How to translate PDF documents into any language.

Learn how to translate PDF documents so you can share with anyone, anywhere — no matter what language they speak.

If you work in a company with global reach, or have customers all over the world, you will need to update PDF documents in one language so they can be shared. Learn more here about how easy PDF translation can be.

Why translate PDF documents?

Not everyone you work with speaks English, meaning that sometimes you might have to translate your PDFs before you share them. But PDF documents are final form files, which makes them challenging to edit for translation purposes. There’s no automatic PDF translator, either.

However, there is a simple workaround — just convert your PDF to an editable format, like a Word file, first. Not sure how to do this? Use the Adobe Acrobat online tool to quickly convert a PDF to Word. Before converting, review your file and reorder PDF pages if needed. This guide teaches you how to translate a PDF with Acrobat.

Convert your PDF.

1. Open your PDF in Acrobat.
2. Go to the Tools menu and select Export PDF.
3. Select your export format and click Export.
4. Name your file and click Save.

Translate the PDF document.

Now that you have an easily editable document, you can get to translating it. You could use an online translator, but they’re not always entirely reliable. You’ve surely seen examples of particularly silly online translator mistakes.

It’s better to get a human being to translate your document. If you can’t do it yourself, consider hiring a professional translation service, especially if you’re working on detailed documents like business contracts.

Can Adobe translate a PDF?

Although Adobe can’t translate a PDF directly since its format is final, you can easily convert the PDF to a Word doc so that it is ready for translation. You can also have a human translator or other translation tool handle the process itself. You can read the guide below to learn how to translate a PDF using Google Translate.

How to translate a PDF in Google Translate.

If you have a PDF file such as an eBook or a document from a foreign client that you would like to translate to your native language, the best way to do that is using a human translator. However, if you need to use something online, you can follow these instructions to translate a PDF file in Google Translate.

1. Access the Translate Document tool.
2. Choose the language you would like to translate from and to. If you’re not sure what language your PDF file is in, you can set the input language to “Detect language.”
3. Click Choose File and then the blue Translate button.
4. Google will then translate the text.
5. You will get a pop-up with the PDF file translated.

Convert your document back to a PDF file.

Converting your Word doc back to a PDF is easy. You can also use our tool to help you convert Word to PDF to help preserve the quality.

Once you’ve completed the translation, you can convert your document back to PDF with Acrobat.

1. Open Acrobat.
2. Open the Tools menu and select Create PDF.
3. Select your document and click Create.
4. Save your newly converted PDF.

Discover all the ways Acrobat can help you work on your PDF documents and more.