Translate Japanese to English, whole files at once
Read the first chapter in English before paying. Omitted subjects are restored from context, and you decide once whether honorifics like -san stay in the English text.
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Read the first chapter in the new language before you decide.
At a glance. Japanese to English
- $22.50 for a 90,000-word novel
- Chapter one is free
- United States, United Kingdom, or Australia
- Chapters, footnotes, images and styles
One glossary for the whole file. Names read the same in English on every page.
Pick a name to find it in both versions.
フェリーが止まった朝、マーラ・エリソンはランタン埠頭を端から端まで歩き、出航できない船を数えた。十一隻。霧の向こうのどこかで、潮守りたちもまた数えていた。
On the morning the ferries stopped, Mara Ellison walked the length of the Lantern Quay and counted the boats that would not leave. Eleven. Somewhere behind the fog, the Tidewardens were counting too.
English takes 87% more characters than Japanese. Measured on our sample.
| Measure | Japanese | English |
|---|---|---|
| Characters, without spaces | 207 | 388 |
Japanese is written without spaces between words, so the comparison counts characters.
You pay for the words of the Japanese original, not for the length of the translation.
What changes in English. Handled for you, adjustable before you pay.
- Omitted subjects are restored from context so English sentences stay clear.
- Honorifics such as -san can be kept or dropped; set it once in the glossary.
- Sound effects and onomatopoeia become English words instead of romaji.
- Japanese quotation brackets become English quotation marks, and dialogue split across lines is joined back into sentences.
What a book costs. Pick an example or set your word count.
Free preview: chapter one. No account or card needed.
Questions. Short answers.
How much does it cost to translate a book from Japanese to English?
A one-off translation costs $0.25 per 1,000 words for reading or $0.60 with glossary, style guide and review. A 90,000-word novel is $54 in Publish mode. You see the exact price before paying.
Will names stay the same in the English translation?
Yes. The whole file is read first and every person, place and invented word gets one English form. You can change any of them before translation starts.
Will honorifics like -san stay?
Your choice. Keep them for anime and light-novel readers or drop them for a general audience; the glossary applies it to every chapter.
Which name order is used in English?
Choose family name first or given name first once in the glossary, and every chapter follows it.
More language pairs. Same file, other languages.
Every format you work with. Layout kept in each one.
Japanese to English translation: honorifics, names and sound effects
Keep -san or drop it
Honorifics carry relationships that English expresses differently. Readers of manga and light novels often want -san, -kun and -senpai kept. A general audience usually reads more easily without them. Both are valid, and the choice belongs to you, not to the translator.
Set it once in the glossary. Every chapter then follows the same rule, so a character is not Tanaka-san on page 10 and Mr. Tanaka on page 200.
Read the full guideHide the guide
Family name first or given name first
Japanese puts the family name first. English-language publishers used to reverse it, and many now keep the Japanese order. Pick one in the glossary. The order applies to every name in the book, including names that appear only once.
Sentences without a subject
Japanese often leaves out who does what when the context makes it clear. English cannot. The translation fills in the subject from the surrounding scene, and where the original is deliberately vague, a review note marks it.
Onomatopoeia in English
Japanese has words for the sound of rain starting, of someone staring, of a stomach growling. Romaji like zaa-zaa means nothing to most English readers. The translation turns sound effects into English words or into the verb itself: the rain hammered, she stared.
Brackets, line breaks and dialogue
Japanese quotation brackets become English quotation marks. Dialogue that a Japanese layout splits across short lines is joined back into sentences, so the English page reads like an English book rather than a transcript.
Titles, ranks and family terms
Words like sensei, senpai and onii-chan sit between a name and a title. With honorifics kept, they stay as they are. With honorifics dropped, they become teacher, the character’s name or simply brother, depending on how the word works in the scene.
Choosing the English for your readers
There are three English targets: American, British and Australian. Light novels for the US market usually use American spelling, while a UK publisher will expect British spelling and often single quotation marks. Choose one and the whole book follows it.
How the price works for Japanese files
Japanese has no spaces between words, so the word count comes from the analysis step and is shown on the first screen before you pay. The rate is the same as for any language: $0.25 per 1,000 words in Read mode and $0.60 in Publish mode, with minimums of $3 and $9.