Blog · 2026-10-30
Translate Academic Papers, Original Kept
Translate academic papers in your browser with the original wording above each translated paragraph, so you can check terms while you read. Works on arXiv HTML and journal pages; PDFs on openimmersive.ai keep their layout.
When you translate academic papers, the original wording matters: a term translated three different ways, or a hedged claim turned into a firm one, changes what the paper says. The safest way to read is with the original and the translation together. OpenImmersive Translator (openimmersive.ai) is a free, open-source browser extension that keeps every paragraph of a paper in the original language and adds the translation underneath.
How to translate academic papers in your browser
- Install OpenImmersive Translator from the Chrome Web Store, Firefox Add-ons or Edge Add-ons.
- Pick the language you want to read in.
- Open the HTML version of a paper (arXiv's HTML view, or the full-text page of a journal) and press
Alt+T. The title, abstract, headings and body paragraphs get a translation underneath; code blocks are left as they are.
Why the original matters when you translate academic papers
- Check every term. Field-specific terms are where machine translation goes wrong most often. With the original right above, you see the author's exact word.
- Quote accurately. When you cite or discuss a paper, you need the original sentence, not a back-translation.
- Read at your own pace. Skim in your own language, then slow down and read the original for the parts that matter.
Better translations for dense text
The free Google, Microsoft and MyMemory engines need no account. For long, technical paragraphs you can add your own DeepL, OpenAI or DeepSeek key; the requests go from your browser straight to that provider, and you pay them directly. To translate only one paragraph, hold Alt and move over it, or select a sentence for a quick popup.
When the paper is a PDF
The extension translates web pages, not PDF files. To translate academic papers that only come as a PDF, upload them to the PDF translator on openimmersive.ai: it keeps the page layout, figures and tables in place, and gives a few free pages a day.
FAQ
Is it free to translate academic papers this way? Yes. The extension and its free engines cost nothing and need no account.
Does it translate formulas? No. It translates the text; how formulas show depends on the page.
Which languages? 199 target languages with the default Google engine.