Translate a Word document into Vietnamese

What Vietnamese changes in a Word file

Vietnamese (quốc ngữ) is written left to right in Latin script, yet nearly every syllable carries a mark: a modified vowel plus a tone mark, sometimes stacked one above the other, as in ệ, ở, ữ or ặ. The words “Tiếng Việt” alone contain two. In a Word document this has three practical effects.

• The font must contain these characters. Common fonts such as Arial, Times New Roman, Calibri and Cambria do. A display font or a licensed brand typeface without a Vietnamese character set will show empty boxes or mix two fonts within one word.
• Lines need height. A tone mark sitting on a circumflex rises above capital letters. With line spacing set to an exact, tight value, the top of the marks can be clipped, especially in upper-case headings such as “HỢP ĐỒNG” (contract).
• Text breaks into space-separated syllables. “tài liệu” (document) is two words for line-breaking purposes, so lines wrap often and justified paragraphs can show uneven gaps.

Grammar and conventions that affect the text

Vietnamese has a single plural category (other): nouns never change form. “1 file, 3 files” becomes “1 tệp, 3 tệp”. If your Word template contains wording such as {n} document(s) or “the signatory(ies)”, the translation drops the brackets; quantity is carried by the number or by các and những.

• Punctuation. No space before : ; ? !, and quotation marks are “ ”.
• Numbers. Comma for decimals, full stop for thousands: 1.250,5. Currency follows the amount, with “đồng” or ₫.
• Dates. Day, month, year, often spelt out in letters: “ngày 15 tháng 3 năm 2025”.
• Register. Pronouns depend on the relationship between people. A document for customers addresses “Quý khách” and speaks as “chúng tôi”; a neutral “you” in the source has no single equivalent.
• Personal names. Vietnamese names put the family name first (Nguyễn Văn An); foreign names stay as they are.

What Manuce returns, and what it does not do

Manuce translates paragraphs, tables, headers and footers, and text boxes. A merged cell is translated and charged only once. The .docx is rebuilt piece of text by piece of text: fonts, sizes, colours, bold and italics, styles, numbering and table widths stay as in the original. An automatic check compares the shape of the translated document with the original and flags any difference.

You receive the file in its original format, plus a Word version, a PDF and the plain text. Vietnamese carries a surcharge: a ×1.25 coefficient applies to the per-word rate.

What Manuce does not do:

• It does not change your fonts. Because the original formatting is kept, a font lacking Vietnamese glyphs still lacks them. Replace it in the source file or in the relevant style.
• It does not update fields. The table of contents and cross-references keep working: after translation, updating fields in Word recalculates page numbers and picks up the Vietnamese headings.
• It does not produce certified or sworn translations. If an authority asks for a certified translation of a degree, contract or official record for use in Vietnam, you will need an accredited translator.

Preparing the file before upload

• Test your fonts. Type “Đường Nguyễn Huệ” in each font the document uses (headings, body, tables). If any character falls back to another font or shows as a box, swap the font in the style before uploading.
• Relax exact line spacing. For headings and table cells, use “multiple” or “at least” spacing rather than a tight “exactly” value.
• Leave room in cells and text boxes. A fixed-height text box that is already full in the source may overflow in Vietnamese, and hidden text only shows when you open the file.
• Use real text, not images. A heading saved as a picture or a diagram pasted as an image will not be translated.
• Type out terms you want kept. A product name or acronym must appear as text; check in the free excerpt, then in the translation, that it has stayed unchanged.

Checking the translated document

Open the returned .docx in Word and check, in this order:

1. Update fields so the table of contents and cross-references are recalculated.
2. Scan upper-case headings: the marks over “Ể” or “Ộ” should be complete.
3. Look at justified paragraphs: if the gaps are distracting, left alignment often reads better in Vietnamese.
4. Check amounts and dates in tables (1.250,5, day before month).
5. Open the supplied PDF: a character shown in a substitute font means the original font lacks that glyph.

For a contract or a document going to a Vietnamese partner, the Professional or Premium level is a better fit than Essential, which is meant for understanding a text internally.

In practice

1. Check that the document's fonts display Vietnamese diacritics (ệ, ở, Đ).
2. Upload the .docx: the quote appears at once, based on the exact word count.
3. Choose a level and read the free one-paragraph excerpt in Vietnamese.
4. Pay, then download the translated .docx, the Word version, the PDF and the plain text.
5. In Word, update fields and check headings, tables and line spacing.