What To Know About Translating English Into Japanese?

With a $5.08 trillion GDP, Japan has one of the strongest economies in the world when it comes to business. Anime/manga, video games, food, electronics, and design are only a few examples of cultural exports from Japan that are popular in Western markets.

There is much to learn about translating English into Japanese, including differences in syntax, cultural preferences, style, and tone. We sought some guidance from our knowledgeable Japanese translators as a result.

1. The common challenges of translating English into Japanese

Japanese characters take up more space

In comparison to English words, a foreign language like Japanese will typically enlarge text:

With a language like Japanese, which doesn’t use the Latin alphabet, this is even more true. Kanji, hiragana, and katakana are three different types of script that are used in Japanese instead.

Additionally, even if the original English sentences only contain the words “they,” “these,” “those,” or “it,” we might need to reword them to clarify what these words actually mean. This can lead to phrases becoming substantially lengthier when paired with double-byte characters.

Japanese is more abstract

The majority of English-speaking viewers prefer succinct, direct phrases. The English language has a propensity for using direct, declarative forms that make the meaning of the statement abundantly plain. Japanese is similarly brief to English, but because of the way the words are combined, it is up to the reader or listener to “get” the meaning of the sentence.

Japanese speakers may find that word-by-word translations sound overly abstract. This is why it’s crucial to keep translation context in mind. In order to give more accurate translations, when translating English into Japanese, you have to be aware of the sort of page or material they are looking at, the page’s objectives, and any notes on the graphics, layout, and design.

Japanese grammar use different

Words are combined differently in other languages than they are in English. Japanese logic differs from English logic in that it frequently omits minor connective words like conjunctions and pronouns. In addition, the word order in Japanese is reversed, so the verb appears at the end rather than at the beginning of the phrase.

The smallest amount of information (such as the subject, pronouns, numbers, or other typical grammatical structures in English) may be found in a phrase in Japanese, making it one of the fastest languages to speak.

Japanese has different norms

Since English is more straightforward than Japanese, standard salutations like “Hello” or “How are you?” work in various contexts. However, there are a number of idioms and salutations used in Japanese that are intended to bring people together. Thus, even if there isn’t an English counterpart in your original text, it’s crucial to incorporate these greetings and expressions in translations.

“おつかれさま(Otsukaresama)” is a typical example of translating English into Japanese in business. It is a way for people to thank one another for their effort. When you first arrive at work, at the end of a long day, to your supervisor or coworkers, or even to your clients on the phone, you might say this. This expression, which roughly translates to “I respect your hard work and commitment,” demonstrates your appreciation for the other person’s effort and dedication.

Japanese is more polite

In Japanese culture, courtesy is essential. While there are honorifics in English that can be used to greet individuals more formally (sir or ma’am, for example), audiences generally anticipate a more relaxed atmosphere between patrons and companies.

Politeness and formality are much more complicated in Japan. In Japanese, politeness is divided into three categories: kudaketa (plain), teinei (simple), and keigo (advanced).

It is crucial to provide context for Japanese viewers in order to ensure that the translation is correct and does not insult them.

The formality that is appropriate for a Japanese audience and the overall tone of your brand must be balanced by translators. Being professional and polite is one of the cultural nuances that are necessary to make your material appear local and natural when translating English into Japanese. 

2. The benefits of translating English into Japanese

Reach more customers

Reaching a larger audience is one of the major benefits of translating English into Japanese for your business. You may establish connections with clients and partners from around the world by having your material translated into several languages. GTE Localize can assist you in growing both your clientele and your revenue. Additionally, translation also demonstrates the dedication of your company to diversity and inclusivity, which can enhance brand recognition and reputation.

Improve understanding

No matter the setting—contract negotiations, marketing initiatives, or customer service—clear and precise communication is essential. Conflict, financial loss, and reputation damage for your company can all result from misunderstandings.

In addition to being linguists, professional translators also serve as cultural brokers. Translating English into Japanese can assist companies in avoiding misunderstandings by effectively communicating ideas in the intended language while taking cultural and linguistic variations into account. It also fosters deeper corporate partnerships by ensuring efficient and effective communication.

Increase engagement

By translating English into Japanese, you can demonstrate to your global clients how much you respect their native tongue and culture. Any successful business needs to be able to engage and trust its audience, which is what translation can do for you. Speaking to your consumers in their own language also demonstrates your understanding of their wants and willingness to go above and beyond to fulfill them. Increased consumer loyalty and repeat business may result from this.

Improve quality 

In order to save time and money while communicating in multiple languages, many businesses occasionally employ free online machine translation services like Google Translate or Reverso. This isn’t a very wise practice, though. When translating English into Japanese, severe errors are frequently introduced into your writing, which can quickly wipe out whatever savings you might have made. The quality of your writing may be improved, your brand image can be polished, and you can be confident that no errors will damage your well-deserved reputation by hiring a competent translation agency to translate your documents from English into Japanese.

Convert leads

The productivity of operations in international markets, which can frequently be profitable for organizations, has lately been predicted by small to medium-sized businesses with the aid of technology. A reputable professional translation agency will assist you in connecting with your customers and can increase your chances of gaining a sizable market share abroad, both of which will boost your company’s growth.

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• 10 Biggest Benefits of Hiring Professional Translation Services
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3. GTE Localize provides the best English into Japanese translation services

Businesses must translate English, Japanese, and other languages into each other in the current fast-paced global economy.

GTE Localize offers competent Japanese translation services, regardless of the subject matter or industry. To guarantee that our customers receive the highest possible translation quality, we promise that translating English into Japanese is carefully chosen and put through a rigorous testing process.

We can use the pre-existing vocabulary and style manual for your business, or we can work with you to develop tools to raise the standard and consistency of translation across projects.

Contact us for more detail!