How to chat with someone in China from abroad
The easiest way to chat with someone in China is usually the app they already use. Here is what works, what is blocked, and how to handle the language gap.
The easiest way to chat with someone in China is to use the app they already use, which for most people there is WeChat. Many Western apps are restricted or blocked in mainland China, so asking a friend or relative to install yours often does not work. Pick the app on their side, agree on one backup, and deal with the language gap separately. I am Armenian-Iranian, I live in Los Angeles, and I built Hashti, a chat app with live translation. I will be honest about where it helps with this and where it does not.
Start with where they are
The question is not really "which app is best." It is "which app can both of us open without trouble?"
Someone physically in mainland China, on a normal local phone plan, lives inside a different set of apps than you do. Several services that are everyday tools in the US are, as far as I know, restricted there. The rules change, and I am not an expert on them, so check the current status before you make plans around any app.
That leaves a simple rule: go to them. Install what they use.
The main options
This is the default. It does text, voice messages, calls, video calls, photos, a social feed and payments. If the person you want to talk to lives in China, they almost certainly have it already.
Things to know:
- You will need an account of your own. Setting one up can involve a phone number, and sometimes another existing user vouches for you. The rules change, so expect some friction.
- Messages on WeChat are not private in the way you may be used to on other apps. In my opinion, do not discuss anything sensitive there. That is true of any app operating under a government's rules, in any country.
- It has a built-in translate button for messages. It is convenient, though its accuracy varies by language and by how casual the text is.
Other local apps
Depending on who you want to talk to, they might also use QQ or other local services. If you are talking to a business, a seller or a student, ask which one they prefer. They will tell you.
Boring and reliable. If this is a work conversation, email works across borders and does not depend on a messaging app. The downside is speed.
Apps that both sides can reach
If the person is not in mainland China, for example a relative who lives in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Canada or Australia, or a student studying abroad, then many mainstream apps work fine for them. In that case you can choose together.
The language gap
Even when you have the app sorted, there is the second problem: you may not share a language. Here is what I have seen work.
Write short sentences
Whether you use a translator or not, short sentences translate better. "Can we talk Friday at 8 pm?" survives. A long sentence with three clauses and a joke usually does not.
Avoid slang and idioms
Machine translation handles plain statements well. It handles "that went over like a lead balloon" badly. Say the plain thing.
Use voice messages with care
Voice is warmer than text, but if you do not share a language, nobody can easily read it back. Pair a voice note with a short text line when it matters.
Check names and numbers twice
Dates, times, prices and names are where mistakes cause real damage. Confirm them back in plain words. Mind the time difference: China is on one time zone for the whole country, and it is many hours ahead of Los Angeles. Write the time in both zones every time, to be safe.
Learn ten phrases
Hello, thank you, sorry, please, how are you, see you soon. It costs you a weekend. It tells the other person you tried, and that changes how the whole conversation feels.
Where Hashti fits, and where it does not
I want to be straight about this, because a post like this could easily become an ad.
What Hashti is: a free, 18+ chat app, out now on the App Store (Android is in its closed test). It has public rooms with names and topics, private chats, calls and a walkie-talkie. Live translation covers 29 languages and is part of Hashti Plus, $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year. Everything else is free.
What helps here: if you and the other person are both able to use it, the live translation lets each of you write in your own language and read in yours. That can make a long conversation with someone you do not share a language with much easier. The rooms are also a way to meet people who want to talk to someone across a border.
What does not: I have not tested Hashti from inside mainland China. I cannot promise it is available or works there. If the person you want to reach is in mainland China, assume they will be on WeChat and plan for that. Hashti is more likely to suit you if the other person is outside mainland China, or if you just want to meet people anywhere, in any language, in a room.
Also worth saying: the app's own interface is in English today. A Farsi one is being built, and nothing for Chinese yet.
Staying safe when you chat with someone new
If you are talking to a person you met online and not someone you already know, take the usual care. This is true for any country.
- Do not send money, however good the reason sounds.
- Do not share your address, your workplace, or documents.
- Be wary of anyone who moves you off the app quickly or who is very warm very fast.
- Ask for a video call before you trust a new contact. Someone who always has an excuse is telling you something.
- Keep your own accounts secure. A separate email for new contacts is a good idea.
On Hashti, identity is checked once against a government document. The photo is deleted, a fingerprint stays so the same document cannot open a second account, and unverified accounts cannot host rooms, speak in voice rooms or message strangers. Twelve verified reports closes an account permanently. More on that is on the safety page. It helps. It does not replace your judgment.
Practical checklist
1. Ask the person which app they use. Do not assume. 2. Install it and set up your account before the first call, not during it. 3. Agree on a backup, such as email. 4. Write short, plain sentences. 5. Confirm times in both time zones. 6. Repeat back names, dates and numbers. 7. Keep sensitive subjects off any app you are not sure about. 8. Learn a few phrases in their language.
Short version
- Use the app the other person already uses. For mainland China that is usually WeChat.
- Check current restrictions yourself. I am not a legal or technical authority on them.
- Plain, short sentences and double-checked numbers solve most language trouble.
- Translation tools help, but they do not replace care.
- If you want to meet people across borders in general, try the public rooms.
Hashti is free, and it is 18+. Hashti Plus — live translation, writing help and catch-ups — is $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year, and nothing else costs anything. How rooms work is on the rooms page, and how reports and the ID check work is on the safety page.