Can I Send RCS Messages in Multiple Languages?

Multilingual RCS: Sending Messages Globally

RCS works in every language your customers speak.

Language Support in RCS

Fully supported languages:

• All Latin-script languages (English, Spanish, French, German, etc.)
• Cyrillic (Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian)
• Greek, Armenian, Georgian
• Arabic, Hebrew, Persian (right-to-left)
• Chinese (Simplified and Traditional)
• Japanese, Korean, Thai
• Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, and other Indic scripts
• All other Unicode-supported languages

What's supported:

• Unicode text rendering
• Right-to-left (RTL) layout for Arabic/Hebrew
• Mixed LTR/RTL content in same message
• Language-specific fonts and character rendering
• Emojis and special characters

Language Detection Strategies

Strategy 1: Use CRM data — Most accurate, requires good data hygiene Strategy 2: Device/browser language — Fallback option Strategy 3: Geolocation-based — Good starting point Strategy 4: Customer choice — Most accurate, requires customer action Strategy 5: Hybrid approach — Best for long-term

Template Management

Approach 1: Separate templates per language (recommended)

• Template ID: cart_recovery_en, cart_recovery_es, cart_recovery_fr
• Clear naming convention
• Easy to manage and update

Approach 2: Single template with translations

• More complex to manage
• Risk of translation errors

Translation Best Practices

• Don't use machine translation alone
• Always have native speaker review
• Maintain translation memory for consistency
• Adapt for culture, not just language
• Account for character expansion (Spanish 30% longer, German 30% longer, Chinese 50% shorter)

Right-to-Left Considerations

For Arabic and Hebrew:

• RCS automatically handles RTL layout
• Test carefully — mixed LTR/RTL can be tricky
• Phone numbers and URLs should remain LTR within RTL text
• Images with text should be designed for RTL specifically

Common Multilingual Mistakes

• Machine translation without review
• Ignoring cultural differences
• Character limits based on English
• Wrong language targeting
• Inconsistent translations across campaigns

The Bottom Line

RCS supports every language your customers speak. Use CRM data for language selection, maintain separate templates per language, and invest in professional translation and cultural review.

Properly localized RCS campaigns see 40-60% higher engagement than generic English campaigns in non-English markets.