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：時尚)
Olympics official on Rio's green diving pool: 'Chemistry is not an exact science'Bear interrupts 10
J.K. Rowling wades in on Donald Trump's latest Twitter gaffe
Something pretty shady happens when you Google the ginger emojiTwo astronauts just installed a new parking spot on the International Space StationFelix the cat just raised £5000 for charity because she's the hero we all need
LONDON -- Remember Felix, the Huddersfield train station cat who got promoted to Senior Pest Control
...[详细]Fan drama is getting in the way of a big 'No Man's Sky' mystery
No Man's Sky 。appears to be vying for your attention again. There's just one problem: selfish fans ar
...[详细]More ripples in space time detected, casting light into black holes
Welcome to a new era in astrophysics.
。 A huge international team of scientists have just announced t
...[详细]Something pretty shady happens when you Google the ginger emoji
The battle to get a redhead emoji added to keyboards has certainly not been without impassioned deba
...[详细]5 people Tim Cook calls for advice on running the biggest company in the world
It's only fitting that the leader of the biggest company in the world has a pretty impressive list o
...[详细]The iPad is almost good enough for doing real work now. Almost.
Remember when Steve Jobs introduced the iPad, back in 2010?He said the iPad is not only a new device
...[详细]SpaceX's beautiful rocket launch and landing just made history
We really should be used to this by now, but it's just too cool. 。 SpaceX has landed its fifth Falcon
...[详细]The internet memes the crap out of the 'Murder on the Orient Express' trailer
If you put bad music in your movie trailer, the internet will fix it for you. 。The trailer for 。 Murde
...[详细]This app is giving streaming TV news a second try
Watchup, the once-buzzy news video streaming service, is trying its hand again at the news game with
...[详细]Leonardo DiCaprio and Mexico team up to save the cutest little porpoise ever
A nearly extinct porpoise might have more of a chance thanks to actor and environmental advocate Leo
...[详细]Donald Trump's tangled web of Russian influence
Tennis legend slammed for comparing LGBTQ activists to 'the devil'