Yabylon is your partner for culturally informed communication with Asian markets. Since 2010, we have partnered with European B2B companies from Berlin to help them communicate with China, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia: not just in the right language, but in the right cultural register.
Yabylon stands for communication that goes beyond language. We combine translation expertise with intercultural training and strategic consulting, because those who want to make an impact in Asia need to understand how decisions are made, how trust develops, and why the same message lands completely differently in Tokyo, Seoul, and Jakarta.
Our work is structured around three areas that connect and build on each other:
Through webinars and training programmes, we show how cultural patterns shape everyday business with Asian partners and clients. Practical, applicable, and tailored to your industry.
With our Asia Communication Review and Readiness Audit, we help you systematically assess and develop your communication strategy, before misunderstandings arise.
We translate specialist and marketing texts from German and English into the major Asian business languages: Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Malay, Thai, and more. Every translation is shaped by what actually works in the target market.
More than 15 years of Asia focus have taught us one thing: cultural intelligence is not a nice-to-have. It is a decisive competitive advantage. Companies that use this advantage build more lasting relationships and achieve better results.
If it’s Asia. It’s Yabylon.
Behind Yabylon stands an internationally experienced team of cultural experts, consultants, and language specialists. People who know Asian markets first-hand, not only from books.
Our specialists combine language skill with intercultural depth and strategic consulting experience. They are the ones who turn a translation into a message that lands in the target culture, and a market entry project into a communication strategy built to last.
Meet the people who shape Yabylon:
Heiko Ehrhard co-founded Yabylon in 2010 with Li Yu, driven by the conviction that successful Asia communication requires more than language skills.
For years, he told people that 西门子 (Siemens in Chinese) was a brilliant name: “Xi” means West, “men” means gate. A poetic promise from 150 years ago. Until a Chinese engineer asked his co-founder Li Yu: “What gate?” For native Chinese speakers, the name simply sounds respectable. The “Gate to the West” was a Western marketing fantasy that Heiko had repeated for years without ever questioning it. That moment still shapes his work today.
Heiko studied cultural anthropology in the 1980s, fascinated by how foreign other cultures can be, and yet how rationally explainable. Later, he learned Mandarin and married into a Japanese family. For decades, he has moved between European directness and Asian indirectness, and still marvels at the subtleties that determine success or failure.
Before Yabylon, he managed international localisation projects at a leading language service provider. He speaks German, English, Spanish, and Chinese.
Li Yu is co-founder of Yabylon GmbH and heads operations.
He studied German Studies in China, not just the language, but the way Germans think and argue. In Berlin, he deepened his expertise with a degree in Media Studies, learning how messages work across different cultural contexts.
Before co-founding Yabylon in 2010, Li Yu spent over a decade helping Chinese companies enter European markets. He knows both directions: Asia to Europe and Europe to Asia. He also worked as a business and technology journalist, which sharpened his eye for precise, effective communication.
Today, he ensures that Yabylon’s projects don’t just get the language right, they land culturally.
Motoko Yoshida has been part of the Yabylon team since its founding and is responsible for quality management across all Japanese projects.
She studied music in Japan and Germany, training that sharpened her ear for nuance, rhythm, and the moment when something truly works. This sensitivity defines her approach as a linguist. Motoko embodies kodawari: the Japanese commitment to perfection that doesn’t stop until the transcreation is as good as it can possibly be, linguistically precise and culturally right.
With years of experience in technical and patent language, she leads Yabylon’s Japanese language teams. Her expertise ensures that complex specialised texts don’t just get the terminology right. They strike the right tone.
In addition to her native Japanese, Motoko speaks fluent German, English, and Italian.
Katja Seidel is Senior Project Manager at Yabylon, and the one who grounds the team when ideas start flying.
Her strength: an exceptional ability to grasp what matters. While others are still explaining, Katja has already understood what a client truly needs, often before they can articulate it themselves. This clarity makes her the ideal interface between clients and language teams.
She has worked in international project management since 2008, from start-ups to mid-sized companies to international corporations. She knows how differently organisations operate and develops solutions that work not just linguistically, but operationally.
Katja speaks German, English, and Russian fluently.
Götz Baumeister is Project Manager at Yabylon, and probably the least low-context German on the team.
While German communication often prioritises efficiency, Götz takes time for what matters between the lines. His polished language and feel for nuance make him the ideal contact for clients who value a personal connection, not just status updates.
Götz studied literature and found his way into the language industry through working on specialised texts. Since 2008, he has worked in international project management. His trained eye for style and precision defines his work as an editor; no detail escapes him.
He speaks English and French, as well as some Spanish and Indonesian.
Sarah Hebisch is Project Manager at Yabylon and our specialist for the Korean market.
Still waters run deep. Sarah is one of the quieter voices on the team, but anyone who works with her quickly discovers the substance behind the calm. Her focused, precise approach ensures nothing slips through, and her quick grasp of new concepts makes her the go-to person when new tools or processes need to be introduced.
Sarah studied specialised and media translation for English and French, but her passion drew her to East Asia: an extended exchange semester in South Korea deepened not just her Korean language skills, but her understanding of a culture that doesn’t reveal itself to outsiders at first glance. She shares her expertise in articles and blog posts, particularly on developments related to Asian languages.
Tatiana Kichkina is Project Manager at Yabylon and brings something that can’t be taught: an intuitive grasp of what’s left unsaid.
Growing up in Russia, itself a high-context culture, she learned to read between the lines from an early age. What often needs to be spelled out in Germany, she often understands from context alone. This sensitivity makes her a natural bridge between European clients and Asian markets.
Tatiana studied English Philology, Media Studies, and Art History, an unusual combination that gives her a broad perspective on communication: language, media, visual culture. She has worked in international project management since 2008 and follows with particular interest how AI is transforming the industry.
She speaks Russian, German, English, and Ukrainian.
Lei Gao is Quality Manager Chinese at Yabylon, combining what rarely comes together: technical precision and cultural intuition.
She studied German with a focus on translation in China and began her career at one of China’s leading language service providers. There she learned how Chinese companies think about language and communication. Since 2019, she has brought this insider perspective to the Yabylon team, helping European clients understand what actually resonates in China.
Lei moves effortlessly between technical documentation and creative marketing content. Her state translation certification in China stands for professional excellence; her feel for tone and context ensures that messages aren’t just correct, they land.
She speaks Chinese, German, and English.
YABYLON GmbH
Obentrautstrasse 35
10963 Berlin, Germany
+49 30 208 98 59 00
info@yabylon.com