10 Useful Google Translate Features Everyone Should Know

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Translation of PDF documents, your own dictionary, offline work - this is just a small part of the service's capabilities.

Handwriting input

Google Translate not only supports typing words using the keyboard, but also handwriting input. Moreover, this applies to both the web version of the service and the mobile application. In the first case, you just need to click on the pencil icon at the bottom of the input window. No touchscreen or stylus support required.

You can write in the window that opens with the mouse, holding down its left button. Words that the service was able to recognize will appear below the input area.

In the mobile application, handwriting input is much more convenient. It is activated by clicking on the pen icon, after which you can draw with your finger both individual letters and whole words. This input method can be especially useful for learners of hieroglyphic languages: Japanese, Chinese, or Korean.

Offline translation

Mobile "Google Translate" has long been able to work without a network connection. You just need to pre-load the dictionaries of the languages you need. This can be done from the side menu of the application by selecting Offline Translation.

In this section, language packs can not only be saved, but also deleted from the smartphone's memory.

Simultaneous translation

In the mobile "Google Translate" there is a voice-over of the typed text and even voice input, but a much more useful function is "Communication". It allows you to switch to a special mode with simultaneous translation for a dialogue with a foreigner.

In this mode, the application listens and translates all phrases into the interlocutor's language, pronouncing them in a voice and displaying them in text. To invite someone to chat through the "Chat" function, you need to select a language and click on the palm icon in the upper right corner. After that, a special welcome message will be displayed on the screen in the language of your choice.

Also note that for simultaneous interpretation and voice input in general, you can activate the censorship function. It will hide behind asterisks (***) any profanity it recognizes. You can find this function in the application settings, in the "Voice input" section.

Instant translation via camera

An equally useful function of the mobile application is text translation using a smartphone camera. In real time, the finished text will be displayed instead of the caption you are shooting. Instant translation comes in handy when you need to know what a sign or warning sign means. It will be especially convenient abroad.

To access this function, you just need to launch the camera from the application toolbar. In the shooting mode itself, you can open any previously received photo, where there is something to translate.

Own dictionary

You can save translations of any words or phrases in your own dictionary so that you can return to them later. To do this, you just need to click on the star. In the mobile "Translator" it is displayed directly opposite the translation, and in the web version of the service - below it.

You can go to the list of saved translations on your smartphone through the main menu by clicking on the "Phrasebook". On a desktop, the path to this section is through the asterisk button above the translation area.

Translation from any application

On Android smartphones, Google Translate offers a convenient quick translation function from any application where text can be highlighted. Having marked the desired word or phrase, you need to expand the context menu by clicking on three dots and select "Translation".

A mini-translator window will open on top of the original application, where, if necessary, you can change the language or listen to the pronunciation. This function is enabled in the application settings, in the section with the logical name "Fast translation".

SMS translation

To translate the text of the received SMS, it is not at all necessary to use copy-paste. You can jump to messages directly from the mobile "Google Translate". Just click on "Transfer SMS" in the main menu and select a message.

Translation in the search bar

If you need to find out the translation of one or more words, then you can completely do with a simple query in the search bar. In the case of a translation into English, it should look like: your word or phrase + "in English". An example is shown in the screenshot below.

The function of translation through the search bar is relevant for both smartphones and PCs.

Website translation

You can translate text from a foreign site to a PC in three different ways. The most obvious one is banal copying and pasting into the translator. In the case of small fragments of text, this can be convenient, but if you need to translate the entire page, it is better to use other methods.

For example, you can simply copy a link to a website page and paste it into Google Translate. A link to the same site will appear in the window on the right, but in the required language and with all the markup saved.

Another way assumes the presence of the Chrome browser. In it, when visiting a foreign resource, the Google Translate icon will appear in the address bar on the right. Clicking on it will also translate the entire site.

Translation of documents

This is another feature that is relevant only for the web version of the service. It allows you to load a text document from your computer's memory and view its translation. It can be a PDF file or, for example, DOCX.

To download a document, you need to completely clear the text input area and click on the "Translate document" link below it. After selecting the file, all that remains is to click on the translation button. The text will open in the same window. The quality of such translation is sometimes poor, but with simple documents the function can be useful.