OriginalArabic
كتب ابن خلدون (732–808هـ) «المقدمة» سنة 779هـ.1
For freelance translators
The translator’s platform for books between Arabic and English
Tarjum is for the translator working on a whole book, from Arabic into English or from English into Arabic. Tarjum writes the draft, you decide every sentence with a translation memory and a glossary, and the book comes out as a file for the printer.
14 days and 10,000 source words, no card needed. Upload a single chapter: every word of the file you upload counts against the trial.
Dates, brackets and Latin names where they belong
In a book, two languages meet on one line: a date, a bracket, a Latin name, a footnote number. Pick a direction and read.
TranslationEnglish
Ibn Khaldun (732–808 AH) wrote the Muqaddimah in 779 AH.1
OriginalEnglish
In 1886 Stevenson (1850–1894) published Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in London.1
TranslationArabic
نشر ستيفنسون (1850–1894) عام 1886 في لندن روايته Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.1
Literally: “Stevenson (1850–1894) published in 1886, in London, his novel Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.” The English title, the dates and the footnote number stay in order inside the right-to-left line.
An illustration.
You decide every sentence
The machine writes the draft, and you decide what stays. Every decision is recorded.
Glossary
Decide a word once and it holds in every chapter, with the reason you chose it.
Translation memory
Every sentence you approved comes back when it recurs, or when a new sentence resembles it.
Word study
A word’s senses in context, other ways to say the sentence, and an assistant you can ask at the same spot.
Decision history
Every sentence has its history: who changed it and when, with a way back.
Will AI replace translators?
The pressure on commercial translation rates is real, and we won’t pretend otherwise. But a book needs someone who understands what its author meant, chooses its terms, and stands behind its text in front of its readers. The machine does not do that.
On Tarjum the machine writes the draft and the translator decides. The book’s record keeps what you did, sentence by sentence.
Do you need Trados?
If your client asks for it, yes. Keep it for the agency work that requires it, and use Tarjum for the books you take on yourself. If you freelance on whole books, that is the work Tarjum was built for.
What you work on leaves with you
Your memory, glossary and work files export in standard formats that open in other tools.
TMX for memoryTBX for glossariesXLIFF for work files
Importing your memory and glossary works today for books translated into Arabic. For books translated into English, it is coming soon.
Book formatting and print preparation
Don’t start again in another program when the translation is done. Tarjum sets the pages in the direction of their language, with their footnotes, tables and figures, then produces a file for the printer and one for the stores.
PDFEPUBWord
Have a scanned original? It comes back as text you can work on.
Who sees your client’s text?
We say it plainly, before you upload a file.
Where the text goes
Your files are stored on servers in Germany. To translate, the text is sent to AI providers, and we will name them if you ask. If you connect your own key, that happens under your own agreement with the provider.
If your contract forbids it
If your contract rules out the use of AI, don’t upload the text. Try Tarjum on a book in the public domain.
Your memory and glossary
Export them whenever you like. Your contract with your client decides who they belong to.
What do 10,000 words get you?
One or two chapters of a book, from a text whose difficulty you know.
Time to try the glossary, the memory, review and layout on your own text.
After the trial: pricing in US dollars.
Translators’ questions
What is a translation memory?
A database that keeps every sentence you approved with its translation, so it comes back when the sentence recurs or a new one resembles it.
What are the best translation tools for a freelance translator?
It depends on your work. For agency jobs, the tool the agency requires. For books, one that keeps your terms steady across chapters and gets you to a print file. Try it on your own text: a list of tools doesn’t know your book.
Do agencies accept work done on Tarjum?
The agency decides the tool, so ask before you start. Tarjum is for the books you take on yourself.
Does it work from Arabic into English?
Yes. The Arabic original is read with its headings and footnotes, and the pages take the direction of English at layout.
Will my client know the machine wrote the draft?
Tell them. Many clients ask about this in their contracts, and the book’s record shows what you decided.
What happens when the trial ends?
Your files stay, you can export your memory and glossary, and you decide after that.
Try it on a chapter you know is hard
A chapter with the things that wear you out: footnotes, names and terms. Then judge for yourself.
14 days and 10,000 source words, about 40 pages, no card needed.