How to translate a PDF without copying text into a translator?

You can translate a PDF without copying text into a separate translator in two ways: use the built-in translation feature in a dedicated PDF reader to translate passages as you read, or generate a new translated PDF copy. For checking individual paragraphs while keeping the original in view, PDFgear’s automatic translation of selected text fits your needs.

Translate selected PDF text while reading with PDFgear Desktop

PDFgear’s built-in translation tool lets you translate PDF paragraphs for free on Windows and Mac without switching apps. Once automatic translation is enabled, selecting a passage displays its translation in the right-hand panel beside the open document.

1. Open your PDF in the PDFgear desktop app.
2. Select Tools > Translate.
3. Set the translation language and enable Auto translate selected text.
4. Select the text you want to translate.
5. Read the translation in the right-hand panel alongside the original.

PDFgear lets you translate text from a PDF as you read, making it a practical option when you only need help with a few passages. You can move from one sentence or paragraph to another simply by selecting new text—there is no need to copy, paste, or send a translation request each time. The translation appears separately, leaving the original PDF’s text and layout unchanged.

For example, when reading a PDF from French to English, set English as the target language and select the French passage. If the PDF contains scanned pages with text you cannot select, run OCR first.

Translate an entire PDF online with Google Translate

For a complete translated copy, Google Translate PDF document translation accepts the file directly. This is useful when you want to save or share the translated document rather than check passages individually.

1. Open Google Translate in a desktop browser and select Documents.
2. Choose the source and target languages, or use Detect language for the source.
3. Click Browse your computer and select your PDF.
4. Click Translate.
5. Click Download translation.

This is a free way to translate a PDF online on Windows or Mac. Google Translate accepts PDFs up to 10 MB and 300 pages. Text inside images and scanned PDF pages is not translated through this workflow. Check complex tables and page layouts in the downloaded result.

Translate PDF documents through Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Express

Adobe Acrobat provides a Translate this PDF command that opens the document in Adobe Express. There, you can translate all pages, one page, or specific text. This suits creating a translated document for export, although it takes you out of Acrobat’s reading interface.

1. Open your PDF in Adobe Acrobat.
2. Select Convert > Translate this PDF.
3. When Adobe Express opens, choose the target language.
4. Choose the pages or text to translate, then click Translate.
5. Review the result and download it as a PDF.

An Adobe account is required, and translation access depends on the available plan and usage limits. Scanned, secured, large, or complex PDFs may not translate successfully.

Translate scanned PDFs and choose the right workflow

To translate scanned PDFs, first run OCR if the text cannot be selected. PDFgear can use OCR to recognize scanned text so you can select passages and translate them while reading. Check names, numbers, and technical terms for recognition or translation errors.

For your main task, PDFgear’s automatic selection translation avoids copying text and keeps the original visible. For an entirely copy-free workflow, document translation is the clearer choice, but it produces a separate translated version rather than an instant reading pop-up.

If you need to translate a PDF without losing formatting, distinguish viewing a translation beside the unchanged original from exporting a translated PDF. Viewing translations beside the original preserves the source layout; generating a translated copy can change line lengths, spacing, and page breaks.

Smartcat is more suitable if you want to work through a whole report with the original and translation displayed side by side. It’s a browser-based translation platform rather than an add-on for selecting text inside your existing PDF reader.

Upload the PDF into a translation project, choose the source and target languages, and open it in the translation editor. The extracted content is divided into segments, allowing you to read the source alongside the translated text and correct wording where necessary.

That gives you a more organised comparison than repeatedly pasting paragraphs into a website. However, the editor follows extracted text segments, not necessarily the PDF’s original page layout. Scans require OCR, and recognition quality affects the translation.

For the reading experience you describe, Zotero with the Translate for Zotero add-on is worth considering. Zotero keeps the PDF open, while the add-on provides translation for selected text.

The setup is roughly:

1. Install the free Zotero desktop application and add your PDFs.
2. Download a compatible release of the translation add-on and install its .xpi file through Zotero’s plugin manager.
3. Configure a translation service and target language in the add-on’s settings.
4. Open a PDF in Zotero, select a passage, and use the add-on’s translation action. Read the result in its translation panel alongside the document.

Make sure the add-on release supports your Zotero version. Zotero and the add-on are free, but the translation service you select may require an API key or charge for usage.

This is particularly useful for research papers you want to organise, annotate and revisit. It isn’t an OCR solution: scanned pages need a searchable text layer first.

On a Mac, Bob is a useful way to translate short passages while leaving the PDF open. It’s a translation utility that works across apps, rather than another PDF reader.

Configure a translation service and a selection-translation shortcut in Bob. Then open your report in your usual reader, highlight a paragraph, and press that shortcut. A translation window appears without requiring you to paste the text into a website.

For a scanned passage you can’t select, use Bob’s screenshot-translation shortcut and draw a rectangle around it. OCR extracts the words for translation, which is handy when only a few scanned paragraphs need attention.

It’s primarily a tool for quick passages, not whole-PDF translation. Costs depend on the Bob version or licence and the translation/OCR services you choose; some services require paid API access. Processing may use online services, so don’t assume screenshot translation stays entirely on your Mac.

PyMuPDF + Argos Translate is an option if you want to translate selected passages locally. It requires some Python setup, but once the language model is installed, translation can run offline.

The workflow is:

1. Install both libraries and download an Argos Translate model for your language pair.
2. Use PyMuPDF to extract text from the PDF.
3. Build a small reading window with the extracted text on one side and a translation panel on the other.
4. Pass the selected passage to Argos Translate and display the result alongside it.

This avoids copying text into a website, but it’s a custom development approach, not a ready-made PDF reader. The extracted-text view won’t preserve the original page layout, and scanned pages need OCR first. It’s most useful if privacy matters and you’re comfortable setting up a small local tool.

If you already have Microsoft Word, its selection translator can display a translation beside the document. The catch is that Word converts the PDF into an editable Word document first.

1. Open the PDF in desktop Word and accept the conversion.
2. Select the paragraph you want to understand.
3. Choose Review > Translate > Translate Selection.
4. Read the translation in the Translator pane without replacing the original text.

For the entire document, use Translate Document instead; Word creates a translated copy.

This is practical for reports made mostly of paragraphs. Complex tables, columns and page layouts can change during PDF conversion, so it isn’t ideal if you need to preserve the exact original view. You’ll also need a Word licence and an internet connection for translation.

DeepL’s desktop app is useful when you want to translate a passage without repeatedly opening a website. It isn’t a PDF reader, but it can work alongside the one you already use.

Open your PDF, select a paragraph, and use the translation shortcut configured in DeepL’s settings. The selected text opens in DeepL’s translation window. Keep that window beside the PDF so you can compare the translation with the original.

This works best with PDFs containing selectable text. Image-only scans need OCR before the selection shortcut can pick up their words.

DeepL also supports whole-PDF translation through its file-translation feature. Free access has limits, while paid plans provide higher allowances and additional features. For your usual paragraph-by-paragraph reading, the desktop shortcut is the more convenient starting point. Text is sent to DeepL for translation, so consider that for confidential documents.