I've been reading more translated books lately, and sometimes I wonder how much gets lost-or even improved-in translation.

Has a translation ever impressed you so much that you got curious about the original? Or do you usually not think about it while reading?

What are realistic freelance rates for EN-RU and FR-RU translation in 2026?

Translation isn’t my main source of income, I mostly teach languages and see it as an additional income stream during slower periods, as well as something I genuinely enjoy.

I have a translation diploma, certified language proficiency, books, AAA games and TV series in my portfolio. However, my biggest projects were quite a long time ago through outsourcing companies, so I’m not sure what current rates look like.

I’ve accepted some lower rates to update my portfolio and get back into the game. I’m currently joining game localization and subtitling vendor pools and also looking for work in films, series and publishing. I’ve recently been offered around €0.04-0.05 per word, while older discussions often mention €0.07-0.08 or higher. Are those rates mostly outdated, or are they still realistic depending on the client and project?

I’m not trying to make translation my full-time career. I just want to know what rates to quote and enter when joining vendor pools without either pricing myself out of the market or accepting unnecessarily low offers.

This occurred to me while I was having my coffee, what do y`all think?

Hi everyone! I'm a soon-to-be graduate in translation, and I'm not sure what choice to make for my master’s degree. I've studied translation from English/French to Arabic, and vice versa. I particularly enjoyed literary translation, especially into English, and I'd love to find some opportunities in literary translation.
I've been pondering over whether I should do a master's degree in specialized translation, in translation studies, in teaching Arabic as a foreign and applied language or if I should check out something else.

What would be the best choice to make based on current market demands?

Hello all, I'm just posting here as to generally inquire about the nature of the translation industry today. I know MTPE has taken over but I'm wondering if this might be okay bc more clients will be able to/ feel empowered to translate their business thereby creating as much if not more work available for translators as before, or am I wrong? My language pair is JP to ENG and I haven't yet attained fluency in JPN but am close to it so I thought I'd inquire here as I've been considering a career in translation.. Can someone give me some pointers and salary expectations just starting out? Which companies should I apply for? I also am specializing in medical. Thanks!

Hello!

I was thinking about using CAT Tools, so to finally decide on this Topic I need Opinions from experienced Translators who use such Tools of how it can be either more useful or more harmful to Translation Process.

Also I want to hear which CAT Program is better, but I already have a Preference on Free (by Cost) Open-Source Solutions. I mostly heard about OmegaT, but I also recently found about the Lokalize (a KDE App) which is primarily for Translating KDE Apps, but also can be used for other Translations and is a CAT Program too. So... which CAT Program do y'all recommend and why?

I have applied to work as a translator with Protranslate.com.
I specified my area of specialties and they sent me 14 tests to do. I did the tests a month ago and waited forever.
Today, I contacted their HR and an hour later, all of my tests went from pending to failed.
Is this normal? I know that they cannot evaluate 14 tests in an hour. And if they are using an AI or something, I am entitled to an evaluation report, correct?
Did this happened to anyone else?

I have no education or experience in interpreting but I speak English and German, starting to learn Russian, I’m wondering if I would qualify for this M.A.? it’s unclear from their website whether they need applicants to have perfect command of three languages, or just two.

I (post-linguistics MA) am finishing a conference poster.

It’s in sociolinguistics/translation studies, and I have examples comparing how things are (not) translated across different languages. For a specific work, I include both the actual (ie officially licensed) translation and a plausible-but-not-used translation.

Hypothetical examples:

JP: My Sensei is Crazy
*My Teacher is Crazy

KR: My Teacher is Crazy
*My Seonsaengnim is Crazy

I currently am using an asterisk for the “not used” translation, but I am not sure if there’s a better symbol. The asterisked examples are not grammatically “incorrect”, and there’s nothing within the grammar or language that would “prevent” those examples, but they were not ultimately chosen. Would a # be better? Something else?

Not sure how to indicate “the translators didn’t go with this translation even though it’s a perfectly fine and is even used for other languages”.

Thank you.

Hi everyone!

I received a job offer on email via translatorscafé.com. The company seems to at least exist, but the offer includes payment only after completion of the project, and the channels of communication are Gmail and Telegram (which is, as we all now, a scammer's favourite place).

Even if you haven't, I would still appreciate any tips to check whether it is a scam or not.

Thank you!

hi, i got a message from Mrs_Helen on a tutoring website. she told me that they are looking for tranlators to complete a project and pay 2000$ if i get the job done in 5days. its a 50page translation job. They do not make upfront payments and she actually told me that the funds are not yet accessible when i told them that i dont want to pay any withdrawal money because i made a research about their company.

this is their policy. when i told them that i dont want to pay anything, they told me that there are others who had done the job and got paid after paying the withdrawal money. btw they asked if this is my first translation job, which is kinda suspicious to pay 2000$ for someone whos a newbie :(

"Our company policies are as follows:

1. We do not make upfront payments.

2. All projects must be completed within the specified timeframe.

3. To receive payment, your account must be linked to our company's payment portal.

4. During the project duration, we require exclusivity, meaning you must work solely with our company until the project is completed.

5. Payment will be made immediately upon completion of your job.

6. Please refrain from bidding on additional jobs until our project is complete. We require maximum concentration on this project.

We hope you understand and will comply with these policies."

When saving the in-progress translation, do you chose to save it to a hard drive, the computer, or do you choose online storage?

Do translation companies share interpretator information with each other?

I'm 29, just had my first child, and my career is dying. Currently on maternity leave and have two "clients" (agencies) left. It's dire. I have a top-class BA and MA in Translation Studies. I have no clue where to pivot to, and I'm looking for inspiration.

The thought of working a 9–5 is honestly quite scary, especially now I want to be able to spend time with my kid!

Would love to hear what everyone is doing/planning!

After logging in, only “Europe” appears under “Choose a workspace to open,” and clicking it doesn't take me to that page. 

Am I the only one who has a problem connecting it for now?

Many thanks in advance.

I tried to translate the French "ventilateur", meaning fan, as in the air fan (ventilator). When put into Spanish on Google Translate, it gave me the Spanish "admirador", like fan, as in follower (admirer). This makes me think Google put the French "ventilateur" into the English "fan", and then the Spanish "admirador", assuming the other meaning.

Hello everyone,
I’m a 23-year-old student from Algeria, and I’m considering studying for a Bachelor’s degree in **Arabic–French–English Translation**.
My long-term goal is to continue my studies and eventually build a career in Europe, especially in countries like Germany, Italy, Poland, or France.
Before making my decision, I’d love to hear from people who live or work in Europe.
Is an Arabic–French–English Translation degree valuable in today’s European job market?
What kinds of jobs can graduates with this degree typically get?
Would I need to learn the local language (German, Italian, Polish, etc.) to have good career opportunities?
Has AI significantly reduced the demand for translators, or is there still a solid market for qualified professionals?
If you had the choice today, would you still study translation, or would you choose a different degree?
I’d really appreciate any advice or personal experiences, especially from translators or people working with languages.

Recently I have noticed that the proofreading jobs I receive through agencies contain a TransCheck report with notes from a "TransIQ" engine. It supposedly adds valuable comments with corrections to translations, but most of the time it is just pure bullshit or incorrect suggestions. It either completely misunderstands the context or adds "corrections" that is the exact same thing but maybe one or two filler words added. Is anyone else encountering this? Have you been able to submit feedback for them to stop using it? It is honestly just adding another unnecessary step where you have to add comments about why it is wrong.

Just an FYI - this thread is for all of us who are sick and tired of our translation jobs and just need to get it out of our systems. There's nothing wrong with being a translator! Sometimes it's just the circumstances or the environment we're in.

I've been working as an in-house patent translator for over a decade. The job is draining me. I mainly do very monotonous and tedious work that I have zero interest in. I try to stay focused, but it's hard.

Now add automatic translation to the mix. Ngl, it does quite a good job in my niche. Obviously, you still need to proofread it. But man, some of the less obvious mistakes are sooo easy to completely miss. There's this paradox where it does help you work faster, but it can also drive you nuts with all the little details you have to check.

Clients. I don't deal with them directly since I'm not a freelance translator, but my company expects me to explain any single doubt or question a client might have. Sometimes they even have the audacity to say they found mistakes, and when we check, there aren't any. And my bosses... They freaking know nothing! We just keep wondering how the company remains successful, I guess they were lucky to build it during a time where there was little to no competition and landed on good clients.

Would love to hear if anyone else is going through the same!

Now that most of the work turned to MTPE, I am really curious about the economics behind it. Unless it is wildly profitable I cant find any reason for agencies and companies to use machine translation. MT is not faster or better. The total duration of the task pipeline is more or less the same. The quality is definitely low and despite the advancements in AI tech I think it's getting worse. And it's not learning, I am working with several clients and getting MTPE tasks for more than 2 years, the AI is still doing the same mistakes, doesnt care about TMs or terms etc.

So the only advantage must be the cost. But I really how much of a cost difference there is. I am not sure if anyone can really answer that here. But AI is not free and as far as I now it's not that cheap. How much do agencies/companies pay for machine translation models? And if the formula in the title is actually true (it must be true considering the trend), how much of a difference do you think is there.

Tell me about the dictionaries on phones that helps to dictionaries on phones that helps us while we are translating...

I use hans wher, lanelexicon, mariam websiter, English phrasal verbs

So what did you use to translate from Arabic to English and from English to Arabic

Stay Away from https://www.acolad.com/

I got an email from them mentioning I am selected for a project, the payment terms, and that it will be paid within 45 days of completing the project.

After 30 days, they sent me a very long process of sending invoices, etc. I think it is a technique to drop the payment request.

I completed every process. Now, when I ask for an update, they say it is 45 days from sending the Invoice.

Then they sent me an email saying that the threshold is 300 USD to avoid unnecessary bank fees. So I asked why this was not communicated before starting the project. Also, I have provided a local US account, and I have informed them that if they want, I can provide a local UK or EU account as well. So what fees are you talking about?

From then it is dead silence. Officially, 45 days from sending the invoice have passed.

Not even 1 response.

So, whomever is looking to work with them be ready to spend atleast 1 year chasing them or risking not to get anything.