NOTE: I am currently not accepting translation commissions. Sorry about any inconvenience!
If you’d like me to translate something from Japanese into English for you, you’ve come to the right place. I’m Kim Morrissy (AKA Frog-kun), a Japanese studies major who specialises in literary translation. See here for a list of things I’ve translated online.
I charge a small fee for private translation commissions. Don’t worry, it’s not much – just 3 Australian cents per Japanese character. See the full post for all the details!
Here’s how it works: you send me a link or a copy of whatever you want translated. I’ll send you a Paypal link with the asking price and get to work as soon as I’ve received the money.
For further inquiries, you can contact me via email (frogkun @ live dot com) or via the contact form at the end of this post. You will get a response within one working day.
TRANSLATIONS: PRICE LIST
FOR ALL FORMS OF TEXT AVAILABLE ONLINE: 3 AU cents per Japanese character (ji).
FOR MANGA: If you just want me to translate the words on the page, then I charge 3 AU cents per Japanese character. If you want me to do the typesetting as well, then I will charge $7 per page. I will not do cleaning or redrawing.
FOR PRINTED BOOKS: $40 per page, depending on the size and length of the book. If you think that this is too expensive, consider asking for a summary instead, which is priced at only $70 per book.
FOR PRINTED MAGAZINES: $50 per page, depending on the size and length of the magazine.
FOR AUDIOVISUAL TRANSLATIONS (television and radio shows, etc.): $6 per minute of footage. Note that I handle translations only, not making subtitle files.
Other forms of translation vary on the product and how much work it involves. I will generally stick to the 3 cents per character rule in cases of doubt.
PAYMENT AND FEES INFORMATION
All transactions will be done over Paypal. If you don’t have a Paypal account, make one. It’s free. I can also use Skrill if you don’t live in a country that permits Paypal.
The minimum payment that I am willing to receive via Paypal/Skrill is $5, so any commission price that works out lower than this number will be rounded up to $5.
When I provide a quota, I round up to the nearest dollar.
If you are asking me to translate something, you will need to provide me with a link or copy of what you want translated. If you can’t do this, then the costs of obtaining the materials will be added to the translation fee.
Note that the Australian dollar is currently worth less than the US dollar, so the prices may be even cheaper than you think. See here for the current exchange rate in your currency.
Nevertheless, if you have trouble paying a lump sum, then I will accept payments in installments, but we have to work out an agreement beforehand. Please understand that I will only begin work after I have received at least some form of payment.
If you are dissatisfied with my translation or notice a glaring inaccuracy, you may ask for a partial refund (up to 50%). If you are asking for a refund, you must provide detailed feedback; otherwise, your request will be politely ignored. You may also cancel your order, but I will charge a cancellation fee of up to 25%, depending on how much time I have spent on the translation.
FAQ
Q. What about copyright?
From the terms and conditions (see below for the full agreement):
All translations are intended for personal, private use. If you are not a copyright holder of the original material, you do not hold the legal right to publish my translations. In practice, this means that you can publish my translations if you like, but you are solely responsible for defending any claims by third parties relating to intellectual property rights. Under this agreement, I waive any claim of legal ownership over my translations.
Q. How long will it take you to translate my commission?
If you don’t specify a time frame you’d like to receive the translation by, then I will aim to complete the translation within 1-2 weeks, depending on how long it is. Note that if you ask for a long translation to be completed within a very short time frame, I may charge extra.
Q. Do you translate English-to-Japanese?
I can perform communications in Japanese, but I cannot perform a professional-level English-to-Japanese translation.
Q. What would you most prefer to translate?
Songs, articles, essays, news reports, interviews, etc. Anything published online is ideal.
Of course, printed media is fine as well as long as I can get my hands on it.
I would recommend that you do not ask me to translate official or legal documents. My translations are not certified.
Q. Will you make a Patreon?
No. If you want to give me money, please ask for a service.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR TRANSLATION COMMISSIONS
Before you pay me (or anyone else to translate for you, for that matter), please read and understand these terms. I’ve tried to make them as clear as possible, but if you have any further questions, feel free to ask.
FEES AND PAYMENTS: All fees and and payments are to be privately negotiated between the translator and client (i.e. you). Unless otherwise stated, the fee will be based on the length and text type of the material to be translated. I will not charge interest or any form of consumption tax fee. I only accept payments via Paypal, so please make an account before you start doing business with me. Also, I will only begin translating after receiving payment. This is non-negotiable.
THE CLIENT’S DUTY: You are obliged to provide me with a freely accessible link or copy to the material you wish for me to translate. If you cannot do so, then the extra costs of obtaining the materials will be added to the fee.
PRIVACY AGREEMENT: I will maintain confidentiality regarding any of your personal information, except under cases when I am legally obliged to disclose that information.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: All translations are intended for personal, private use. If you are not a copyright holder of the original material, you do not hold the legal right to publish my translations. In practice, this means that you can publish my translations if you like, but you are solely responsible for defending any claims by third parties relating to intellectual property rights. Under this agreement, I waive any claim of legal ownership over my translations.
In the event you hold full publishing rights over the material to be translated, I ask that I claim a share of the intellectual property rights. This will require us to draw up a separate contract regarding the translator’s credit, royalties and advance payments (if necessary). You must also agree that you will not make unapproved changes to my work. Furthermore, you grant me the right to store and use the original materials for the duration of our contract.
TRANSLATION OF OFFICIAL AND LEGAL DOCUMENTS: Any translations of a legal or official document will not be considered valid by a government agency. I can only offer an informal translation in these cases. You are better off paying the extra price for a certified translation.
REFUNDS AND CANCELLATIONS: If you are dissatisfied with my translation or notice a glaring inaccuracy, you may ask for a partial refund (up to 50%). If you are asking for a refund, you must provide detailed feedback; otherwise, your request will be politely ignored. You may also cancel your order, but I will charge a cancellation fee of up to 25%, depending on how much time I have spent on the translation. Again, all transactions will take place via Paypal.
GOVERNING LAWS AND JURISDICTION: In the case of any dispute or claim, this contract will be judged in accordance to the Australian federal law.
If you agree to all the terms and conditions, then you may submit a translation/article request. You may ask me over email or the contact form below:
Frog-kun's Blog 
Wow, you’ve really done some solid prep work for this, Froggy! Best of luck with all of this; I hope people support you & give you even more of a chance to put all your skills to good (and financially profitable) use!
I know where I’ll be coming if I ever have something I need/want translated :)
Thanks, Bless! Actually, my intention behind this was not to create something financially profitable but rather to compensate me for my time. That’s why the prices are so relatively cheap.
Oh, I guess it says something about my own standards of “financial profitability” that “compensation for time” is basically a synonym for it in my world.
Effects of unpaid aniblogging, I suppose haha.
Wow I must say, you must have a full plate now. With your college and personal life this is quite an addition to your responsibilities. I wish you the best of luck with your new business and hope you gain success from it.
P.S. Sorry I don’t have anything for you to translate at the moment.
That’s all right. If you ever have anything you want translated, you know who to ask.
inb4 people mostly pay you to translate Japanese meme/shit-posting on Twitter.
Seems about right
Does this mean all that untranslated hentai on the web could now potentially satisfy my slightly lewd desire to read erotic lines in my native language?
iyaaaaaa~ *blush*
(yes I would translate hentai)
Finally I’ll be able to get Frog-kun to type something lewd for me.
Wow, this is really well thought out. Good luck and I hope you have fun with this.
Thank you, and I’m sure I will!
Holy crap man, I can charge $70 for a VN review?! I’ve been doing it wrong all this time!
It’s never too late to change your ways!
Impressive, You’ve really thought this out. Good luck to you in this endeavor.
Wow, translating a LN volume and a VN looks REALLY cheap! I’d bet they’ll be the first ones to have the price change.
What’s the difference in LNs for “$30 per volume for an English release; $60 per volume for a Japanese release.”? For an English release would it be a re-translation for light novels already licensed in English?
Will you make a “current project list” like B0bduh did?
I’m pretty sure that if people get word of this, you’ll get a pretty good amount of requests, so best of luck!
You’re looking at the prices for reviews. The price to translate an LN or a VN is at least $15,000. I don’t expect to get too many requests in that department =P
There will be no “current project list” for private translation commissions. There may be one for reviews, if only to avoid repeat requests.
Thank you for the encouragement and support!
First of all, good luck on your business! :)
Now, do you think you would, sometime in the future if not now, like someone to help you out with the translating or even the editing and stuff like that? Hm, Froggy? ;)
So… can we ask to translate super lewd doujins too?
…yes.
Are there any works which you will absolutely refuse to translate on principle? Like say, if I asked you to translate the latest volume of the Rakudai Kishi light novel, would you say no? (assuming money isn’t a concern on my side.)
On your previous posts: I’d strongly suggest getting into the Noragami manga straight away. The manga’s fleshed out the Father’s character, although his backstory and motivations are still unexplained.
As long as it’s private, there’s nothing I won’t translate on principle. However, I strongly recommend you don’t ask me to translate important documents, like passports or legal documents.
In other words, I wouldn’t refuse to translate Rakudai Kishi, no.
You said translations are for private use, but what about reviews? Will you post the requested reviews on the blog or just give them to the one who requested them?
I’ll post requested reviews on my blog if the commissioner permits it.
Waaaah~~
Ribbit goes pro!
I wish you a meep, I mean a good luck!
Now to collect some money for things I want to ask you to be TLed…
Aww, thanks Vic!
[…] Speaking of my commissioning service, I made some changes to the price for commissioning an article. Commissions will now cost a flat fee of 50 AUD, and you can also request editorials on any topic related to Japanese pop culture. More info on the commissions page. […]
Why is your cost for translating a book significantly higher than any other media?
Now, this is interesting take. A little bit curious, here a question:
How many translation projects you got till now, especially the LN ones? It’s a common occurrence that people sometimes nagging fan translator for translating some other works. I wonder how many of these people that really willing to put their money on this.
how is your kobun? i was thinking on a short story in classical japanese, is that a problem?
You can send/link me the work and I’ll give it a look, but no guarantees. If I can’t do it myself, I can recommend you to someone who can.
Have you seen this? http://yenpress.com/2017/01/light-novel-translation-for-yen-press/
You should totally apply and make awesome official translations!
Your blog has been a huge inspiration for me in my Japanese studies and as a budding translator.
I’ve been thinking into getting into translation commissions for the near future, would you mind me using this translation commission page as a reference for when I do my own freelance TL of copyrighted materials?
Sure, go ahead.
Thanks a bunch!
Hello there! It’s been a while since I hovered other that article and as of late a question popped up in my mind.
Provided you’re willing to translate from Japanese to English given proper retribution, would you be able to translate the other way around? Let’s say hypothetically that a Japanese editor hosted a short story contest and accepted only Japanese entries, and that I or anyone else wanted to take part with little to no Japanese knowledge.
Would you be able to translate a page (Times 12 letters) of literary English text to Japanese? Would you charge per word, per line or per page?
Again these are just some thought I had given how translators worldwide usually work both ways, like a French Italian guy translating Umberto Eco to French and Voltaire to Italian given a proper contract/order.
Thanks for your reply, thanks for your time, have a good week!
Moss