More and more businesses get Google reviews in a language other than their own. Tourists passing through, an international customer base: it's no longer rare. Many managers don't know how to react. Translate the reply themselves? Ignore the review? Or reply in their own language, even if it feels distant?
Why reply in the review's language, not your own
- The customer needs to understand your reply
The person who left the review should be able to read and understand what you write back. A reply in a language they don't speak helps no one.
- Future readers judge your business too
Other visitors will read that review in the same language. Your reply shows them, too, whether you take your customers seriously.
- A different language can feel impersonal
Replying in a different language than the original review feels automatic, as if no one actually read the message.
The trap of raw machine translation
Pasting the review into an online translator, then pasting back a translated reply, feels like a quick fix. The result usually sounds mechanical and loses the tone's nuance.
A machine translator doesn't know whether your business speaks casually or formally with customers. A reply written natively in that language keeps that tone. It reads like a real person actually wrote it.
A real-world example
Review received in Spanish
"Un sitio encantador, el personal fue muy amable y la comida deliciosa. Lo único: tuvimos que esperar unos 20 minutos para tener mesa un viernes por la noche."
¡Muchas gracias por tus palabras, Marta! Nos alegra mucho que hayas disfrutado la comida y la acogida. Estamos trabajando para gestionar mejor la espera de los viernes por la noche — ¡esperamos verte pronto de nuevo!
Thank you so much for your kind words, Marta! We're delighted you enjoyed the food and the welcome. We're working on managing Friday-night waits better — hope to see you again soon!
This reply stays in the review's own language and keeps a warm, consistent tone. The translation lets the English-speaking manager know exactly what they're publishing.
What to remember
- Always reply in the original review's language.
- Keep a natural tone, not a word-for-word mechanical translation.
- Always understand what you're publishing, even if you don't speak the language.
Replying in a review's original language truly changes how it lands. It matters to the person who wrote it, and to everyone who reads it later. It's not just about courtesy — it's also a signal of how seriously you take your business.
Want to reply in the right language, every time? Try our free reply generator →OpinioVozia automatically detects each review's language, generates a reply ready to publish in that language, and always gives you a translation so you know what you're publishing.