APA 7: cite foreign-language and translated sources

Start with the version you used

APA guidance begins with the work you consulted. If you read an original non-English work, record its reference information in the original language and add a title translation in square brackets in the language of your paper. If you read a published translation, cite that published translation and credit the translator where the format requires it.

Build the APA reference from the version you actually used

1. Confirm the writing and citation requirement. Check that APA 7 is required, identify paper language, and follow course, publisher, or discipline instruction that sets named transliteration system or local variation.
2. Identify the exact version consulted. Confirm whether you read original-language work, published translation, later edition, excerpt, database record, or quotation of another source. Cite version actually used.
3. Verify the original source record. Check author, date, title, container, edition, translator, publisher, volume, issue, pages, DOI, URL, and source type before formatting.
4. Choose the correct language path. For original non-English work retain reference information in original language. For published translation create reference in language of translation read and credit translator where required.
5. Transliterate non-Roman titles carefully. Use recognized transliteration appropriate to paper language; do not guess spelling from machine translation, search snippet, or browser preview.
6. Add only required title translation. Place translation in square brackets directly after original or transliterated title. Do not automatically translate author, journal, publisher, or other container information.
7. Match in-text citation and reference. Check author or organization form, translation and original years where appropriate, locator for quotation, and one-to-one relationship between in-text credit and full reference.
8. Reverse-check against official guidance. Compare completed reference with APA guidance and actual item; recheck alphabetization, italics, punctuation, brackets, translator credit, DOI/URL, and institutional rule.

Fictional learning examples

This fictional learning example is invented for practice; it is not a real reference, author, title, transliteration, translation, translator, publisher, DOI, URL, or citation to submit. Names, titles, journals, publishers, dates, and links below are invented learning material and must not be copied or used to infer correct romanization of actual source.

• Original-language title: Fictional Author. (2025). Título original del estudio [English translation of title]. Fictional Journal, 8(1), 10–24.
• Non-Roman script: Fictional Author. (2025). Romanized source title [English translation of title]. Publisher.
• Published translation: Fictional Author. (2025). English title (A. Translator, Trans.). Fictional Press. (Original work published 2018).

Use a version-and-language record before formatting

Record actual version read, original title or recognized transliteration, bracketed title translation, author/organization form, translator, publication details, citation type, in-text form, and official source checked. A clean format cannot prove a title, transliteration, translator, source version, DOI, or citation relationship is correct.

Use APA guidance first

[APA Style](https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/citing-works-written-another-language) explains that a reference to a work in another language keeps the work’s original reference information and places a title translation in square brackets. Its [transliterated-title guidance](https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/transliterated-titles-references) calls for transliteration followed by the bracketed translation for non-Roman writing systems. When you cite a [published translation](https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/citing-translated-works), create the reference in the language of the translation you used and credit the translator as required. The [University of Melbourne APA 7 guide](https://library.unimelb.edu.au/recite/referencing-styles/apa7/referencing-non-english-sources) offers worked explanations for original-language sources, transliteration, and translated works. Follow an assignment or publisher if it specifies otherwise.