Translate a PDF into Japanese and keep the original layout
Upload a PDF whose text can be selected: Manuce removes the original text and places the Japanese translation in the same boxes, with images and background left untouched. You also receive an editable Word version, a formatted PDF and plain text, so a line break or a name written in katakana can be adjusted easily.
What it costs
For a PDF of about 3,000 words (10 pages), into Japanese:
To understand, internal use.
Ready to send, by the general specialist.
Cross-checked. For documents that commit you.
Price for one language, original layout included. VAT not applicable — article 293 B of the French General Tax Code (CGI). The exact quote, based on your file's word count, is shown before you pay.
What Japanese changes in a PDF
Japanese combines three scripts: kanji for meaning, hiragana for grammar and katakana for loanwords and foreign names. “Terms of sale” becomes 販売条件: few characters, but each one fills a full-width square, and there are no spaces between words. Depending on the source language, a Japanese text box may look shorter or noticeably denser than the original.
- Punctuation: commas and full stops become 、 and 。, both full-width; quotation marks are often 「 」.
- Line breaks: with no spaces, a line can break between almost any two characters, but 。 or 、 should never start a line. Worth checking in narrow columns and captions.
- Plurals: there is only one form. “1 file / 3 files” becomes
ファイル1件 / ファイル3件; the number carries the meaning. - Register: business documents use the polite
です／ますforms (keigo). A plain or casual tone reads as careless to a Japanese client.
Fonts, dates, numbers and names
A Latin font such as Helvetica or Garamond contains no kanji. Manuce sets the translation in the original font or an equivalent one, so for Japanese a font able to display these characters takes over. The text will look different, which is expected; what matters is that no character appears as an empty box.
- Dates: year, month, day:
2025年4月1日. Some Japanese official documents use the imperial era (令和7年); check which form suits your reader if the document goes to an authority. - Large numbers: Japanese counts in units of ten thousand, so 30,000 is
3万. Tables usually keep Arabic numerals; running text is where the form may change. - Foreign names: “Smith” is transcribed in katakana (
スミス), while a brand name may stay in Latin letters. Check these names in the free sample, then in the delivered translation. - Writing direction: Japanese can be written vertically, but the translation is placed in the original boxes, left to right.
What Manuce delivers
Manuce reads the PDF block by block, recording each block's position, font, size and colour. The original text is removed and the Japanese translation placed in the same box; images and background stay where they are. If the translation is longer than the original in a given box, the text size is reduced until it fits.
You receive:
- the PDF in its original layout, with the text replaced in place (layout included in the price);
- a Word version with editable text, handy for fixing a katakana name or a line break;
- a formatted PDF;
- plain text.
Japanese carries a surcharge: a ×1.6 coefficient on the per-word rate. The quote, based on the exact word count of your file, appears as soon as you upload it.
What Manuce does not do
- Scanned PDFs: a scanned page is an image; without selectable text, Manuce cannot read it. A contract printed, signed and scanned will not work: use the PDF exported from the source document.
- Certified translation: Manuce does not produce sworn or certified translations. For a visa application, a civil-status certificate or any procedure with a Japanese authority that requires one, use an accredited translator.
- Text inside images: images are left as they are. A diagram whose labels are part of the picture keeps its original labels; only selectable text is translated.
Preparing the PDF and checking the Japanese
- Selectable text: copy a sentence from the PDF into a text editor. If nothing pastes, the file is an image.
- Clean source: start from the PDF exported directly from your word processor or layout software, not a scanned copy.
- Level: Essential is enough to understand a document you have received; for anything sent to a Japanese client or partner, where keigo matters, Professional or Premium is the better fit.
- Free sample: check the register (
です／ます), how proper names and any terms you want left unchanged are rendered, the 、。 punctuation and the date format. - After delivery: look over narrow boxes. Where text has been shrunk to fit, a dense kanji such as
議may become hard to read; adjust that passage in the Word version.
In practice
- Check that the text in your PDF can be selected and copied.
- Upload the file: the quote appears straight away, based on the exact word count.
- Choose a level and read the free sample: register, katakana names, punctuation.
- Pay and receive, within minutes, the re-laid-out PDF, the Word version, the formatted PDF and plain text.
- Review narrow boxes and make any fixes in the Word version.
Frequently asked questions
My PDF is a scan. Can you translate it into Japanese?
No. A scanned PDF is an image of the page with no selectable text, and Manuce cannot read it. You need the PDF exported from the original document, where the text can be copied.
Will the kanji display properly in the translated PDF?
The translation is set in the original font or an equivalent. Since Latin fonts contain no kanji, a font that can display Japanese is used, so the text looks different. Check that no empty boxes appear; the Word version lets you rework any passage.
Will the Japanese text fit in the same frames?
Yes: the translation goes into the same box as the original. If it runs longer, the text size is reduced until it fits. In very narrow frames, check that the kanji remain legible.
Will the translation be accepted for an official procedure in Japan?
Manuce does not produce certified translations. If the authority or organisation requires a translation certified by an accredited translator, you will need to go through one.
Why does Japanese cost more than some other languages?
Japanese is one of the languages with a surcharge, a ×1.6 coefficient on the per-word rate. The exact amount is shown in the quote as soon as you upload the file, before any payment.
The specialist in charge
This subject goes to Atlas, the general specialist. See how it works.
The same file, into another language
Into Japanese, other files
See also
Try it on your own file, free
A sample of your file translated at the level you choose, before any payment. You judge, then you decide.