1. Translate text
  2. Translate images
  3. Translate offline
  4. Translate by speech
  5. Translate by handwriting
  6. Translate a bilingual conversation
  7. Translate webpages and documents
  8. View or delete your translation history
  9. Save translations in a phrasebook
  10. Modify your keyboard to search in other languages
  11. Add the Website Translator plugin to your site
  12. Help improve Google Translate

  1. Translate text

    You can translate words or phrases using Google Translate.

    How to translate text

    Computer
    1. Visit the Google Translate page.
    2. At the top of the page, choose the languages to translate between. If you aren't sure what language you want to use, click Detect language.
    3. Start typing and the translation will appear automatically. The more you type, the more accurate your translation will be.
    4. You might see a simple dictionary below your translation that shows parts of speech, possible word variations, or uses.

    Note: You need to have Javascript turned on for your browser to see your translations instantly. If you don't have Javascript, you can click Translate to see your results.

    Mobile browser
    1. Visit the Google Translate page.
    2. At the top of the page, choose the languages to translate between. If you aren't sure what language you want to use, click Detect language.
    3. Start typing and the translation will appear automatically. The more you type, the more accurate your translation will be.

    Note: You need to have Javascript turned on for your browser to see your translations instantly. If you don't have Javascript, you can click Translate to see your results.

    Translate app
    1. Open the Translate app .
    2. At the top of the screen, touch the language buttons at the top of the screen to select the languages to translate between.
    3. Type the words you want translated in the box.
    4. If the translation doesn't show instantly, touch the arrow .

    Tip: To see your translation in full screen mode, turn your device sideways.

    Listen to your translation

    In some languages, you'll see the Listen icon next to your translation .

    Touch the icon to hear your translation.

  2. Translate images

    With the Translate app, you can translate text in images—either in a picture you’ve taken or imported, or just by pointing your camera.

    Translate instantly by pointing your camera

    You can translate text you see around you just by pointing your camera lens at it.

    1. Open the Translate app.
    2. Choose the languages you want to translate between.
    3. Touch the camera icon Translate camera icon.
    4. Point your camera at the text you want to translate. The translated text will appear on the screen instantly.

    Note: Translations aren’t perfect and might not work if the text is too small, written by hand or in a stylized font, or not well-lit.

    Download languages for instant camera translations

    Some language pairs need to be downloaded before you can translate between them with the instant camera. Downloaded languages can be used for offline translations, too.

    Android

    1. Open the Translate app .

    2. On top right, touch settings Menu icon> Settings > Instant camera languages.

    3. To the right of the language pair, touch download .

    4. When asked if you want to download the language pair package, click OK.

    5. When the language pair is done downloading, you’ll see it in under “Installed.”
    iPhone or iPad

    1. Open the Translate app .

    2. On the bottom right, touch settings .

    3. Touch Instant camera languages.

    4. To add a language, touch the add icon, then select a language pair.

    5. When asked if you want to download the language pair package, click OK.

    6. When the language pair is done downloading, you’ll see it in under “Installed.”
    Languages available

    You can translate to and from English for the following languages:

    • Englis Turkish

    • English Filipino

    • English Croatian

    • English Finnish

    • English Indonesian

    • English Polish

    • English Ukrainian

    • English Romanian

    • English Dutch

    • English Swedish

    • English Hungarian

    • English Czech

    • English Bulgarian

    • English Danish

    • English Slovak

    • English Catalan

    • English Lithuanian

    • English Norwegian

    You can translate from English to the following languages:

    • English Hindi

    • English Thai

    Translate a picture you take with your device

    1. Open the Translate app .
    2. Choose the languages you want to translate between.
    3. Touch the Camera Translate camera icon.
    4. To take a picture, touch the Camera againTranslate camera icon.
    5. Use your finger to highlight the text you want to translate.

    Translate images already on your device

    1. Open the Translate app .
    2. Choose the languages you want to translate between.
    3. Touch the Camera Translate camera icon.
    4. Touch Import Insert photo.
    5. Choose the photo you want to translate.
    6. Use your finger to highlight the text you want to translate.

  3. Translate offline

    You can download languages onto your device so you can use the Translate app when you're offline. This is helpful when you don’t have an Internet connection.

    Download languages to use offline (Android only)

    1. Open the Translate app on your Android device .
    2. Touch a language name at the top of the screen.
    3. To the right of the language name, touch download . If you don't see the download icon next to a language, it isn't available for download.
    4. When the language is done downloading, you'll see a check mark .

    Remove offline languages (Android only)

    1. Open the Translate app .
    2. Touch a language name at the top of the screen.
    3. To the right of the language name you want to remove, touch .
    4. When asked if you want to remove the offline package, touch OK.

    Keep in mind:

    • Not all offline languages can be used for instant camera translations. See the offline languages available for instant camera translations.

    • To avoid potential delays or extra data usage charges, only download when you're on Wi-Fi.

    • For iPhone and iPad, you can only download offline languages for instant camera translations.

  4. Translate by speech

    You can translate words or phrases by speaking. In some languages, you'll also hear your translation spoken back to you.

    Translate by speech

    Computer
    1. Visit the Google Translate page.
    2. In the bottom left corner of the text box, touch the microphone .
    3. When told to "Speak now," say what you want to translate. In some languages, you'll hear the translation spoken back to you.
    Mobile browser

    Translating by speech isn't available on mobile browsers.

    Translate app

    Translating by speech doesn't work in some languages. The speech button will be grayed out for languages that can't be translated that way.

    1. Open the Translate app .
    2. Touch the language buttons at the top of the screen to select the languages to translate between.
    3. Touch the microphone .
    4. When told to "Speak now," say what you want to translate. In some languages, you'll hear the translation spoken back to you.

    Tip: You might also be interested in translating a bilingual conversation.

    Choose a dialect

    In some languages, you can choose a dialect so Google can better understand what you say.

    Android
    1. Open the Translate app .
    2. Touch the Menu Menu icon> Settings> Speech input.
    3. In the "Dialects" section, choose your dialect.
    iPhone or iPad
    1. Open the Translate app .
    2. In the bottom right corner, touch Settings  > Speech input.
    3. Choose the language you want to choose a dialect for.
    4. Choose your dialect.

    Translate offensive words (Android app only)

    By default, the Translate app doesn't allow you to translate offensive words by speaking. If you want to translate them, you can turn off the offensive word filter.

    1. Open the Translate app .
    2. Touch the Menu Menu icon> Settings > Speech input.
    3. Next to "Block offensive words," uncheck the box.

  5. Translate by handwriting

    You can draw characters and see their translation using the Translate app. This is helpful for translating words when you don't know how to type the characters.

    How to translate by handwriting

    Note: Some languages won't work with handwriting. The handwriting button will be grayed out for these languages.

    1. Open the Translate app .
    2. Choose languages by touching the language buttons at the top of the screen.
    3. Touch Handwrite .
    4. In the box that says "Write here," draw a character, word, or phrase.

    Resize the handwriting box (Android only)

    To make the handwriting box bigger or smaller, touch and hold Drag . Then move it higher or lower on the screen.

  6. Translate a bilingual conversation

    You can use the Translate app to talk with someone in a different language. The Translate app will recognize which of the two languages is being spoken, which lets you have a natural conversation.

    Start a bilingual conversation

    1. Open the Translate app .
    2. Touch the language buttons at the top of the screen to choose your languages.
    3. Touch the microphone .
    4. The first person can start speaking. When they're done, you'll hear the translation in the other language.
    5. Touch the microphone in the bottom of the screen . When the app makes a sound and the microphone turns red, the person who speaks the other language can talk.
    6. From now on, when the app makes a sound and the microphone turns red, the app will translate between the two languages.

    If you want the app to listen to one specific language, press that language button on the bottom of the screen.

  7. Translate webpages and documents

    You can translate special types of content, like websites, documents, and text messages.

    Translate websites (computer only)

    1. Visit the Google Translate page on your computer.
    2. Choose the language you want to translate the site into.
    3. Type the web address into the box on the left.
    4. Click Translate.
    5. To see the translated version of the site, click on the link in the box on the right.

    Translate documents (computer only)

    1. Visit the Google Translate page on your computer.
    2. Below the search box, click Translate a document.
    3. Choose the file you want to translate. The format should be PDF, TXT, DOC, PPT, XLS, or RTF.

    Note: Some of the original formatting might not come through in the translation.

    Translate text messages (Android app only)

    1. Open the Translate app .
    2. On the Translate home screen, touch Menu Menu icon> SMS translation.
    3. Touch the message you want to translate.

  8. View or delete your translation history

    You can use your translation history in the Translate app to quickly access a previous translation even when you're offline.

    View your translation history

    Your past translations are shown on your Translate app Home screen.

    Tip: You might also be interested in saving your translations to a phrasebook you can access later.

    Delete an item from your history

    To delete an individual translation from your history, swipe it to the right or left.

    Delete all of your translation history

    Android
    1. Open the Translate app .
    2. Touch the Menu icon Menu icon> Clear history> Yes.
    iPhone or iPad
    1. Open the Translate app .
    2. In the bottom right corner, touch Settings  > Clear Translation History> OK.

  9. Save translations in a phrasebook

    You can create a phrasebook of past translations to see again in the future. You can access your phrasebook when you're offline and from translate.google.com on any computer or device.

    Add a phrasebook entry

    Computer
    1. Visit the Google Translate page.
    2. Translate a word or phrase.
    3. Click the star icon next to your translation .
    4. When you open your phrasebook, you'll see the translation there.
    Mobile browser
    1. Visit the Google Translate page.
    2. Translate a word or phrase.
    3. Touch the star icon next to your translation .
    4. When you open your phrasebook, you'll see the translation there.
    Translate app
    1. Open the Translate app .
    2. Translate the word or phrase you want to add.
    3. Next to the translation, touch the star .
    4. When you open your phrasebook, you'll see the translation there.

    View or delete phrasebook entries

    Computer
    1. Visit the Google Translate page.
    2. In the top right, click Phrasebook .
    3. To delete a translation, check the box to the left of it, then click trash .
    Mobile browser
    1. Visit the Google Translate page.
    2. At the bottom of the page, touch Starred.
    3. To remove a translation, touch the star .
    Android app
    1. Open the Translate app .
    2. Touch Menu Menu icon> Phrasebook.
    3. To delete a translation, touch and hold it, then touch Trash .

    Tip: If you use the Translate app on multiple Android devices, touch Sync to see your saved translations from all of your devices.

    iPhone or iPad
    1. Open the Translate app .
    2. At the bottom of the page, touch the star .
    3. To delete a translation from your phrasebook, touch the star again .

  10. Modify your keyboard to search in other languages

    If you need to translate into a language that has different characters, you can change your keyboard layout.

    Change your keyboard's format

    1. On your computer, visit the Google Translate page.
    2. At the top of the page, choose the languages to translate between. If you don't choose the two languages, you won't be able to change your keyboard.
    3. Click the down arrow to the right of the microphone icon.
    4. Click the keyboard icon .
    5. Choose the keyboard you want to use.
    6. On the keyboard that appears, click the letters you want to search for.

    Depending on what language you're searching in, you'll see options for typing by speech or handwriting and modify the keyboard.

  11. Add the Website Translator plugin to your site

    You can make your site available in other languages by adding the Website Translator plugin to your site.

    How the Website Translator plugin works

    When you install the Website Translator plugin, visitors whose language is different from your site's language will get the option to see a translated version of your site in their language. They'll see the translated version on your site without being taken to another page.

    Add Website Translator to your site

    1. Visit the Website Translator setup page.
    2. Click Add to your website now.
    3. Follow the instructions on the page.

    Send people to a translated version of your site

    If you want users to see an automatically translated version of your site, you can send them to your site using a special web address that includes a language code in it.

    To do this, add #googtrans(en|TARGET_LANG_CODE) to the end of your site's URL.

    For example, http://translate.google.com/support/#googtrans(en|fr). 

    Using the Website Translator on intranet pages

    You can use the Website Translator plugin on corporate intranet pages. However, the plugin can't tell the difference between intranet pages and regular web pages, so the connection that sends the the content for translation isn't secure

    We recommend that you check with your system administrator or IT department before adding the Website Translator plugin on intranet pages.

  12. Help improve Google Translate

    You can improve the Google Translate results in your language, or help add your language to Translate if it isn't available yet.

    How to help

    1. Visit the Google Translate Community.
    2. If prompted, sign in with your Google account.
    3. Select the languages you speak
    4. Click Translate, Rate, or Validate.

    Note: Not all activities are available for every language.

    Ways to help

    Translate

    You can translate words or phrases into your language to improve Google Translate results.

    Tips for translating

    When you're translating, try to suggest what you would say if you were speaking or writing in your language. For example, use the same:

    • Capitalization
    • Tone, like formal or informal
    • Idioms and slang

    If you don't have enough context,like gender, just translate the phrase the way you think it should be written.

    Note: Even if you see errors, translate the phrase as if it were written correctly. For example, if the translation says "how old is you," translate it as if it said "how old are you."

    Rate

    You'll see a translation of a word or phrase into your language and be asked to rate it from Poor to Excellent.

    Validate

    You'll see some translations of a word or phrase and you can mark which ones are right or wrong.

    Help add new languages

    We're always working to translate new languages. To help us do this faster for your language, you can do activities in the Google Translate Community.

    When deciding which new languages to add, we think about whether:

    • It's a written language
    • It's a separate language, not a dialect
    • It's used a lot on the web
    • Speakers of the language can partner us to help launch it

    How your contributions are used

    We'll use your translations to improve Translation quality for your language. Your translation ratings help us both choose good translations and find problems.

    To do that, we may show your contribution to other users (without identifying you), so please be careful not to include anything private or sensitive in your translations.

    Fix translations in Google Translate

    If you see an incorrect translation on Google Translate:

    1. In the bottom right corner of the translation box, choose Wrong?
    2. Type in the correct translation.
    3. Click Contribute.
    improve this translation