Multilingual OCR is essential for global business and research. Whether you're processing documents in Japanese, Arabic, Chinese, or any of 100+ languages, PDFLocally handles the recognition automatically.
Supported Languages
PDFLocally provides comprehensive language support across multiple categories:
- European languages — English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, and more
- Asian languages — Chinese (Simplified/Traditional), Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai
- Middle Eastern — Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Urdu
- Cyrillic languages — Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Serbian
- South Asian — Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Gujarati, and more
How Language Detection Works
Automatic Detection
PDFLocally automatically identifies the primary language of your document. This works for most single-language documents.
Manual Selection
For mixed-language documents or specific requirements, you can manually select the language for optimal results.
# OCR with automatic language detection
pdflocally ocr --lang auto chinese-doc.pdf
# Output: Recognized Chinese text accurately
# Or specify language explicitly
pdflocally ocr --lang ja japanese-contract.pdf
# Output: Japanese text with high accuracy"We process documents in 15 different languages for our international clients. PDFLocally handles everything from Arabic contracts to Japanese reports without any configuration." — Translation Agency Manager
Language Support Details
| Language Family | Examples | Support Level |
|---|---|---|
| Western European | EN, FR, DE, ES, IT | Full |
| East Asian | ZH, JA, KO | Full |
| Middle Eastern | AR, HE, FA | Full |
| Slavic | RU, UK, BG | Full |
| South Asian | HI, BN, TA | Full |
Free vs Paid Language Support
- Free tier — All languages included, no restrictions
- Unlimited use — Process documents in any language as often as needed
- Same quality — No difference in recognition accuracy based on language
Process Any Language Free
Use PDFLocally to OCR documents in 100+ languages. Completely free with no language restrictions.
Start FreeFrequently Asked Questions
How many languages does PDFLocally support?
PDFLocally.com supports over 100 languages including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Hebrew, Cyrillic, and all European languages. Language detection is automatic.
Is language support free for all languages?
Yes. All languages are available in the free version with no premium tier or additional charges.
Can PDFLocally handle mixed-language documents?
PDFLocally handles most mixed-language documents. For best results, you can specify the primary language or process each language section separately.