Translate PDF to English: a letter in a language you can't read

A readable first version in the language you choose, which is enough to learn what a letter is about and what it asks you to do. With Translate PDF you add the file, pick a target language and the translation streams in. It keeps headings and lists. It doesn't keep the page layout.

Say a Polish letter from a tax office arrives, or a German letter from your health insurer. These are examples, not real letters. You can't tell if it's a routine notice or something with a deadline. A model can turn it into English in under a minute, and then you know whether to relax or act.

The tool reads the text layer of the PDF, so the file has to be a text PDF: you can select and copy words in it. Everything below assumes that, and there's a section near the end on what to do when you can't.

Into the app language, or any of 12 listed languages: English, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), German, French, Italian, Polish, Ukrainian, Turkish, Chinese and Japanese. The source language isn't a setting. The model works out what the letter is written in.

The layout is not kept. Headings and lists survive, but columns, boxes, letterheads and the position of a stamp don't. A letter with a table of charges can come back as plain lines, so read amounts next to their labels. If the exact look of the page matters, keep the original beside the translation.

The default model, Claude Haiku 4.5, costs 5 Gems per message, shown before you run it. New accounts start with 30 Gems.

• Check that you can select text in the PDF. If not, skip to the last section.
• Open the tool and add the file. The app may ask you to sign in first.
• Choose the target language, for example English.
• Run it and read the translation as it streams in.
• For a longer file, repeat with the next page range.

The file goes to the model provider you picked, so think about it before you add a letter with a medical or tax reference on it. Some people prefer to translate only the pages that matter and leave the rest.

One answer is capped at about 1,500 words (2,048 tokens; on the free plan, smart models get 1,024). A two-page letter fits. A 14-page policy update doesn't, and the translation would simply stop.

So work in ranges: pages 1-5, then 6-10, then 11-14. The tool cuts the range out on your device before sending it, so only those pages leave. To prepare a separate file yourself, Split PDF cuts one PDF into pieces in your browser and uploads nothing.

For the next range, say what the previous one ended with, so the model keeps the same names and terms. Each range is its own message at 5 Gems.

Translate first when you want the whole text in front of you, and when you might forward it to someone or read it twice. A translation is a document you can check line by line.

Ask directly when you have a narrow question, such as "what is the deadline, and who do I reply to?". A model can answer that from the original without translating everything. It's cheaper for one fact, but you can't see how it got there.

A good middle path is to translate, then ask questions about the translation, or run Explain PDF on the original for what the letter is, what it asks of you, and which numbers and dates matter. Explain isn't legal advice, and the tool says so. If you need a refresher on asking follow-ups, how to chat with a PDF covers it.

Dates, amounts, names and reference numbers. Always these, because one wrong digit changes the meaning and a translation can look perfectly fluent while it's wrong.

• Dates. Check the day and month order, and any deadline. 03.04 may mean 3 April.
• Amounts. Compare each figure with the original, including the decimal mark and the currency.
• Names and reference numbers. Copy them from the original, not the translation. They shouldn't change at all.
• Small words. "Must", "may", "unless" and "no later than" decide what the letter demands.

You don't need to know the language to do this, since numbers and names look the same. Put the two versions side by side and compare them character by character.

A phone photo or a scan has no text layer, and there's no OCR in the tool, so you'll see "No text found" and the model can't read it. Two ways out. Ask the sender for a text PDF, which many tax offices and insurers can provide through their portal or by email. Or retype the key lines, such as the deadline, the amount and the reference, into a normal chat and ask for a translation of just those.

Some situations need more than a model output. Courts, immigration offices and universities often want a certified translation from a qualified translator. A model translation is useful for understanding a document and for preparing questions, but it isn't a substitute. Check what the receiving office accepts before you submit anything.