Acrobat
How to translate a PDF document.
Need to make your PDFs accessible in different languages? Discover how to easily translate PDF documents in just a few simple steps.
Published by Adobe Acrobat Australia on 30 May 2025
Learn how to translate PDF documents so you can share them with anyone, anywhere — no matter what language they speak.
In today’s digital world, working with global teams is increasingly common. Whether it’s a business contract or an academic paper you need to share, ensuring the recipient can read and understand the document is essential.
While PDFs are fixed-format files and converting them into another language might seem challenging, there’s a quick and easy solution. First, convert your PDF to an editable format like Microsoft Word. Then, use a translator to make the necessary changes and convert it back to PDF.
How to convert your PDF.
Before translating your PDF, you first need to convert it into an editable format. This is because PDFs are final-form files, and converting them to a format like Microsoft Word allows you to easily make and save changes.
Converting your PDF into another file format is straightforward once you know how. Just follow these simple steps:
- Open the Adobe Acrobat Convert PDF to Word tool on your browser.
- Click Select a file or drag and drop your PDF directly into the drop zone area.
- Select the file you want to convert.
- After a moment, your file will be ready to download. You can also sign in to edit and share more files.
How to translate the document.
Now that you have an easily editable document, you're ready to start the translation process. You have a couple of options for how to do this.
Use a translator
It’s usually better to get a human being to translate your document — they'll understand the nuances of the language and be able to spot idiomatic expressions that non-native speakers or automated tools might miss.
If you can’t translate it yourself, consider hiring a professional translator, especially if you’re working on detailed and important documents like business contracts. Slight inaccuracies could be very costly in some instances.
If hiring a translator isn’t possible due to budget constraints or the length of your documents, online translation services are a more affordable choice. While not always perfect, these services are improving constantly. If your document is particularly long or too expensive to translate from scratch, you could use an online translator for the initial translation, then have a native-speaking editor proofread and refine the document.
How to convert your document back to PDF.
Once you've translated your document and are happy with the changes, it's time to convert it back to a PDF format. PDFs are widely used because they preserve the layout and formatting of your document, making them ideal for sharing and printing.
Follow these simple steps to convert your translated document back to PDF using Adobe Acrobat:
- Open the Convert to PDF or Word to PDF tool on your browser.
- Click Select a file or drag and drop your document into the drop zone.
- Choose the file you wish to convert.
- After a moment, Adobe Acrobat will convert your page to a PDF ready for you to download. You can also sign in to share the file and save it to your online account.
Translating PDFs. What are the benefits?
For many professionals — from editors and designers to photographers and illustrators — sharing PDFs is a standard practice in collaborative projects. Here are some key benefits of translating and using PDFs:
- Consistency. PDFs mean that “what you see is what you get”, as all formatting, fonts and pictures are embedded and can’t be changed.
- Compatibility. PDFs are easily accessible no matter what operating system stakeholders use.
- Easy to share. For projects that require the input of various international language speakers, PDFs remain the best solution for sharing files.
By choosing PDFs for your translated documents, you can streamline communication and maintain professional standards across all your projects.
Frequently asked questions.
There are many online translators available, each with varying levels of accuracy. You may want to test out a few to discover which one works best for you. DeepL Translator bills itself as the most accurate online, supporting 24 languages. Google Translate is another popular choice, with more than 100 languages available. You can use both to translate up to 500,000 characters a month for free.
Yes, Google Translate allows you to translate entire documents, including PDFs. Simply upload your PDF via the Documents tab in Google Translate, and it will handle the translation without needing to convert your file to an editable format. Once translated, you can download the new PDF.
Translating is a professional skill. Machine translation may not always comprehend idioms in other languages. As such, online translation services are not always accurate or reliable. For these reasons, getting a person to translate your documents is always better if you can’t translate them yourself.
To ensure quality, you can use a combination of online translation tools for initial drafts and then have a native speaker or professional editor review the final document. This approach helps maintain accuracy and cultural relevance.
Yes, but the process involves an extra step. First, use the Adobe Acrobat Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software to convert the scanned PDF into editable text. Once converted, you can use translation tools to translate the text and then save it back as a PDF.
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How to translate a PDF document.
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