Hey there! I’ve dealt with this exact frustration before, so let’s break down what’s happening and how to get your 156-page PDF translated successfully.

What Are Google Translate’s Document Limits? #

Google doesn’t publicly list a strict page limit, but there’s a hard 1MB file size cap for uploaded documents (including PDFs). That’s why your 2.75MB file failed, and splitting it might not have helped if each chunk was still over 1MB. On top of that, in real-world use, files with more than 100 pages often trigger the "too large" error even if they’re under the size limit—this is because Google’s translation engine struggles with processing massive page counts at once.

Steps to Fix This #

• Split your PDF into smaller, leaner chunks: Aim for each file to be under 1MB and no more than 50-70 pages. Free offline PDF splitters or basic online split tools make this quick to do.
• Optimize the PDF first: If your PDF has embedded images, extra fonts, or hidden metadata, compressing it (using tools that shrink image sizes and strip unnecessary data) might get the whole file under 1MB without splitting pages.
• Convert to plain text: If your PDF is mostly text (no critical formatting), turning it into a .txt file will slash the size. You can then upload the text file in larger batches without hitting limits.

内容的提问来源于stack exchange，提问作者Rogério Dec