Chinese messaging app WeChat has apologised after its software used the N-word as an English translation for the Chinese for "black foreigner".
中国消息应用程序微信最近因自己软件对“black foreigner”（黑老外）的不当翻译而向公众道歉。
The company blamed its algorithms for producing the error.
公司称这个错误是由于公司软件算法失误造成的。
It was spotted by Ann James, a black American living in Shanghai, when she texted her Chinese colleagues to say she was running late.
Ms James, who uses WeChat's translation feature to read Chinese responses, got the reply: "The [racial slur] is late."
这个错误由安 詹姆斯，一个生活在上海的美籍黑人发现。当时她发微信告诉自己的同事说她可能会迟到。詹姆斯一般用微信的翻译功能来阅读同事的回复，却在信息中发现，同事的回复为“**（种族歧视词语）要迟到了。”
Horrified, she checked the Chinese phrase - "hei laowai" - with a co-worker and was told it was a neutral expression, not a profanity.
她当时很吃惊，并与同行的人一同检查了“黑老外”这个词，发现这个词在中国是个中性词，并不具有侮辱性。
WeChat acknowledged the error to China-focused news site Sixth Tone, saying: "We're very sorry for the inappropriate translation. After receiving users' feedback, we immediately fixed the problem."
微信借助高度关注中国的《第六声》新闻网站称：“我们对于系统中不当的翻译感到抱歉。一经收到用户的反馈，我们立即更正了这个错误。”
The app's software uses artificial intelligence that has been fed huge reams of text to help it pick the best translations.
这个应用使用的是具有人工智能的软件，软件中附带大量的文本代码来帮助系统选择出最恰当的翻译。
These are based on context, so it sometimes uses insulting phrases when talking about negative events.
这些翻译都是基于语句情景，所以在涉及到消极事件时的翻译有时会出现具有侮辱性的词语。
Local outlet That's Shanghai tested the app, and found that when used to wish someone happy birthday, the phrase "hei laowai" was translated as "black foreigner". But when a sentence included negative words like "late" or "lazy," it produced the racist insult.
《城市漫步》曾测试过这个应用，并发现：当语句是祝福别人生日快乐时，“黑老外”被翻译成"black foreigner"；但是当语句中含有消极词语，如“迟到”、“懒惰”时，收到的翻译则具有种族歧视倾向。
Almost a billion people use WeChat, which lets users play games, shop online, and pay for things as well as sending messages. It resembles another popular chat app, WhatsApp, but is subject to censorship.
有近乎10亿的用户使用微信，他们在微信上发送信息的同时，还能在上面玩游戏、网购和支付。它和另一个流行的聊天工具WhatsApp很相似，但是WhatsApp正在接受相关审查。