---
id: KB-DI-013
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/documents-and-ai/documents-in-another-language
idioma: en
categoria: documentos-ia
subcategoria: lectura
audiencia: usuario
nivel: intermedio
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-DI-004, KB-CC-007, KB-DI-011, KB-DI-015, KB-DI-018]
citadoPor: [KB-DI-021]
---

# Documents in another language

_A certificate in German, an invoice in Chinese: what can be done and what should be translated._

**Responde a:** document in another language what do i do · reading a foreign certificate · when a sworn translation is needed · extracting data from a foreign-language invoice

As soon as you buy or sell abroad, documents start arriving in languages nobody on the team reads. The typical reaction — translate everything — is expensive and unnecessary; the opposite — file it without understanding it — is worse.

## Three different things that get confused

| Need | What it solves | When it is needed |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Understanding what it says | Knowing whether it serves and what data it holds | Almost always |
| Being able to find it later | Locating it by its content | Almost always |
| Sworn translation | Official standing before an authority | Only when someone specific requires it |

> [!IMPORTANT]
> The first two are solved by reading the document on upload: data is extracted the same way, and search works on what it says, whatever the language. The third is a legal formality that costs money: request it only when someone requires it, in writing.

## What to do on receipt

1. **Upload it as it is, without waiting for translation** — The original is the document; the translation is an addition.
2. **Extract the values you care about** — Dates, amounts, identifiers. They rarely depend on language.
3. **Note in your language what it is** — One line is enough: "conformity certificate from supplier X, valid until…".
4. **And if a translation is needed, link it to the original** — Both together; a loose translation loses its reference.

> [!WARNING]
> Watch dates and numbers. Formats vary by country: the same document can read as 3 June or 6 March, and thousand and decimal separators swap. It is the costliest and quietest error.

## When a sworn translation really is needed

**En corto**

- When an authority or a court requires it.
- When the contract expressly demands it.
- And when the document will support a claim in another country.

Otherwise, understanding the document and being able to find it is all you need, and that requires translating nothing.

> [!NOTE]
> If you send requests to suppliers abroad, sending them in their language changes response rates considerably. And what comes back will still be in their language: that is normal and does not stop you working with it.

**Are non-Latin scripts read?**

Yes, though quality depends heavily on the scan.

**Is machine translation enough to decide?**

To orient yourself yes; for a decision with consequences, verify.

**What if nobody on the team understands it?**

Note in your language what it is and who it is from: that alone prevents 90% of problems.

## Ejemplos

**A company piles up Asian supplier certificates, untranslated and unuploaded.**

- Uploads them as they are and extracts dates and identifiers
- Notes in English what each one is

→ It can find them and know when they expire without paying for a single translation.

**A document arrives in a language nobody reads.**

- Extracts the fields that are needed

→ The document is usable without translating it all.

**It is fully translated when three fields would have done.**

- Translates only what needs understanding

→ The cost matches the need.

**A client asks for the document in their language.**

- Asks whether an official translation is needed

→ You translate what is appropriate.

**The supplier always sends in their own language.**

- Agrees the language on the order

→ It arrives usable from the first shipment.

**It is filed without knowing what it says.**

- Notes what the document is when filing it

→ It is located later without opening it.