VOCALOID Tutorial – Change the language into english!

Well, some of you who are reading my blog are probably more fluent in english, and so, it’ll be better to use the VOCALOID editor software in english. You’d probably already read about the “english patch/hack” on the internet for the VOCALOID editor, but the problem is, that it haven’t completely translated the whole thing just yet. Fortunately, there’s an easier and better way of doing it.

The VOCALOID editor software was originally made by Yamaha, and therefore, it’s in english. Crypton is just a company who made the Voice Libraries (Hatsune Miku and the others) and they made a Japanese User Interface ON TOP of the English ones. The solution? Simple, just get rid of the Japanese User Interfaces and you’ll get an English User Interface. How are we going to do that?

  • Firstly, go to your VOCALOID installation folder (For example, the most common ones are C:\Program Files\VOCALOID2\)
  • And then, find the file “VOCALOID2_Japanese.dll”
  • Rename it into “VOCALOID2_Japanese.bak”
  • You could also delete it if you want, but we’ll just rename it so if anything bad happens we could change it back into “VOCALOID2_Japanese.dll”
  • In case anything happens or if you want to change it back into Japanese, just rename the “VOCALOID2_Japanese.bak” file into “VOCALOID_Japanese.dll”

And you’re done! Enjoy the English VOCALOID editor!

VOCALOID editor in english!
VOCALOID editor in english!

About: pengy


122 thoughts on “VOCALOID Tutorial – Change the language into english!”

    1. I kno im new here, but… is there any way you happen to know how to deal with a vocaloid program that is mostly in english, but will sometimes give error messages or whatever in that computer gibberish that makes no sense?

  1. Ah, this is so helpful! 😀 Thanks!

    I’m still so confused on some stuff, though. xD Like, for example, in Japan, when people use the program, they obvious type their lyrics and such in Japanese, and Miku sings it as such. Even if you change the interface to English like this, can Miku SING it in English? o: Like, can you enter the lyrics in English, even in the Hatsune Miku Japanese version?

  2. no problem! =D
    well, this tutorial only changes the language of the interface of the VOCALOID editor into english, it doesn’t make miku sing in english… if you want to make miku sing in english, though, it’s possible… but you’ll have to type the PRONUNCIATION of it in japanese, not the lyrics itself. for example, to make miku say “Music”, type in “Myuzikku” on the VOCALOID editor… it’s pretty hard, but it’s possible. if you’d like to see an example of Miku singing in english, here’s an english song sung by miku on YouTube:

    if you want miku to sing in japanese, you could type the lyrics in romaji, so you don’t need to be able to type in japanese to make her sing! =)
    thanks for visiting my blog! xD

  3. Oh, I see! I don’t know Japanese (starting to learn, I am, I am! ….well, once I have some more time xD), but I’m pretty confident I could do that if I worked hard enough. >:D Plus, my brother is studying Japanese as his minor in college, so he could help me out. ;D

    One thing though; I hope you haven’t answered this in another tutorial (I’d feel bad T_T), but where could I acquire a Hatsune Miku version of VOCALOID, since it’s one of the Japanese versions?

  4. Wahhh thanks so much ! The interface is in English now, but I still can’t view some of the text. 🙁 Like, when I hover over some of the buttons I get random symbols, same as w/ dialog boxes, and when I try to press play– and I think this affects typing in lyrics too? (can’t find a way to insert any, when I right-click on a blank space the ‘Insert Lyrics’ option is grey/turned off)
    extra thanks in advance ;_;;; ! haha i’m so eager to try this program out~

  5. @xihn: no problem, glad it could help =D
    hmm… if you’re still seeing random symbols (it’s actually Japanese but it seems like you don’t have the Japanese language pack installed), try changing these files’ extension into .bak:
    -> SingerEditor2_Japanese.dll
    -> Activate2_Japanese.dll
    -> vedit2_Japanese.dll
    -> g2pa2_JPN.dll
    this step is usually not necessary (since what we’re going to use is only the VOCALOID editor (hence the title of this post), but if you want the whole program to be perfectly english, you’d have to change it all) =3
    and no, changing the language doesn’t affect any functions of the program ^w^
    you can’t insert lyrics on blank spaces, you’d have to draw the pitch note first (using the pencil tool)… you can find out more about it (as well as a video tutorial) on my other tutorial, just click down here to go there =D
    http://blog.kevinay.com/2008/08/vocaloid-tutorial-entering-the-lyrics/
    no problem, have fun with the program~ >=D

  6. O_O Ok, a bit of a problem, I don’t have a Vocaloid2 file that has Japanese in the title, so I just changed the Vocaloid2.dll instead. Is that going to be alright, or should I change it back?

  7. @rebo: no problem, enjoy! x3
    @OvanJeishi: humm, you can’t find one? if they don’t have “Japanese” in their names, don’t touch them… try changing it back into Vocaloid2.dll and start up VOCALOID editor. if you don’t have Vocaloid2_Japanese.dll, it should start up as english… =3

    1. what if i dont have this file and still its in japanese? o_O
      btw im emulating it on a mac so its works great but I cant find those files. I dont belive they exist somewhere and i cant understandi it :/

  8. I’ve been obsessed with miku lately, :3 I’ve gotten mikudance and a little flele to sing for me. But no matter how hard I try I can’t find anywhere to get the singing. :3 my msn is [email protected]

  9. kevinay, this is slightly off topic, but do you know where one can buy/acquire an off vocal version of Hatsune Miku’s songs (I know someone that wants karaoke versions of melody.exe and Love is War)?

    Alternatively, is there a way to use Vocaloid to remove those vocals off the MP3s from the CD? Your help would be greatly appreciated! ^^

  10. @Oka Shizuka: feel free to add me at [email protected] anytime =D
    @Koushirou: glad this could help you =)
    @Benson: you can’t just remove vocals from an mp3, unfortunately. sometimes, the producer of the song uploads karaoke versions of the songs they made. for example, Koi wa Sensou (Love is War) Karaoke version can be found in this zip file the author have uploaded. I’m sorry but I can’t find the karaoke version of melody.exe =x
    http://makebelieve.sakura.ne.jp/music/koisenn.zip
    @exin: well, Japanese VOCALOIDs can’t say L unless you tweak it properly… there are no la, li, lu, le or lo character in Japanese, so they can’t sing “l”. Use “r” instead. like if you’re trying to make it sing “la la la”, just use “ra ra ra”. I don’t really know how to make it sing “l”, but there is a way to do it by changing the parameters. =)

  11. kevinay: It’s okay, I found the karaoke version of melody.exe. I couldn’t find the karaoke version of Love is War so this helps a lot. Thank you very much! ^_^

  12. By the way, I don’t mean to inconvenience you, but in case you know off the top of your head – do you know where I can download the English version of melody.exe?

    I’ve been looking all over for it, and the best I can find is the Vocaloid file for it (which does not have the background music and all that). So if you know a place where I can find it, that would be sooo helpful! Thanks for all your help! ^_^

  13. Thanks a million for this!
    Vocaloid is wonderful software, and thanks to you, I can use it without feeling around in the dark.

  14. I keep getting an error that reads:

    “Cannot output waves. (The specified device is already in use. Wait until it is free, and then try again.)”

    Is there any way I can avoid this error?

  15. @exin, Nagi, Cormierre: no problem, enjoy the VOCALOID editor! =)
    @Boson: I’m sorry, but I can’t find Melody.exe english version either… =x
    try asking in our forum in case you need another song xD
    @Razur: what were you doing when you got that error? do you have a screenshot of it? I need more information about it =x
    @Naoru: I don’t have VOCALOID1 to test it, unfortunately… do you have the list of DLL files in the VOCALOID KAITO program folder? maybe one of them is the language file and I can tell you which file to change =)

  16. I have been trying to get my hatsune miku vocaloid working for months! I knew about renaming the .dll files, but the guide i used renamed too many so she couldn’t sing anything. All I needed was to just rename the 1! i honestly can’t thank you enough!

  17. after changing all the .dll’s i still get some japanese text like when i do importing and pressing play when thee are more vocals on 1 line

  18. Nevermind. Here’s the link:
    forum.gamevn.com/archive/index.php/t-455644.html
    You just got to register.

  19. @Bret: mikumiku.info is down since ArmyCats can’t continue the site since he have to go to the military in Taiwan, and that’s precisely the reason why I created this site =)
    and nope, that patch isn’t more effective than this way. this way is more effective, considering how the Vocaloid2 Editor was made. It was made in English, then topped by a Japanese language file, which was Vocaloid2_Japanese.dll. Which was why deleting that file would give you an English interface. =D

  20. Hmmm. I can’t seem to get the transporter to work in the editor. I can click on the piano keys and get Miku to go “aaaa” but when I put in my notes and try to press play nothing happens. Could this be an audio card problem?

  21. Hi, I have a question. Everyone seems to have Vocaloid, do they pay for it or just download it? I would really like to have Meiko but I know it’s in Japanese, will your tutorial above help me be able to use her? (My computer can read foreign characters but I don’t know Japanese :()

    Kara

  22. can i use japanese online dictionary ………………aim sydekikboy ……………….kevinay also where can i download hatsune miku at…i loooked everywere

  23. If you want to get it totaly in english, you should try to instal your vocaloid2 with any singner ( ex: Miku ) and –> finish <– with one in english ( I suggest Prima ). By the way, that still work for me …

  24. Waaah. I can't change mine ;_;

    When I was looking for the file, it was already a BAK file. So I tried changing it to DLL and then changing it back to BAK [I know. How silly of me.]

    But it wont become Englishhhhhh. And since I'm too lazy to comment in the other tutorial, I'll comment here, too.

    I can't input the MIDI file. Whenever I input it and try to play it, there's this error box [which is, ohmywhatasurprise, full of random symbols] appears. The only thing I understand is that it always mentions this: Voice1.

    HELP.

  25. ok, so this tutorial really helped & got the dropdown menus & other windows to translate into english, so thank you, but hovering over the buttons on the main window, under the toolbar, its not even japanese, but some kind of giberish, possibly where it didn't translate back correctly? it also does this for the "would you like to save" pop-up & a few other windows. is there any way to fix these?

    1. ^ for those you'd have to install a japanese language pack, that gibberish is actually japanese. And no that isn't supposed to be translated with this method.

      @ OP, THANK YOU SO MUCH, thanks to you, I CAN USE MIKU T_T ill never uninstall you miku, NEVER!

  26. seriously is there any other way to get the Hatsune Miku software for less than $200? i'm in new york so shipping probably adds to that… (NY in the USA, btw, in case there are any more) 🙂 thanks

  27. im thinking about buying either hatsune miku or rin and len…which do you think i should get…and also if you use the japanese, can you type in the words in english and it will sing them in japanese?

  28. I tried changing the names of all the files that you said above, because weird symbols were appearing on the tool bar, such as play and etc.
    So I did, but it was still appearing with the weird symbols, and also every time I open vocaloid2 it comes up with a warning in weird symbols, and i just click "ok" and it was working….
    Also, even if i tried clicking the play button, it wouldn't work, even if I press the space button….
    What could be the problem?

  29. I did all the stuff about changing the program to english but i still get the weird symbols please help i really wanna use this program.:(

  30. This didn't seem to work with Vocaloid2 Gackpoid, and I renamed any DLLs that seemed to be Japanese…interface is still in Japanese

  31. Um, I was wondering… I've already changed the language into English. By the way, this page was very helpful, thank you!

    But, is there a list of all the words that Vocaloid can be said in English?
    I know the process of in putting Japanese phrases and making Vocaloid say them in English and I know at least… 5 phrases. I'm not really good with Japanese either so a list would be helpful ; ~;
    For example; ( ma ) and ( i ), when put together, sound like ( My ). Maybe, there's an entire list that has these "translations" that can be used in Vocaloid. Thanks!

  32. I cant seem to find the program file in which i had installed it in. See… I have windows 7 and im not use to it yet so… I have no idea where to look because it wasnt in where it should be x.x

  33. i'm on windows7 and i need to know how to actually change the file, because even if i change the name of it to VOCALOID2_Japanese.bak the file type is still .dll On XP there is a button that changes it so that the file type shows up in the name, but I don't see one here. help!

  34. OMG thank you sooooo much!
    I read how to do this somewhere else but i kinda did it wrong and changed the name of the wrong file that time, well Arigatou gozaimasu :3

  35. Uh-oh. I can’t do this because I got my VOCALOID on a torrent, so I’m not sure what to do. Could you plaease give me a hand? XD

    1. What I mean is… as I downloaded it on a torrent… I don’t seem to have those files. But they must be there, or the program wouldn’t work, right?

  36. Awesome! I planned on getting KAITO append once it was out but I was worried I had to learn Japanese to use it. Thanks a bunch! This will help!

    1. Kaito will be Vocaloid 3; Vocaloid 3 is localised, removing the need to do what this tutorial is about. 

      1. if it is localized and i live in france, but i dont speak french, can i still change it to english?

    1. Find the app (VOCALOID2 Editor, or whatever version you have) and right-click on it. Then click in the little-grey-menu-thing “Open File Location”. Then find the “VOCALOID2_Japanese.dll” file. Then change the extention “dll” to “bak”, but still keep the period in the title! Then type in the PC-Administrator’s password (if your not the admin/owner) to confirm the re-name! **TIP: you should close the Editor app itself (not the folder) while doing this, then open it AFTER changing the name!

      Hope that helped! 😀

  37. I really want to creat my own vocaloid with my voice… How do I do this? I am technologically challeneged and have no programs downloaded to do this. Could you please put up step by step instructions in layman terms for me? Thank you So much! Please write soon…

    1. There is no way to make your own “Vocaloid”.  However, very similar to Vocaloids is the program UTAU.  It is a little bit more difficult to use, but a lot of fun.  You can also make your own UTAU! 😀

      You can find how to install UTAU here:
      http://utau.wikia.com/wiki/UTAU_wiki:Downloading_and_Installing_UTAU
      Just follow the directions VERY CAREFULLY and you can do no wrong.  Everything is explained perfectly.  With pictures and everything!  Lol.

      To make your own, look up a tutorial on YouTube.  You’ll find everything you need.

      Hope this helps!

  38.  Sorry if this isn’t completely related to the topic, but, how do I get other voices for VOCALOID2, like Luka or Kaito?

  39.  Um… is anyone else having  or had the problem where play doesn’t work?  If so, if you find out how to fix it, or if you did fix it, can you tell me?

  40. Uwa! Thank you so much! I’ve been using it in Japanese for the longest time with the Kagamine twins and I found this when looking for something for Luka, but… Thank you so much!

    1. Try searching “Vocaloid” on your computer, and you should find it. It’s usually in the “C:” drive. Explore around a bit, I’m sure you’ll find it.

  41. OH MY GOODNESS! I’m planning on getting KAITO and this should help a lot! Thank you so very much senpai!

  42. i’m using vocaloid4 i can’t find the install folder and i don’t know how to get to my “c:” folder.

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