What is Taiyaku (対訳)?

Taiyaku (対訳) means "opposite translation," and is basically a translation of text that goes alongside it's original text (more or less bilingual text, with taiyaku being the translation). In the case of songs, it should only serve as a translation and not actual lyrics sung by the artist.

Taiyaku lyrics can be found in Japanese albums when there is a song or two (or even a whole album) that is sung in a language other than Japanese, such as English. In this case the taiyaku lyrics will most likely be written in Japanese. The also happens with non-Japanese music that is sold in Japan. For example, an album from America will still contain its original English lyrics, but might also be accompanied by a set of Japanese lyrics.

*(In Chinese lyrics, 中譯 (zhōng​ yì​) means "Chinese translation," but works the same way as taiyaku.)

In this blog, I will post taiyaku lyrics for songs if I have them. Just remember though that they are translations only, taiyaku lyrics are not meant to be sung.

In this image, you can see how the taiyaku is given alongside the original lyrics: