Japanese - English translation

Bringing Japanese messages into clear English

Supply participants only when you can identify them

Japanese correspondence frequently leaves the person doing an action, or the thing being discussed, to shared understanding. English usually needs those participants stated more explicitly. The most important check is therefore not whether each Japanese word has an English equivalent, but whether the English subject and object name the correct people and things.

‘送りました’ (okurimashita) can mean ‘I sent it’ in a conversation about a document you promised to send. The Japanese fragment alone does not identify ‘I’ or ‘it’. A different conversation could require another subject or object. When translating a forwarded message, include the sentence naming the sender and the document, then remove any unnecessary repetition from the finished English. Do not accept a guessed gender or a new person simply because the result sounds fluent.

Use English order to make the responsibility visible

Japanese particles and clause structure do work that English readers often expect word order to do. Translating a sentence piece by piece can leave a long description in front of an English noun, followed by an action whose subject is difficult to find. Break out the central statement first: the person, the action and its object.

This is particularly useful for descriptions of people or products. A Japanese clause identifying which person you mean may become an English relative clause after the noun. Keep the identifying detail, but check that it modifies the intended person rather than the nearest convenient English word. In a support email, confusing the person who bought a product with the person who repaired it changes responsibility even when every individual term has been translated.

Read the time word before choosing present or future

Japanese non-past forms can refer to current circumstances, habits or future events. English may require a different construction for each. A translation that chooses the simple present solely from the Japanese ending can turn a one-off arrangement into a routine.

For example, ‘来週会います’ (raishū aimasu) can mean ‘We will meet next week’ when the participants have already been established. The week reference helps determine the English tense; it does not establish who will meet. For a calendar invitation, make both pieces explicit. For a repeated activity, retain words meaning every week or usually so the English reader can distinguish a schedule from a newly arranged meeting.

Make an instruction sound like the intended instruction

‘少し待ってください’ (sukoshi matte kudasai) can be translated as ‘Please wait a moment.’ An English recipient does not need a word-for-word rendering of the request ending. They need the action and an appropriate level of courtesy. Keep a straightforward service instruction straightforward rather than piling several English politeness formulas into the same sentence.

At the same time, do not erase the distinction between a request, permission and a question about ability. A Japanese reply may be answering the previous turn rather than introducing a new action. Read the question together with its response before deciding whether English should say that someone will act, can act or is asking another person to act. That final check is especially valuable in short workplace chats, where omitted participants are easy to assign incorrectly.