Many people naively believe there is a one-to-one correspondence between word meanings in different languages, and that translation is a […]
Category: Japanese
Japanese words that can often be omitted
A fundamental rule of translation is “never omit anything.” Technically speaking, translators strive for a one-to-one correspondence between basic abstract […]
Getting better at translating Japanese
The best way to get better at the craft of translating Japanese is to learn from more experienced translators. There […]
Nine Japanese words that beginners often mistranslate
The number one mistake beginning translators make is to translate too literally by relying on the one “standard” translation of […]
Reviewing patent translations requires specialized knowledge
Last week a new client sent us an external review of one our sample patent translations. The reviewer was a […]
Katakana technical terms to watch out for
The Japanese katakana syllabary is commonly used for English loanwords, and figuring out the meaning of a katakana technical term […]
Common alphabetic abbreviations used in Japanese
During our ten years of translating Japanese business and technical documents, we’ve kept track of the most common Latin alphabet […]
Sensible and not-so-sensible rules for patent language
Some clients (especially in Japan) have developed specific rules they impose on the language used in patent translations. Some of […]
English 
日本語 
