Translate Japanese PDFs — with the original in view
Scanned contracts, manuals, letters or forms: OCR reads the Japanese (vertical or horizontal), AI translates it block by block, and every translated passage stays linked to its exact spot in the original — so a translation you rely on is a translation you can check.
How it works
- 1
Upload the Japanese PDF or photo — scans and phone shots both work.
- 2
OCR extracts the Japanese text with positions; AI translation renders each block into English (or any of 24 target languages).
- 3
Read side by side — click a translated block to highlight the source region — then export a bilingual document or the translation alone.
Why OhMyOCR
Block-level source linking
Every translated block points back to its region in the original page. Names, numbers and dates can be verified against the source in one click.
Handles scans, not just digital PDFs
Photographed and scanned Japanese documents go through OCR first — no text layer required.
Inline or separate translation view
Show translations inline under each block or as a parallel column; either way the original never leaves the screen.
Fair character-based pricing
Translation is metered by actual characters against a separate monthly allowance — a dense page costs what it contains, not a flat premium.
Why “translate this PDF” needs OCR first — and proof after
Most Japanese documents that need translating are scans: contracts faxed decades ago, manuals photographed on a shop floor, family letters. Text-only translators cannot touch them, and pipeline tools that OCR-then-translate in one opaque step leave you with English you cannot verify — was that date in the source, or did the model improvise it?
OhMyOCR keeps the chain inspectable. OCR extracts the Japanese with per-block positions (vertical and horizontal layouts both), translation runs block by block, and every English passage stays linked to its region on the original page. Click a translated clause and the source lights up — names, figures and dates can be checked against the actual document in one glance.
Working bilingually, exporting bilingually
Read inline (translation under each block) or side-by-side; either way the original never leaves the screen. Corrections you make to the OCR text feed the translation, and translations are cached per block — revisiting a document does not re-bill it.
Exports include bilingual documents (original + translation) or the translation alone, as Markdown or Word (.docx). Pricing is by actual volume: parsing costs 1 credit per page, and translation is metered by actual characters against a separate monthly allowance — a dense contract page costs what it contains, and the free monthly credits and translation characters are enough to try a real page.
Frequently asked questions
Can it translate scanned Japanese documents?
Yes. OCR reads the scan first (vertical and horizontal layouts included), then AI translates block by block with the original kept alongside.
How accurate is Japanese OCR + translation?
OCR on printed Japanese is strong; translation quality is that of modern large language models. The differentiator is verifiability — every block links to the source, so you can confirm critical names and figures instead of trusting blindly.
Which languages can I translate to?
24 target languages — English, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Japanese, Korean, Spanish, French, German, Arabic, Hindi and more. The workflow is the same for Chinese, Korean and other source documents too.
Can I export a bilingual version?
Yes — export with translations included (original + translation) or the translation alone, as Markdown or Word (.docx).
What does it cost?
Parsing costs 1 credit per page; translation draws from a separate monthly translation-character allowance. Free monthly credits include enough to try it.
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Try it on your own file
Free to start, no credit card, results you can verify line by line.
Get started — free