PT EN Translation Time

Estimating Portuguese-to-English Translation Time per Page

In Brazil a standard translation page (lauda) is usually counted as 300 words, though some publishers prefer 1,000 or 2,100 characters with spaces. How long a page takes comes down to the translator’s sustained throughput, which you work out as time = words_per_page ÷ words_per_hour. An experienced PT↔EN translator generally finishes 2,000 to 3,000 words a day — somewhere around 250–400 words/hour on technical content, and 500–600 words/hour once the prose gets simple.

On repetitive content, Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) tools like SDL Trados Studio, memoQ, Wordfast and OmegaT can effectively double your throughput, since they pull from translation memory (TM) matches and termbases. Machine translation post-editing (MTPE) with engines such as DeepL or Google Translate pushes hourly output higher still. Literary, legal or marketing copy is a different story, though — that kind of full-cognitive work stays close to the manual baseline.

Applications

Freelancers lean on this calculation to set deadlines and prices for direct clients and agencies alike. In Brazil, the SINTRA (Sindicato Nacional dos Tradutores) publishes reference rates that run from R$ 0.30 to R$ 0.50 per source word for PT↔EN. Sworn (juramentada) translations sit higher: they’re required for documents like birth certificates, diplomas and contracts, and only a translator registered at the Junta Comercial of their state can issue them. Per-page estimates matter on the other side of the table too — project managers, localization leads and procurement teams use them when scoping book translations, technical manuals and software localization sprints.

FAQ

How many words is a translation page (lauda)? Most of the time it’s 300 words per page, but ABRATES and some publishing houses count 1,000 or 2,100 characters with spaces instead. Pin down the unit with the client before you quote anything.

Do CAT tools really speed up translation? They do, especially on technical, legal or recurring content. A TM hit above 75% can shave 40–60% off the effort, and termbases keep your terminology consistent through a long project.

What is a sworn (juramentada) translation? It’s a translation that carries legal validity in Brazil, and only a Public Translator and Commercial Interpreter (Tradutor Público) sworn in by the state Junta Comercial can produce one. Official tables fix the rates, which usually land at 2–3× what a regular translation costs.