal) is standard
• Define terminology: Which English terms stay, which translate?
• Select fonts: Ensure Devanagari renders correctly

During Translation

• Start with high-traffic articles
• Maintain consistent register throughout
• Keep UI terms matching your product
• Include screenshots (translated if possible)

After Launch

• Monitor support tickets from Hindi users
• Track help center analytics by language
• Collect feedback on translation quality
• Update as source content changes

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Using Roman Hindi (Romanized)

❌ Wrong: "Apna account access karne ke liye login karein"

✅ Right: "अपना account access करने के लिए login करें"

Roman Hindi looks unprofessional in documentation. Always use Devanagari.

2. Inconsistent Formality

❌ Wrong: "आप अपना password reset कर सकते हैं। तुम्हें email मिलेगा।"

✅ Right: "आप अपना password reset कर सकते हैं। आपको email प्राप्त होगा।"

Mixing आप and तुम forms in the same document is jarring.

3. Over-Translating Technical Terms

❌ Wrong: "अपने विद्युत पत्र पते में प्रवेश करें" (Enter your electronic mail address)

✅ Right: "अपना email address enter करें"

Indians use English technical terms. Forced translations confuse readers.

4. Ignoring Regional Context

❌ Wrong: Assuming all Indian customers want Hindi

✅ Right: Offering language choice and defaulting based on browser settings

South Indian customers may prefer English. Give options.

Measuring Success

Track these metrics after launching Hindi support:

Metric	What to Measure	Target
Support ticket volume	Tickets from Hindi regions	30-50% reduction
Help center engagement	Page views, time on page	Increase from Hindi users
Search behavior	Hindi queries in help center	Growing month-over-month
Customer feedback	Satisfaction with Hindi content	Positive sentiment

Review quarterly and adjust based on what you learn.

Getting Started with TranslateDesk

TranslateDesk makes Hindi translation straightforward for Intercom help centers:

1. Connect your Intercom workspace
2. Select Hindi as a target language
3. Configure terminology (which terms stay in English)
4. Translate your articles with one click
5. Review and publish

The platform detects when source articles change and flags affected translations for update. No manual tracking required.

Start translating to Hindi →

Conclusion

Hindi translation opens access to 600+ million speakers in one of the world's fastest-growing markets. The key is getting the details right: formal register, appropriate Hinglish mix, and Devanagari script.

For most SaaS companies, an AI-assisted approach with periodic native review offers the best balance of speed, cost, and quality. Start with your highest-traffic articles, launch quickly, and iterate based on customer feedback.

Your Hindi-speaking customers are waiting. Give them the documentation they deserve.