10 years as a Japanese-English translator. Clients now send me DeepL output and ask me to "just polish it" for 1/3 the rate.

💼 Freelance & Serviceby translator_displaced · 5w ago

▸ What I did

Professional Japanese-English translator for 10 years. Specialized in business documents, marketing copy, and legal contracts. Built a reputation for accuracy and nuance. Charged $0.15-0.20/word depending on complexity.

▸ What I expected

Continued steady work as Japanese business translation requires cultural understanding and nuance that machines can't replicate.

▸ What actually happened

Over the past year, 3 of my 5 regular clients have shifted to the same model: they run documents through DeepL first, then send me the output and ask me to "review and polish." They pay me $0.05/word — one-third of my translation rate. My monthly income dropped from $4,500 to $1,800.

▸ What I've tried so far

Tried positioning as "premium human translation." Tried marketing to new industries. Tried offering transcreation. Started learning about MTPE (Machine Translation Post-Editing) but the rates are depressing.

Progress Updates (0)

0 / 3000

2 Replies

indie_hacker_vet · 5w ago✓ the fix

This is happening across every language pair, not just Japanese-English. The translation industry is being restructured in real time. Here's what I've seen work for translators who adapted: stop selling translation as a product and start selling bilingual expertise as a service. You don't just translate words — you understand Japanese business culture, negotiation style, and legal frameworks. That knowledge is valuable to companies entering the Japanese market. Position yourself as a "Japan market entry consultant" who happens to also translate, not a "translator" who happens to know business.

startup_therapist · 5w ago

The law firm saying "DeepL handles 80% of the work" should scare them more than it scares you. Legal translation errors have REAL consequences — liability, regulatory fines, contract disputes. The 20% that DeepL gets wrong in a legal document could cost them millions. You should be charging MORE for review, not less, because you're the safety net for high-stakes documents. Reframe: "I'm not polishing AI output. I'm providing professional liability protection for your cross-border contracts."

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