How to Cite a Quote You Translated Yourself
When you translate a source passage yourself, cite the original source and make clear whose translation readers are seeing. APA and MLA handle this situation differently, so do not apply one quotation format across both styles. Separate your translation from a published translator's wording, and preserve the original passage for checking.
plagiarism-checker-online.net Editorial Team | Published October 7, 2026 | Sources checked October 7, 2026
You read a Spanish article, write an English version of two sentences, and add it to your college essay. The ideas still belong to the article's author. The English wording is your translation. Your citation needs to preserve that distinction, but the punctuation depends on the style your course uses.
This guide answers how to cite a quote you translated yourself when you're working with a short passage. It doesn't cover translating an entire book. For the surrounding citation system, use our citation and referencing guide.
Which translation are you using?
Before formatting anything, check the edition you actually opened. "I read the author" can mean either reading the original-language work or reading someone else's published translation. Those are different source records.
| Case | Source consulted | Translator identity | Citation destination | Evidence to retain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your own short translation | The original-language work. | You produced the translated passage. | The original source you read. | Original wording, locator, edition, and your translation notes. |
| Published translation actually consulted | A retrievable translated edition. | The credited published translator. | The translated edition used, following your citation style. | Edition details, translator credit, and the passage's locator in that edition. |
| Original-language quotation plus explanation | The original-language work. | You explain the wording; identify any translation you supply. | The source containing the quoted original. | Exact original passage, locator, and the distinction between quotation and your explanation. |
If you copied a published translator's English, don't relabel it as your translation after changing a word. Quote or paraphrase that edition and credit it. If you compare it with your own alternative, explain which words belong to each version. Learn how to cite the source you consulted so that distinction stays visible.
APA 7 and MLA 9 differ
APA's treatment of your own short translation
APA's official guidance on your own translations treats the result as a paraphrase, not a direct quotation. Use an author-date citation without quotation marks around your translated wording. APA recommends including an available page number so readers can locate the original.
That guidance applies to short translations, such as a passage or two. It doesn't establish permission for translating larger sections. APA also recommends a translated paraphrase rather than mechanically replacing each source word with an English equivalent. Preserve the point while expressing it clearly in the language of your paper.
For the reference list, APA directs you to reference the original-language work. Keep its title in the original language and add a translation of the title into your paper's language in square brackets. The full reference still follows the rules for that source type. Translating a passage doesn't make you the author of the work.
MLA's translation attribution
The MLA Style Center's December 31, 2025 guidance, based on the ninth edition handbook, generally identifies your own translation with my trans. in the parenthetical citation. MLA's example retains the quoted original and supplies the writer's English translation with that credit.
Its exceptions matter. The indication can be omitted for a single word or a short phrase that poses no serious translation problem. It also isn't necessary when prose already makes clear that the translation is yours, when translating a nonquoted term or phrase, or when supplying your own translation of a title. Don't apply an exception for an ordinary word to a contested sentence.
MLA generally expects translations of quoted material in another language unless the paper is intended for a specialized audience. Ask your professor how much original-language text is useful for this assignment. A bilingual discussion of a poem may need both versions; a general essay may need a different presentation.
The same source passage, two style decisions
Fictional teaching example: The following Spanish sentence and source record were created for this guide. They are not a real research finding or publication. Imagine an invented author, Elena Soto, a 2024 Spanish-language course handout titled Notas sobre el estudio, and this sentence on page 4:
"Los estudiantes podrían recordar más detalles después de una pausa."
A close English rendering is: "Students might remember more details after a break." The word podrían expresses possibility. Changing it to "will" would turn a tentative claim into a certainty.
| Style | Teaching example | Why this decision fits |
|---|---|---|
| APA 7 | Taking a break may help students recall additional details (Soto, 2024, p. 4). | Your translated paraphrase has no quotation marks. The author-date citation credits the fictional source; the page locates it. |
| MLA 9 | Soto writes, "Los estudiantes podrían recordar más detalles después de una pausa" ("Students might remember more details after a break"; 4; my trans.). | The original-language quotation and your English rendering are distinguished. The parenthetical identifies the locator and your translation; Soto is named in the prose. |
The two examples preserve the same tentative meaning. They're different citation treatments, not different standards of honesty. Don't add quotation marks to the APA paraphrase merely because the MLA example uses them. Conversely, don't erase the original-language quotation's boundaries in an MLA analysis of exact wording.
These are manually checked teaching examples of in-text treatment, not citation-engine-certified reference entries. No invented DOI, journal, or biography is attached to Soto. In your own paper, replace the fictional record with the work you actually read, and use the appropriate reference or Works Cited entry.
Keep an original-to-translation record
Save this worksheet alongside your reading notes. It lets you return to the exact passage instead of trying to reconstruct your choice from the finished English sentence.
| Record field | Fictional example |
|---|---|
| Exact original wording and locator | The Spanish sentence above, page 4. |
| Source edition consulted | The invented 2024 Spanish course handout, not an English edition. |
| Your translation | Students might remember more details after a break. |
| Choices affecting meaning | Use might or may for podrían; don't substitute will. |
| Published translator, if any | None in this fictional example. Record the real translator when using a published edition. |
| Citation style | Choose APA 7 or MLA 9 before preparing the final passage. |
| Unresolved ambiguity | Does surrounding text specify the kind of break? Return to context before adding that detail. |
A dictionary can help choose an equivalent, but it doesn't replace the surrounding paragraph. Check negation, certainty, subject, time, and technical terms. "Could improve" is not "improves"; "some participants" is not "participants." If a term has several disciplinary meanings, ask a knowledgeable reader rather than quietly selecting the most convenient one.
Keep the original and final version together. When an instructor asks about a wording choice, the record shows what you interpreted and where. It also helps distinguish a source author's claim from your explanation of it.
Published translations and larger translation projects
If you read a published translation, credit the edition and translator you used. APA's own-translation guidance distinguishes this case: a direct quotation from that retrievable translation uses ordinary quotation treatment, and its reference identifies the translated version. See APA's guidance on citing translated works for that separate reference task.
Page numbers can differ across editions. Don't attach the original edition's page number to words copied from a translated edition. Record the passage's location in the source you actually consulted. If you couldn't access the original and only encountered a quotation in another writer's discussion, avoid citing an unread original as though you had read it yourself. Translation alone doesn't make a citation secondary; access to the source does.
Larger translation projects raise separate copyright and permission questions. The short-passage rule doesn't give blanket clearance to reproduce a chapter. Discuss the intended use with your professor, librarian, or relevant rights holder rather than extrapolating this page's examples.
If software helped draft the translation, check the assignment's rules on that assistance. You still need to verify the meaning and credit the source. Use existing AI disclosure guidance when disclosure is required; a source citation and a tool-use statement answer different questions.
Submission checklist
- Confirm who wrote the exact wording in your paper: you or a published translator.
- Identify the original or translated edition you actually read.
- Check the locator against that edition.
- Compare the final wording with the original for certainty, scope, and context.
- Apply your course's APA or MLA treatment consistently.
- Keep the original passage and your translation decisions available for review.
Our citation generator can format a source reference from the metadata you supply. Check the edition and translator details yourself. It doesn't judge whether your English rendering is faithful.
A separate scan can review readable text matches, but it cannot verify translation accuracy or find every instance of borrowing across languages. If you start a text check, use its matches for source review, not as a translation certificate. A low score doesn't establish that your passage accurately represents the original.
Sources checked
The linked APA and MLA primary guidance was read for this article on October 7, 2026. APA supplies the short translated-paraphrase rule and published-translation distinction; MLA supplies translation attribution and its exceptions. These rules shouldn't be combined into one universal quotation template.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. If you read and translated the original-language source, cite that source. Your translation supplies new wording, not ownership of the author's ideas. Keep the original passage and locator so readers can trace the borrowing.
No. APA's guidance treats your own short translation as a paraphrase. Use an author-date citation and include an available page number to help readers locate the original. This guidance covers a passage or two, not an entire work.
MLA generally uses my trans. in the parenthetical citation for your own translation. Its guidance allows exceptions for short, unproblematic wording, prose that makes your translation clear, nonquoted terms or phrases, and your own translation of a title.
A published translation is a retrievable version with its own translator and edition details. Cite the version you actually used and credit its translator as your style requires. Don't label a published translator's wording as your own.
No. A text scan doesn't verify translation fidelity and can't guarantee complete detection of borrowing across languages. Compare the original passage with your translation and resolve ambiguous wording with an appropriate reader.