Korean translation for product: 제품 vs 상품

Ted Youn
Ted Youn Member Posts: 116
First Anniversary 5 Up Votes Name Dropper First Comment
edited July 2022 in Sales CRM #1

Greetings,

I'd like to report an awkward translation of 'products' in Korean.

According to the wikipedia article, products can be categorized into three types:

  1. in retailing, products are often referred to as merchandise
  2. in manufacturing, products are bought as raw materials and then sold as finished good
  3. a service is also regarded as a type of product.

In Korean, the first category is translated as '상품 (商品)'  while the second as '제품 (製品)'.

  • Pipiedrive translates products as '제품', which refers to the second category of the products.
  • The correct translation will be '상품', which refers to the first cateogory (and the third category as well)

Hope it helps.

p.s. We have a similar issue In Japanese translation as well. Products are translated as '製品' which refers to the second category of Product. As in Korean translation, '商品' sounds better for products in Japanese.

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Comments

  • 미스터클래이
    미스터클래이 Member Posts: 2
    edited June 2021 #2

    Totally agreed. Should be translated as '상품' 

  • Kreete K
    Kreete K Pipedrive Team Posts: 355 PIPEDRIVE TEAM
    5 Likes First Anniversary First Answer Name Dropper
    edited June 2021 #3

    Hello @Ted Youn!

    Thank you so much for bringing this up. I have shared this with our Team and they will review the translation as needed!

  • Kerttu
    Kerttu Pipedrive Team Posts: 2 PIPEDRIVE TEAM
    First Comment Pipedrive Team
    edited June 2021 #4

    Hey there,

    This is Kerttu from Pipedrive Localization team!

    I forwarded your feedback to our Korean translators and have received an answer from their end >

    Yes, the definition on the dictionary is correct, but '제품' and '상품' are commonly mixed in Korean society as well. 

    When it comes to the products that Pipedrive users sell, it can be both "상품" and "제품" since it's not clear what Pipedrive users actually sell. They can sell "상품", or "제품" as well. Sometimes it's not clear what the 'product' refers to (a product from Pipedrive/ a product that the user sell).

    In accounting and stock investment area, the difference between 제품 and 상품 is important. But in the general area, the two terms are interchangeably used. For example, let's look at the Microsoft website: (https://www.microsoft.com/ko-kr/microsoft-365/business/compare-all-microsoft-365-business-products). As you can see, they provide subscription products using the term 제품. Especially in marketing translation, a term is selected with its nuance. Additionally, 상품 is more frequently used in retail areas such as online shopping: (https://www.costco.co.kr/MostPopularProducts).

    Hope that clears out the confusion here :)

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