Chinese image translator: from Chinese photos and supplier images to English

People who search for a Chinese image translator usually want one of two things: to understand what a Chinese label, manual or chat screenshot says, or to turn a supplier's product images into English for their own store. Both start the same way. Upload the image, choose English, and you get a new image with English text in the original layout. What you must check, and which plan you need, are different, so this page treats the two jobs separately.

Two jobs, two sets of rules

Understanding a Chinese label, manual or screenshot

1. Photograph the text flat and well lit, or take a screenshot. Crop to what you need with the crop tool; keep the file at 10 MB or less.
2. Upload it to the image translator. Set the source to Chinese or leave it on auto-detect, and choose English.
3. On a wide screen, pick Technical documentation in the Business type menu for manuals and appliance panels, Default mode for everything else. On a smaller screen, signed-in users can save a default business type in their profile.
4. Read the English version next to the original, starting with numbers and warnings.

For chat screenshots from WeChat or other apps, see the screenshot translator page.

Localizing supplier images from 1688, Taobao or AliExpress

Permission comes first. The rights to a supplier's product photos usually belong to the supplier or the photographer who shot them, not to you. Ask for written permission to use them in your store, and keep the answer. Translating an image does not change who owns it.

Once you have it:

1. Collect the full set: main images, detail images, size chart and spec sheet.
2. Split long detail images into sections at natural breaks, each 10 MB or less.
3. Translate them together. From the Pro plan, batch translation takes up to 10 images per run, each into one or more target languages (50 outputs at most), and returns a ZIP.
4. Review every image with the checklist below. Supplier specs are where a wrong digit costs you returns.
5. Publish. For store-specific steps, see how to translate images on Shopify or the Amazon image translator page.

A translation should only translate what is there. A Chinese certification logo stays a Chinese certification: it does not become a US or EU one. Superlatives common in supplier copy, such as 第一 ("number one") or 最 ("the most"), become claims you may have to back up in your market. Decide whether to keep them.

For a page dedicated to this sourcing workflow, see translate Chinese product images.

Searching for "taobao translate"? Your browser's page translation covers the text of a listing. The text baked into the product images is the part that needs an image translator.

Chinese details that change meaning

Simplified or Traditional characters

Simplified characters are used in mainland China, Singapore and Malaysia, Traditional characters in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. Vocabulary differs too: "software" is usually 软件 on the mainland and 軟體 in Taiwan; "video" is 视频 on the mainland and often 影片 in Taiwan. The uploader has one Chinese option for both scripts.

No spaces between words

Chinese is written without spaces, so the translator has to decide where each word ends. The classic example 南京市长江大桥 is "Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge", but it can also be cut as "Nanjing mayor Jiang Daqiao". Marketplace product titles are often long strings of keywords with no spaces: their English version needs rewriting, not a word-for-word translation.

Large numbers in 万 and 亿

Chinese counts in units of ten thousand. 1万 is 10,000, 2.5万 is 25,000, 1亿 is 100,000,000. A listing badge such as 月销1万+ means 10,000 or more sold in a month. When an amount is converted, count the zeros.

Weights in 斤, prices in ¥

斤 (jin) is a traditional weight unit still used for food and groceries: 500 g on mainland listings and 600 g in Taiwan (Wikipedia, Catty). It is not a pound (about 454 g). On Chinese listings, ¥ means yuan, not yen.

Size charts

Chinese apparel charts usually give measurements in centimeters, and you may see codes such as 170/92A on a top (height and chest in cm, plus a body-type letter; on trousers, the second number is the waist). Letter sizes like M or XL only mean what the chart's measurements say. Translate the table headers and keep every number unchanged.

Brand and product names

小米 is Xiaomi, not "millet", its dictionary meaning. Brands, model numbers and product names should keep their official Latin spelling. A literal translation of a brand name is a classic error to look for.

Checklist for a translated Chinese image

• Specs match digit for digit: voltage, wattage, mAh, dimensions, weights, model numbers.
• 万 and 亿 amounts converted with the right number of zeros; 斤 not turned into pounds.
• Brand names and model numbers unchanged.
• No certification, test result or claim added, removed or upgraded.
• Warnings (注意 caution, 警告 warning, 禁止 prohibited) still present and in the same place.
• Dense spec images read line by line. If small print comes out wrong, try cropping the table into smaller parts.

Limits, and what to use instead

• Handwriting, brush calligraphy and seal stamps (印章) can be misread. Ask a person who reads Chinese.
• Official documents such as diplomas, household registers or notarial certificates usually need a certified translation for official use; check what the receiving agency requires.
• No text export: you get an image, not editable text.
• Manhua (Chinese comics) read and letter differently from product images; use the manhua and webtoon translator.
• Japanese images share many characters with Chinese but mix in kana; use the Japanese image translator.
• English → Chinese: see translate images into Chinese.

Plans and credits are listed on the plans page.