How to translate a PDF to Chinese, simplified or traditional

Should you pick simplified or traditional Chinese?

LoreAI offers two Chinese targets, and the choice depends on who will read the file. The two scripts share grammar, but many characters look different, and everyday words can differ too.

Mainland China

Chinese (Simplified)

Singapore and Malaysia

Chinese (Simplified)

Taiwan

Chinese (Traditional)

Hong Kong and Macau

Chinese (Traditional)

Not sure

Ask the reader. A file in the wrong script is readable but looks foreign to them.

We translated the same English letter into both. Besides the character forms, the two versions chose different words, as a writer from each place would.

What our English to Chinese test showed

We ran specimen-employment-letter-en.pdf, a scanned one-page US employment verification letter with invented names, into simplified Chinese twice and into traditional Chinese once. The two simplified runs were identical.

Personal names

Michael J. O'Connor and Sarah Whitfield stayed in Latin letters.

Company name

Example Logistics LLC was translated as 示例物流有限责任公司, without the English name next to it.

Street address

The simplified version translated it, as 1200 示例大道，斯普林菲尔德，伊利诺伊州 62704. The traditional version kept it in English.

Written dates

October 15, 2026 became 2026年10月15日.

Numeric dates

03/08/1990 and 10/10/2026 stayed exactly as written.

Salary and times

The annual salary kept its dollar sign and every digit, and 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM stayed as written.

Table

The pay table came back as a Word table with the same rows.

Chinese writes dates year first, so a reader in Beijing or Taipei can take 03/08/1990 for 3 August rather than March 8. Add 1990年3月8日 after it. Put the registered English company name in brackets after the Chinese one, and keep postal addresses in English so mail and records still match.

How to translate a PDF to Chinese with LoreAI

1. Create a free account. Your first document is free, up to 3 pages and 3 MB, with no card.
2. Upload the English PDF. A PDF with text, a scan and a phone photo saved as JPG or PNG all work.
3. Pick Chinese (Simplified) or Chinese (Traditional). LoreAI detects English on its own, so you only choose the target.
4. Download the Word file. Headings, lists and tables keep the order of the PDF.
5. Adjust it for the reader. Spell out numeric dates, add English names in brackets where the reader needs them, and check every number.

Do English names need Chinese characters?

Not always. In our test LoreAI kept English names in Latin letters, which is what an official record should do, because the Latin spelling is the one on the passport. Some readers expect a Chinese transcription as well, such as 迈克尔·奥康纳 for Michael O'Connor. If yours does, add it in brackets after the Latin name, and use the same transcription everywhere.

Transcriptions differ between the mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong. A name or a US place can get a different set of characters in each, as Illinois did in the table above. Ask the reader which form they use.

Sending an English document to mainland China

China joined the Apostille Convention, which entered into force for it on November 7, 2023[1]. A US document for use in mainland China takes an apostille from the competent US authority[2]. The US Embassy adds that an apostille does not guarantee acceptance, and recommends checking format, content, time limit and translation with the receiving party first[2].

So ask the office, school or employer in China how it wants the translation made before you pay for one. LoreAI is not a certified translation service. Its Word file lets you read the Chinese version, share a draft or give a translator a head start.

Questions people ask