Vietnamese Help Center Translation: Complete Guide for SaaS Companies

Vietnam is Southeast Asia's rising tech powerhouse. With nearly 100 million people, a young and digitally-native population, and one of the fastest-growing SaaS markets in the region, Vietnam represents a significant expansion opportunity. This guide covers everything you need to translate your help center for Vietnamese customers.

Why Vietnamese Translation Matters

The business case:

• 100 million people: Vietnam is the 15th most populous country, with 70% of the population under 35
• Rapid digitalization: 77% internet penetration, growing smartphone-first user base
• Emerging SaaS market: Vietnamese companies are adopting cloud tools rapidly, with 30%+ annual growth
• Price-sensitive but loyal: Vietnamese customers value localized experiences and reward commitment with loyalty
• Limited English proficiency: While improving, most Vietnamese professionals prefer native-language documentation

Companies expanding into Southeast Asia often start with Vietnam due to its market size and growth trajectory. Localized support content is table stakes for serious market entry.

The Unique Challenges of Vietnamese

Vietnamese has distinct characteristics that affect translation quality:

Tonal Language with Diacritics

Vietnamese uses the Latin alphabet (Quốc ngữ) but with extensive diacritical marks indicating six tones:

Tone	Mark	Example	Meaning
Level (ngang)	none	ma	ghost
Falling (huyền)	à	mà	but
Rising (sắc)	á	má	mother
Dipping-rising (hỏi)	ả	mả	tomb
Rising glottalized (ngã)	ã	mã	horse
Falling glottalized (nặng)	ạ	mạ	rice seedling

Why this matters:

• Missing or wrong diacritics change meaning entirely
• Some fonts render diacritics poorly, causing display issues
• Copy-paste from certain sources can strip diacritics
• Always test content rendering across devices

Practical tip: Use UTF-8 encoding everywhere. Test that your help center platform renders Vietnamese diacritics correctly on both desktop and mobile.

Text Expansion

Unlike Chinese or Japanese, Vietnamese text expands compared to English, typically by 15-25%. This happens because:

• Vietnamese is analytic (isolating): it uses separate words rather than affixes
• Concepts English compresses into single words become multiple words
• Classifier words add length (see below)

Example:

• English: "Settings" (8 characters)
• Vietnamese: "Cài đặt" (7 characters) - similar
• English: "Internationalization" (20 characters)
• Vietnamese: "Quốc tế hóa" (11 characters) - shorter

The expansion happens in longer phrases and sentences:

• English: "Click the button to confirm" (26 characters)
• Vietnamese: "Nhấp vào nút để xác nhận" (24 characters)
• English: "Your changes have been saved" (29 characters)
• Vietnamese: "Các thay đổi của bạn đã được lưu" (33 characters)

Plan your UI for 20-25% text expansion in buttons, labels, and headings.

Pronoun Complexity

Vietnamese has one of the most complex pronoun systems in the world. The choice of pronoun depends on:

• Age relationship: Older, younger, same age
• Social status: Formal, informal
• Gender: Male, female, neutral
• Relationship type: Family, business, stranger

Context	First Person (I)	Second Person (You)
Business (formal)	tôi	Quý khách, Quý vị
Business (standard)	tôi, chúng tôi	bạn
Customer support	chúng tôi (we)	bạn, Quý khách
Very formal	tôi	Quý khách hàng
Informal	mình	bạn, cậu

For help centers: Use "bạn" (you) and "chúng tôi" (we) as your standard. This strikes the right balance between approachable and professional. For formal announcements or apologies, use "Quý khách" (honorable customer).

Consistency matters. Mixing pronoun styles feels awkward to Vietnamese readers.

Classifier Words

Vietnamese uses classifier words (từ chỉ loại) before nouns, similar to Chinese. Different types of objects use different classifiers:

Classifier	Used for	Example
cái	inanimate objects	cái bàn (the table)
con	animals, some objects	con chuột (the mouse)
chiếc	vehicles, individual items	chiếc xe (the car)
bài	articles, written items	bài viết (the article)
người	people	người dùng (the user)

For technical content: "bài" is often used for articles/posts, "tài liệu" for documents, "người dùng" for user, "tính năng" for feature.

No Conjugation or Declension

Good news: Vietnamese has no verb conjugation, no noun declension, and no grammatical gender. Tense is expressed through context words:

• Past: đã (already) - "đã hoàn thành" (already completed)
• Present/ongoing: đang - "đang tải" (is loading)
• Future: sẽ - "sẽ được lưu" (will be saved)

This simplifies translation in some ways but requires translators to add these markers explicitly.

Four Translation Approaches

1. Professional Translation Agency

Best for: Companies entering Vietnam seriously, high-value content

Pros	Cons
Native quality assured	More expensive
Cultural adaptation included	Slower turnaround
Consistent terminology	Coordination overhead
Quality assurance built in

Cost example: 50 articles × 800 words × $0.10/word = $4,000

Vietnamese translation rates are typically lower than European or Northeast Asian languages.

2. Freelance Native Translators

Best for: Budget-conscious teams with time to manage

Pros	Cons
Lower cost ($0.05-0.10/word)	Quality varies widely
Direct communication	You manage the process
Faster for small batches	Limited availability

Cost example: 50 articles × 800 words × $0.07/word = $2,800

Tip: Vietnam has a strong freelance community on platforms like Upwork. Look for translators with SaaS or tech experience.

3. AI Translation + Native Review

Best for: Teams that update content frequently

Pros	Cons
Fast first drafts	Requires native review
Low per-word cost	Pronoun choices may be wrong
Easy to keep updated	Diacritics occasionally wrong

Modern AI (DeepL, Google) handles Vietnamese grammar well but struggles with:

• Appropriate pronoun register
• Technical terminology specific to your product
• Natural phrasing (can sound translated)

Cost example: AI translation + native review at $0.03-0.05/word = $1,200-2,000

4. TranslateDesk for Intercom

Best for: Intercom users who need ongoing Vietnamese support (since Intercom lacks native translation)

Pros	Cons
One-click translation	Intercom only (for now)
Automatic sync detection	AI-generated (review recommended)
No copy-paste workflow
Translation memory

TranslateDesk uses DeepL for high-quality base translation. For Vietnamese, we recommend a light native review before publishing, particularly for pronoun consistency and technical terms.

Cost example: 5 free translations, then credit packs from $79/100 articles (pay-as-you-go)

Step-by-Step Implementation

Week 1: Preparation

1. Audit your English content: Vietnamese readers appreciate thorough, well-organized documentation. Ensure your English source is complete.

2. Create a terminology glossary: Define how to translate:

   • Your product name (keep in English, or adapt?)
   • Technical terms specific to your product
   • Common UI element names
   • Key action verbs (save, delete, configure)

3. Choose your pronoun register: Decide on "bạn/chúng tôi" as your standard. Document when to use more formal alternatives.

4. Identify priority content:

   • Getting started guides
   • Most-visited articles (check analytics)
   • Pricing and billing (Vietnamese users research carefully)
   • Common troubleshooting articles

Week 2-3: Translation

1. Translate priority batch: Use your chosen method

2. Native review checkpoint: Have a native speaker review 3-5 translated articles for:

   • Correct diacritics throughout
   • Consistent pronoun usage
   • Natural phrasing (not "translated" sounding)
   • Accurate technical terms

3. Incorporate feedback: Update glossary and style guide based on review

4. Complete remaining content: Continue with full translation

Week 4: Launch and Iteration

1. Publish to Vietnamese help center: If using Intercom, set up Vietnamese as an additional language

2. Test rendering: Check diacritics display correctly across browsers and devices

3. Monitor feedback: Vietnamese users will provide feedback (often through support tickets)

4. Set up ongoing workflow: As you update English content:

   • TranslateDesk: Automatic sync detection and re-translation
   • Manual process: Track changes and translate updates

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Missing or Wrong Diacritics

This is the most common and most damaging error. "Má" (mother) vs "ma" (ghost) are completely different words. Always use proper Vietnamese input methods and verify diacritics in final review.

2. Wrong Pronoun Register

Using overly casual pronouns for business content, or mixing registers within articles, damages credibility. Establish and follow a style guide.

3. Ignoring Text Expansion

Vietnamese text is longer than English. UI elements, buttons, and headers need space. Test your layouts with actual Vietnamese content.

4. Literal Translation of Idioms

English idioms don't translate. "Piece of cake," "low-hanging fruit," and "move the needle" have no Vietnamese equivalents. Use clear, direct language.

5. Font Rendering Issues

Not all fonts handle Vietnamese diacritics well. Test your help center fonts with Vietnamese content, particularly on mobile. The diacritics should stack properly and be clearly legible.

6. Skipping Technical Term Standardization

Technical terms in Vietnamese can be translated multiple ways. "Cloud" might be "đám mây" (literal), "cloud" (English kept), or "điện toán đám mây" (cloud computing). Standardize your choices.

Measuring Success

Track these metrics after launching Vietnamese content:

Metric	Target	Why It Matters
Vietnamese help center traffic	+20% in 90 days	Validates demand
Support tickets in Vietnamese	Decrease after launch	Self-service working
Article helpfulness ratings	>80% positive	Quality check
Time on page	Comparable to English	Engagement signal
Vietnamese trial-to-paid conversion	Increase	Revenue impact

FAQ

How long does Vietnamese help center translation take?

Vietnamese translation takes similar time to other Southeast Asian languages. Expect 3-5 weeks for a 50-article help center with professional translation, or 1-2 weeks using AI-assisted tools with native review. The Latin-based script makes QA faster than Chinese or Japanese.

Should I use formal or informal Vietnamese in my help center?

Use polite forms with appropriate pronouns for B2B content. Address users as "bạn" (neutral/friendly) or "Quý khách" (honorable customer) for formal contexts. Avoid overly casual forms that could seem disrespectful to business users.

Why does my Vietnamese translation look longer than the English?

Vietnamese text typically expands 15-25% compared to English. This happens because Vietnamese uses separate words for concepts English handles with affixes or compound words. Plan your layouts to accommodate longer text.

Do Vietnamese users expect localized content?

Yes. While English proficiency is growing among Vietnamese tech workers, most prefer native-language support documentation. Vietnamese users are also price-sensitive, so offering localized help content signals commitment to their market.

Can I use machine translation for Vietnamese?

Modern AI translation handles Vietnamese reasonably well, especially compared to a few years ago. However, pronoun choice, tone marks, and technical terminology still need native review. Use machine translation as a starting point with mandatory native quality check.

More Language Guides

Expanding to other markets? Explore our complete guides for each language:

• Japanese Help Center Translation Guide: Three writing systems, keigo honorifics, text contraction
• Korean Help Center Translation Guide: Hangul script, honorific levels, formality particles
• Chinese Help Center Translation Guide: Simplified vs Traditional, market access
• Spanish Help Center Translation Guide: Spain vs LATAM, formal/informal
• German Help Center Translation Guide: DACH market, Sie/du formality

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Ready to Translate Your Help Center to Vietnamese?

If you're using Intercom, TranslateDesk lets you translate your entire help center with one click, including Vietnamese. Our DeepL integration provides high-quality translations, and our sync detection ensures your Vietnamese content stays current when you update English articles.

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