Translate documents to Japanese
Drop a file in any of our 60 languages and get it back in Japanese (日本語), in the same format you sent.
Don't upload confidential documents on the free tier. Why?
Upload a Word document, PDF, PowerPoint deck, Excel sheet or subtitle file and DropTranslate returns the same file in Japanese. Office files keep their layout because only the words inside them change; PDFs are rebuilt as closely as possible and come with an editable DOCX copy. Below are the things worth knowing about Japanese before you send the result to your readers.
Writing in Japanese: what to check
Japanese mixes three scripts (kanji, hiragana and katakana), uses no spaces between words, and has line-breaking rules that stop certain punctuation from starting a line.
Japanese marks politeness in verb forms rather than pronouns. Business documents use the polite desu/masu style, with honorific language toward customers.
Which Japanese?
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Numbers and dates
Decimal point. Large numbers are often expressed in units of 万 (10,000). Dates are written year first (2026年10月14日).
DropTranslate doesn't reformat numbers or dates in your file: values in spreadsheet cells stay exactly as they are, and numbers in sentences are carried into the translation. Check figures where the local format matters to your readers.
How Japanese affects the layout
Japanese is written left to right. Word, Excel and PowerPoint files keep their layout; PDFs are rebuilt as closely as possible, with a DOCX copy. Translated text can come out longer or shorter than the original, so check tight table cells and slide boxes.
Not a certified translation
Machine translation, not a certified or sworn translation. If your document goes to an authority, check what it requires first.
Certified, sworn or machine translation: which one do you need?
Questions
Can I translate a PDF to Japanese?
Yes, if the PDF has selectable text. The Japanese text is written back into the original positions on each page, and you also get an editable DOCX copy. Scanned PDFs aren't supported yet.
Should the Japanese translation be formal or informal?
Japanese marks politeness in verb forms rather than pronouns. Business documents use the polite desu/masu style, with honorific language toward customers. The translation usually follows the tone of your original, so check that it addresses your readers the way you intend.
Which Japanese will I get?
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Do I need to choose the source language?
No. Leave it on Auto-detect and we recognise the language of your file. Choose it yourself if the file mixes languages or is very short.
How much does it cost to translate to Japanese?
One credit covers up to 500 words of the original text, whatever the target language. The exact cost is shown before you confirm. You get 100 free pages without an account and 500 more when you sign up.