For a majority of people, Google Translate is obviously their trusty sidekick when it comes to translating a word, a phrase, or entire websites. Google‘s offering is quite a handy tool and it’s popular among global users for its rich feature set and accuracy, but there sure is no dearth of translation apps out there, that work quite fine (or even better than Google Translate in some destinations or use-cases) and will serve you perfectly. Well, here’s a list of the 12 best language translation apps for Android and iOS that will come in handy whenever you feel the need, be it while you’re on an international trip or carrying out academic work in your study room.
1. Google Translate
Without a doubt, Google Translate is one of the most popular and robust translation apps available on your mobile. The app extends support for translations in more than 100 languages including Chinese, Korean, German, French, Indonesian, Maltese, Hindi, and more. It includes support for the most offline languages, i.e. 59, and 38 out of those are available to instantly translate street signs or food menus via the camera.
The best part about Google Translate is that it makes all of these features available for free, without ads or subscriptions. This is the best free translation app out there in the market right now.
Google Translate may be the most popular translation app out there, but it doesn’t mean its arch-nemesis is any far behind. Microsoft Translator is also quite popular among users for its equally-impressive set of features that enables you to translate text, voice, or photos from over 60 languages – both online and offline.
Microsoft Translate has a simple interface, nothing too flashy, and you may turn to this translation app if you are looking for a Google Translate alternative. It is also absolutely free and comes with a phrasebook with essential expressions for easy communication in international waters.
iTranslate may carry a name similar to a native iOS app, but it’s also available on Android and is a well-known translator app. The added benefit here is that it also has capabilities of a dictionary app rolled into it and shows the verb conjugations, synonyms, and a lot more under the translations itself. iTranslate allows you to translate text or voice in more than 100 languages, along with switching between dialects, online and offline.
4. U-Dictionary
In line with the translation and dictionary apps, U-Dictionary is another great example of the same and it has risen in popularity quite rapidly. It offers to users text translations between 108 languages, offline support for 44 of them, and camera translations in 12 of these languages. Some of the popular languages here are Chinese, Turkish, Italian, Hindi, and a host of regional Indian languages.
Price: Free
Like Yandex is Russia’s own Google Search alternative, Yandex Translate clearly is the company’s Google Translate alternative. The app enables translations between 90 languages when you’re online and just a handful including French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish, or Turkish to English offline. This is nothing compared to Google but Yandex has steadily expanded its offering and continues to do so.
Yandex Translate is also a dictionary app and as seen in the screenshots above, you can learn the definitions, synonyms, and usage examples right there. All this is accessible to users for free and the simple UI of the app makes it a joy to use, except for the Russian collections view that can be a bit daunting.
We have now moved past the territory of simplistic translation apps with multi-linguistic search engines, such as Reverso Context, which not just displays the most relevant translations but also focuses on making you learn a language with supplementary info and examples.
When you translate a word or phrase with the app, you see examples for many different sentences for relevant use-cases such as business, finance, medical or technical. Reverso also shows you the pronunciation, reverse translations, and flashcards for more effective learning and revision.
Download Reverso Context: (Android, iOS)
While scouring the Internet for best translation apps on mobile, I stumbled upon Naver’s Papago Translate app, which is touted to be Asia’s most popular and accurate translation app.
My favorite feature of the Papago app will, however, have to be ‘website translate’ that rests silently under the hamburger menu. You simply need to input a web address and you’ll get a translated version within seconds with this feature. Neat, isn’t it? The app is totally free and we would love to see it bloom into something more robust but until then, you can also place your trust in WeChat (Android, iOS) for your translation needs.
If you’re someone who needs travels around a lot, be it for business or leisure purposes, it’s not simply great to have a translation app on you but also know about the etiquettes and culture of the international destination.
9. SayHi Translate
This is the most simple language translation app on the list. SayHi Translate focuses on the most important aspect, i.e translation instead of cluttering the app with a ton of features. This app enables you to have a conversation in two languages, similar to the Conversation mode on Google Translate, and check out the translated transcriptions right there in real-time.
Download SayHi Translate: (Android, iOS)
If you’re an iOS user and don’t mind shelling out a few bucks, well, Speak & Translate could then be your go-to translation app when you’re on a business or tourist trip in foreign destinations. It is also pretty simplistic like SayHi Translate but makes up for the points it lost by offering offline support.
Speak and Translate offers a three day trial to iOS users, post which they’ll have to pick a monthly subscription for unlimited translations, offline support, and an ad-free experience.
When it comes to translating languages efficiently, “Translate Now” is at par with the best in the business. What headlines for this app is the ability to translate into more than 110 languages. You can simply enter the phrase you wish to translate and the app will show up the results quickly. Moreover, it can also let you the correct pronunciation, which could play a vital role in helping you master a new language.
The app comes with a camera translation feature that can translate signs, menus or any paper document using your device camera. Thanks to the AR translation, you can translate the world around. Perfect for the times where you want to snap quick information about everything that catches your eyes on a foreign trip.
If you are looking for a voice translation app that can let you translate languages on the go, Voice Translator App may be the right pick for you. It can come in super handy for the times when you are at the airport, gas station, hotel, and supermarket during a trip to a foreign country. Well-timed for the folks who are in quest of an easy-to-use personal interpreter to help them communicate without any language barrier.
If you’re traveling to a foreign land and are not well-versed with the native language, we will suggest you pick one of the aforementioned translation apps. However, if you look to translate phrases on the fly then the Google Assistant on Android and Siri on iOS devices offer a pretty fulfilling experience.
You can simply call upon the AI voice assistant and ask them to translate the phrase you say into the language you desire. The command looks something like this – Hey Google or Siri, ‘Translate
