English to Japanese Translator

Free English to Japanese translation, plus the Japanese grammar that trips up English speakers.

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What changes when you translate English to Japanese

Translating English into Japanese changes more than the words. Japanese places the verb at the end of the sentence, marks grammar with particles rather than word order, and encodes politeness levels (keigo) directly in the grammar. Japanese routinely omits subjects and encodes politeness in verb forms, so the translator must infer who is speaking to whom and choose an appropriate register. A word-for-word tool gets the vocabulary right and these things wrong, which is why the translator above reads the whole sentence before it writes anything.

English and Japanese: key differences

English and Japanese diverge on the writing system, word order, formality, subject pronouns, and articles. Each row below is a place where swapping words one for one produces the wrong Japanese sentence.

Feature	English	Japanese
Writing system	the Latin alphabet	a mix of kanji with hiragana and katakana
Typical word order	subject–verb–object	subject–object–verb
Formality	no formal/informal distinction	multiple speech levels (だ / です・ます / 尊敬語)
Subject pronouns	required	usually dropped
Articles	definite and indefinite	no articles

English to Japanese example sentences

Full sentences translated from English to Japanese:

English	Japanese
Thank you for taking the time to meet with us today.	本日はお時間をいただき、ありがとうございます。 Opening a business meeting · formal — Polite formula with the participants omitted because context supplies them
Please remove your shoes before entering.	入る前に靴を脱いでください。 Instruction at an entrance · neutral — Verb-final restructuring and a natural request with ください
Have you eaten yet?	もうご飯食べた？ Casual conversation with a friend · informal — Plain past form functions as a completed-action question; subject and particle are omitted
Please reserve a table for three people.	3名でテーブルを予約してください。 Restaurant booking instruction · neutral — The counter 名 marks people in a booking context
My older sister gave me this book.	姉がこの本をくれました。 Explaining where an item came from · neutral — くれる encodes giving toward the speaker, and 姉 is used for one's own older sister
Would you like some tea?	お茶はいかがですか？ Polite offer to a guest · formal — Conventional offer that should not be translated word for word
I will contact you again after I have confirmed the schedule.	日程を確認してから、改めてご連絡いたします。 Business email update · formal — てから fixes event order; ご連絡いたします is a humble business expression

Common English to Japanese phrases

Everyday expressions translated from English to Japanese:

English	Japanese (日本語)
Hello	こんにちは (konnichiwa)
Good night	おやすみなさい (oyasuminasai)
Thank you	ありがとう (arigatō)
Please	お願いします (onegai shimasu)
How are you?	お元気ですか？(o-genki desu ka?)
What is your name?	お名前は何ですか？(o-namae wa nan desu ka?)
I love you	愛してる (aishiteru)
Excuse me	すみません (sumimasen)
Where is the bathroom?	トイレはどこですか？(toire wa doko desu ka?)
Goodbye	さようなら (sayōnara)

About the Japanese language

Japanese (日本語) is spoken by about 125 million people across Japan. It belongs to the Japonic language family and is written in a mix of kanji with hiragana and katakana.

Native name: 日本語
Speakers: 125 million
Language family: Japonic
Writing system: a mix of kanji with hiragana and katakana
Word order: subject–object–verb

English to Japanese translation tips

English uses subject–verb–object word order, while Japanese is subject–object–verb, so the AI restructures whole sentences instead of substituting words one by one.
English is written in the Latin alphabet, and Japanese uses a mix of kanji with hiragana and katakana, so the translator converts between writing systems for you.
Select the relationship and setting before translating. Plain forms suit close relationships, です・ます forms are polite, and business situations may require respectful or humble expressions.
Japanese commonly omits subjects and objects that are recoverable from context. Repeating every English pronoun can make a translation unnatural or change the emphasis.
Predicates normally come at the end, while particles mark grammatical roles. Preserve the logical relationship rather than copying English word order.
Ordinary Japanese combines kanji, hiragana and katakana. Romanization is a reading aid, not a substitute for native-script output.

English to Japanese translation FAQ

How accurate is AI English to Japanese translation?

The translator uses a modern AI language model that understands context, so English to Japanese results read more naturally than word-for-word tools. For legal, medical, or other high-stakes text, have a fluent speaker review the output.

How do you say hello in Japanese?

Hello in Japanese is こんにちは (konnichiwa). The common-phrases table on this page lists more everyday Japanese expressions, such as ありがとう (arigatō) (thank you) and さようなら (sayōnara) (goodbye).

Can the translator use more formal or casual Japanese?

State who is speaking to whom and where. Then check that plain forms, です・ます forms, and honorific or humble expressions are not mixed accidentally.

Why does the Japanese translation sometimes drop 'I' or 'you'?

Japanese often leaves recoverable participants unstated. Add the subject only when context would otherwise make the translation ambiguous.

Sources

The language facts and grammar notes on this page are checked against these references.

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