I have a PDF document written in Hindi and I need to get it into English for a submission due this week. It’s about 12 pages, and I’m on my Windows laptop, so how do I translate the whole thing without messing up the layout?
I had the same problem with a scanned document, and Google Translate’s document upload worked best for a quick first draft. If the Hindi text cannot be selected, run OCR first, then translate the PDF and check the English carefully since the layout may shift and names or official terms can need correction.
The simplest way without extra software is using Google Translate in a browser:
- Open Google Translate and click the Documents tab.
- Upload your Hindi PDF and set the target language to English.
- Click Translate and download the new file.
It usually does a decent job keeping the original formatting intact.
If it’s mostly text, try copying it into Google Translate’s document option, it keeps things fairly readable even if not perfect layout. For 12 pages you might need to go section by section. Are you on Word too, or just the PDF itself?
First check whether the Hindi text is selectable. If it is, I usually copy it into Word, use its Translate feature, then save a separate English copy as PDF.
If it’s scanned pages, run OCR first and proofread names, dates, and numbers carefully. For a submission, I’d keep the original layout as a reference, since automatic translation can shift tables and formatting.
Had a similar job last month, and Word kept the layout reasonably well. If the PDF is scanned, run OCR in PDF Suite or Acrobat first, then export it to Word and use Review > Translate > Translate Document, choosing Hindi to English. Check tables, page breaks, names and dates carefully, then save back to PDF. For an official submission, I would also ask whether they require a certified translation.
Simplest thing first: Word on Windows can open a PDF, then Review > Translate > Translate Document gives you a rough English copy. Expect the layout to shift, since English runs longer than Hindi, so budget time for tidying things up. For a 12 page submission, keep a backup of the original PDF and check every page before sending.
PDFcap is the easiest I use on Windows. Open the PDF there, grab the Hindi text in bits with the select tool, translate those, and drop them back in. That keeps the layout from going totally sideways on 12 pages. Avoid those sites that want an account first, they usually mess everything up. Not sure how well it does with Hindi script though.
honestly the easiest way is google translate’s document upload, you drop the pdf in and pick hindi to english and it gives you a translated doc back. layout can shift a bit but for a 12 page file it’s usually decent. if it’s a scanned pdf you’ll need to run it through an ocr tool first.
@distracted_hunter That manual method is one way to go. When I had to translate French papers for my thesis, my old laptop struggled to run heavy tasks. I just uploaded the files to Google Drive and opened them as Google Docs to translate everything at once. The formatting shifted and ruined my page numbers, but I got the English text I needed.
@distracted_hunter honestly doing it in bits is smart but to be fair i never have time for that with menu updates. i usually just open it in word to translate everything at once and fix the messy formatting later.
@godTitan word’s fine but don’t sleep on OCR first if any of those pages were scanned, otherwise the translate feature just garbles it. Fwiw I always duplicate the original PDF before touching anything, saved me more than once when formatting went sideways on 12+ pages.
@raptorsfan good call on the duplicate, I learned that the hard way after flattening a scanned file I couldn’t get back. My old laptop used to choke on OCR mid-file too, so I work on a copy every single time now.