You know the drill. You’re somewhere and hear or read something you don’t immediately understand. It’s written or spoken in another language and you can’t immediately understand what it means. In the past you would grab a dictionary and look up the words or phrases you didn’t understand, but how do you do that these days?
The Google Translate app
The solution in 2022 is a genius smartphone app, the Google Translate app. Everyone has a smartphone these days and with it apps.
The Google Translate app is a multifunctional app that can translate everything for you in almost any language and thus solve all your language problems abroad.
Translating can be done in multiple ways which makes translation enormously easy for Google.
For example, you can easily and quickly translate text, speech and even via the camera on your smartphone pictures, texts or other things into your desired language.
Translate a word or an entire text
First, install the app from the Apple app store or the Google play store on your smartphone. Once you have done this, open the app on your phone.
You will then immediately see an input field where you can type in your text. Above the input field you can choose a language in which you write and a language to translate it to. Often the Google app itself recognizes in which language you are writing and thus automatically adapts the first language field.
Roadmap for translating word or text
- Open the Google Translate app
- Click on Home at the bottom
- Select the language you are writing or pasting in at the top left of the screen
- Click the language you wish to translate it into at the top right
- Enter your word or complete text in the input field what you would like to translate
- You will now see the translation automatically as soon as you finish typing or pasting. Your translation is ready immediately and you can select and copy the text to use in another program if you wish.
Translating text or picture via camera
When you have the Google Translate app open, on the home screen you also have the option to translate a text by photographing it with the camera. You place the text in the middle of the camera screen and you will automatically see the translation.
The text on the screen will automatically be overwritten with the newly translated text, making it easy to read as a whole. Super convenient to quickly translate a text, menu card, or bill to a language you want!
Text or picture translation via camera
- Open the Google Translate app
- Click on Home at the bottom of the screen
- Choose the language you want to write or paste the text in at the top left
- Click on the language you wish to translate in at the top right
- Click on camera and accept that Google turns on your camera.
- Point your camera to the text or image you want to translate
- You will see that the text or image will be replaced by a text or image including your translations. You can therefore scan something else or the follow-up text live and see the translation immediately.
Translate speech or spoken text
It can also happen that you are facing someone and have a conversation, but do not understand (well) what is meant. It can also be spoken in a language you do not understand at all. In this case the speech translation function is an ideal solution.
The speech coming in through the microphone is recorded and will be instantly translated by the Google Translate app. You will immediately see the text spoken to you being translated at the bottom of the screen. This way you can easily read back what the person you are talking to is saying to you and you can easily reply.
It is also possible to reply in your own native language and choose to have your text translated directly into the other language. The person you are talking to then receives an answer from Google Translate in his or her language and thus understands what you mean. Ideal right?
Step speech or spoken text translation
- Open the Google Translate app
- Click Home or home screen at the bottom
- Click on conversation
- Give Google Translate access to the microphone. The app will ask for this if you haven’t already.
- You will now see two microphones at the bottom. For each microphone, you can enter the language you are speaking and that the other person is speaking. Each microphone is for one person.
- If you start speaking in Dutch, for example, click on the microphone that says Dutch.
- If the other person answers in English, you click the microphone that says English and Google will listen to that and translate that immediately.
- You will immediately see the translated text as a text form and understand what is being said.
- You can also play back the translations through the speaker, so you can easily play back your message to the other person.
Through this method you can have a whole conversation very easily, without having to know or understand anything of the other language. It thus removes the barrier to going on vacation abroad, for example, if you do not speak the language.
So with this app you can go anywhere without speaking a single word of that country’s language. The only thing to remember is to have your smartphone with you everywhere!