# How to translate a Chinese image or document to English

To translate a Chinese image to English, upload the photo or scan, choose English and download an editable Word file. Simplified and traditional characters both work, and names come back in pinyin with the characters in brackets, as in Zhang Weiming [张伟明]. Check every long number against the original, because a skewed photo can lose a digit.

## Can LoreAI read simplified and traditional characters?

LoreAI reads both. Mainland documents use simplified characters, while papers from Taiwan and Hong Kong use traditional ones. It detects the source language from the page without any setting to change.

It matters when you translate the other way. If you need a document in Chinese, LoreAI offers Chinese (Simplified) and Chinese (Traditional) as two separate target languages, so pick the one your reader uses.

## How Chinese names and offices are written in English

- **People**: Written in pinyin, family name first, with the characters in brackets the first time, as in Zhang Weiming [张伟明].
- **Passport spelling**: Names from Hong Kong and Taiwan are often spelled in other systems, such as Cantonese romanization. If the passport says Cheung rather than Zhang, change the Word file to the passport spelling.
- **Offices and schools**: Translated, with the Chinese original in brackets the first time, so a Public Security Bureau or a university can be matched to its seal.
- **Dates**: 2024年3月8日 becomes 8 March 2024. The year, month and day keep their values and take the English order. A date in digits only, such as 2024-03-08, stays as written.
- **ID and record numbers**: Kept digit for digit. A mainland resident ID has 18 digits, and the last one can be the letter X, so count them.

## What our Chinese document test showed

On October 31, 2026, LoreAI ran a set of specimen documents with invented data through the full upload, including a skewed phone photo of a Chinese graduation certificate and a digital PDF of a Chinese police certificate.

On the skewed photo, the 18-digit resident ID came back with its last digit missing. Text recognition lost the digit before translation on every run of that photo. The same kind of number on a digital PDF came through intact. On the police certificate, the long name of a local police station was misread.

Use a scan or the original PDF when you have one. If you take a photo, keep the document flat and photograph it straight on. Check every ID number, certificate number and office name against the original.

## How to translate a Chinese photo to English with LoreAI

1. **Get the sharpest copy you can.** Use a PDF from the issuing office if available. The next best choice is a flatbed scan, followed by a straight-on photo in daylight.
2. **Sign in and upload it.** JPG, PNG and PDF all work. Your first document is free, up to 3 pages.
3. **Choose English.** Leave the source on Auto-detect. Chinese is recognized whether the characters are simplified or traditional.
4. **Download the .docx file.** Seals, letterheads and table cells are translated like the body text.
5. **Check the numbers and names.** Count the digits of every ID number and confirm each pinyin name against the passport.

## Notarial certificates, hukou and USCIS

Chinese civil records for US use are usually notarial certificates (公证书) from a local notary office, and the household register booklet (户口簿, hukou), whose pages list each member of the household. Since November 7, 2023, public documents issued in China that fall under the Apostille Convention need only an apostille from the Foreign Affairs Office before they go to the US, with no consular step[1]. The US Embassy also advises asking the receiver in advance about format, content and translation[1].

For USCIS, each document in Chinese comes with a full English translation that the translator certifies as complete and accurate, and a statement that the translator is competent in both languages[2]. Translate every page the receiver asks for, including the stamps and notes on the hukou pages.

LoreAI is not a certified translation service and does not sign translations. A person who reads Chinese checks its Word file and signs the certification. See [USCIS translation requirements](https://www.loreai.org/uscis-translation) for what the statement covers.

## Questions people ask

### Can I translate a Chinese document to English from a phone photo?

Yes. Upload the JPG or PNG and you get an English Word file. Lay the page flat and photograph it straight on. Skewed photos can lose digits in long numbers.

### Does LoreAI translate traditional Chinese?

Yes. It reads both simplified and traditional characters and detects which one the page uses.

### How are Chinese names written in the translation?

In pinyin, family name first, with the characters in brackets the first time. Change the spelling to match the passport if it differs.

### Is the English translation enough for USCIS?

Only with a translator's certification. USCIS asks for a full English translation certified as complete and accurate by a competent translator[2].

## Sources

1. [U.S. Embassy & Consulates in China: Notarials, authentication process for Chinese documents for use in the U.S.](https://china.usembassy-china.org.cn/services/notarials/), accessed November 2, 2026
2. [8 CFR 103.2(b)(3), Translations, Electronic Code of Federal Regulations](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-8/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-103/subpart-A/section-103.2), accessed November 2, 2026

By Matt Mountain · Updated November 2, 2026