Translate instructions for use into German

What German changes in instructions for use

German instructions run longer. The text is often 20 to 35% longer than English, and a short label can double in width: mains cable becomes Netzanschlusskabel, safety instructions becomes Sicherheitshinweise. In a leaflet, the growth shows first in tight spots: diagram callouts, troubleshooting table cells, warning boxes and column headings.

German instructions use two forms for steps, and one of them should be kept throughout:

• the polite imperative with Sie: Drücken Sie die Taste „Start“.
• the infinitive, more compact and common in numbered procedures: Taste „Start“ drücken.

The informal du is limited to some consumer brands; for professional equipment or machinery, Sie is the norm. Every noun is capitalised (das Gerät, die Batterie, der Akku), so a casing error is immediately visible to a German reader.

Even the document title depends on the product: Bedienungsanleitung for an appliance, Gebrauchsanweisung for an everyday product or a medical device, Betriebsanleitung for a machine, Montageanleitung for assembly instructions. Check that the cover title matches what you sell.

Warnings, units and the German market

Hazard signal words have fixed German equivalents that must be used consistently: GEFAHR (danger), WARNUNG (warning), VORSICHT (caution), HINWEIS (notice). One risk level rendered sometimes as Achtung and sometimes as Vorsicht blurs the hierarchy of hazards the leaflet is meant to make clear.

Writing conventions to check:

• decimal comma: 2,5 kg, 0,75 l; full stop or thin space for thousands: 1.200 W (an English 1,200 W would be misread);
• dates as 31.12.2025;
• German quotation marks „…“ when quoting a button or an on-screen message;
• two plural forms (singular and plural) in parts lists: 1 Schraube, 4 Schrauben;
• ß (Fußschalter) is written ss in Switzerland: if the leaflet also targets the Swiss market, have this point reviewed.

On the regulatory side, a product placed on the German market must come with instructions in German where following them is necessary for safe use, which covers most appliances and machinery. Translation does not replace your conformity work: the required content (intended use, residual risks, maintenance, disposal) is the manufacturer's responsibility; the translation carries it over.

What Manuce delivers, and what it does not

Your instructions go to Dédale, the engine specialised in technical texts: assembly, maintenance and troubleshooting vocabulary, short action sentences. You upload the file — Word, PDF, PowerPoint, Excel, plain text, Markdown, HTML, RTF or CSV — and it comes back in its original format, layout included: headings, step numbering, tables and boxes stay where they were, with German text inside. For a typical leaflet of around 2,500 words, the translation arrives within minutes and stays available in your client area.

Before paying, you receive a free extract: one paragraph of your document translated at the level you chose. Look first at a warning or a numbered procedure: that is where you can judge the form (Sie or infinitive) and the consistency of terms. For instructions that will ship with a product, the Professional level matches the ready-to-send use.

What Manuce does not do:

• it cannot read a scanned PDF: if the text is not selectable, it cannot be translated;
• it does not produce sworn translations certified by an expert translator;
• the translation is not a certificate of the leaflet's regulatory compliance;
• it does not take glossaries or term lists: for a model or feature name that must stay as is (EcoMode, Turbo Clean), check it in the extract and then in the delivered file.

Preparing the file and checking the German version

Before uploading:

• start from the editable source file or a PDF exported from your layout software, never a scan;
• if your leaflet is already multilingual, upload a version containing only the source language: the quote is based on the exact word count of the file;
• tidy the source text: one part should have one name throughout (water tank or reservoir, not both), otherwise the German will repeat the inconsistency;
• leave room in fixed-height boxes and diagram callouts;
• spot words embedded in illustrations: anything that is not selectable text stays as it is.

On delivery:

• scan tables and boxes for overflow; break compound words at the joins between their parts (Netz-anschluss-kabel), not at random;
• if the device has a German interface, make sure button names and messages match the display exactly: „Entkalken“ on screen must read „Entkalken“ in the leaflet;
• check that each hazard level keeps the same signal word from start to finish;
• reread values, units and torque settings digit by digit.

In practice

1. Export the instructions as Word or a native PDF, source language only.
2. Upload the file: the quote appears at once, based on the exact word count.
3. Read the free extract, ideally a warning or a numbered procedure.
4. Pay, then download the German version in its original format.
5. Check overflow, signal words, on-screen labels and figures.