The Nitty-Gritty on Figuring Word Counts for Translation

All right, folks, here are a few thoughts on word counts. While in different countries people charge for translation by line, by page or by hour, the US standard unit is one word. When you send a text for translation we will quote you a price per word. So where do we go from here?

First, let’s understand the importance of original vs. target word count. Customarily, we establish that as much as possible, we will go with the target word count of the original. It is really the only way to make sure we can give you a precise quote. As you might know, translation frequently ends up being longer than the original; Spanish, as well as other Romance languages, is 20-30% longer than English. On the other hand, character-based languages like Chinese might use one character to express an entire phrase. Using the original word count allows us to be fair and predictable.

Second, you need to understand what tool we will use to figure out your word count. If the word count is “countable”, for instance a Microsoft Word document vs. a locked PDF, we normally do not just look in File>Properties>Statistics or Tools>Word count. Ordinarily, MS Office word count will not include elements of text such as text boxes, footnotes, end notes, etc. We will use word count generated by a TM (translation memory) tool that counts all words reliably and, on the other hand, gives you credit for previously translated text if we worked on your documents before. You can ask to see the analysis log file; we are happy to share.

Third, if you are regular customer, our word count may end up much lower than what you estimated due to discounts generated from repetitive content – not only in the current document itself but also from previous translations. Basically, a translation memory (or CAT ) tool allows us to distinguish between unique and repetitive words and phrases within the memory. We only charge full price for the unique ones.

Additionally, here are a few questions that clients frequently ask:

Do you charge for proper names that do not need translation? Yes, we still have to retype them.

Do you charge for numbers? Yes, if we have to retype them. Not if we use a CAT tool and can lock segments containing only numbers.

If you translate from a PDF do you charge to retype text that can stay in English? Yes, unless you have someone on your end retype it for us.

Do you charge for commas, periods and other punctuation? No, only words – separated by a space on either end – are counted.

One of our clients recently told us that establishing word counts is a matter of trust. We agree. Usually, we tell you what the word count is and you trust us. That doesn’t mean, though, that you should not know how we arrive at the billable word count and what tools we use.