When you need to translate something on the go, one of the most common and useful tools is to use Google Translate: when you learn languages, travel, talk with someone from abroad… Google Translate is convenient and efficient. But the normal thing is to stay in the cute and cute translation and not squeeze all the juice out of that Google tool. Do you already know these seven functions to get the most out of Google Translate on Android?
To use: Although most of the features are also available on iOS, some like Doodle are not.
Better to write than to dictate
The quirky feature of Google Translate is its ability to write text (or paste it for that matter) and have it translated in writing when choosing the output language (the input language too, although Google recognizes this automatically), which you can do both from the browser version and from the application.
Later the option to dictate was added, which yes, in necessary scenarios like a conversation is more agile, but if what you want is to optimize the results, it is better to take your time to write
Hand write
While the previous point looks for the best translation results, with this one we just show you another way of working with Google Translate that you may find useful. if you use a tablet with a stylus and write on it.
Because in addition to typing and with the voice, on Android it is possible to doodle what you want Google to translate for you. To do this, you just need to open the application and click on the pen icon. Now a box will appear at the bottom where you can write with your finger or a pen. We tested it and it surprises with its ability to recognize even bad words.
translate a conversation
Although it is vox populi that by pressing the microphone icon we can record our voice so that the tool detects it, transcribes it and translates it, if you want it for a conversation it is more practical activate talk mode (lower left corner).
So each person taps the microphone icon for their respective speech in the language of their choice (in my experience this works better than Auto mode) when it’s their turn to speak and after their speech the translation will displayed on the screen and broadcast through the loudspeaker. You can listen to it as many times as you want.
Translate what you see with the camera
Another really useful feature for travel is the ability to translate what you see from the real world into Google Translate using the camera and Google lens. On the app’s main screen, tap the camera icon to open Google Lens and point the camera at the text you want to translate. In a few seconds the translation will be superimposed.
The system is not perfect offering better results with clear and simple fonts, like that of a restaurant menu. What do you need to translate what is already in a photo? Once in Google Lens, go to the gallery.
Also translate what you see on your phone
Normally we use Google Translate on the phone for things that come from outside (conversations, texts, etc.), but it also works for translate any content on your android phone.
With Android, the default browser is Chrome and there it’s as simple as selecting some text and selecting translate from the context menu. But there is much more.
In the Google Translate app, tap your profile picture and ‘Setting‘ > ‘Settings‘ > ‘tap to translate‘ and in there, ‘Use touch to translate‘.
From now on, when you copy text from any app, you can select the Google Translate notification to automatically translate it to your clipboard. If you prefer to see an icon, return to the ‘Use touch to translate‘ and activate ‘show floating icon‘.
Guard offline languages
When we go on a trip abroad, we don’t always have mobile internet available, so a good resource for squeezing google translate when we need it most is downloading languages.
To do this, enter the app and click on your profile picture (upper right corner) and there tap on ‘Downloaded languages’. You will see that there are many languages available and information for your peace of mind: although downloading an entire language seems overwhelming (especially if we don’t have enough space on our phone), these packs are about 80 MB.
By the way, if for example you are traveling to Denmark soon but no longer need it, you can return to this screen and send it to the trash.
Save the most common phrases and your fillers
Continuing with this hypothetical trip to Denmark, there are surely phrases that you will use frequently, for example “hello, hello, can you help me please?”. Ditto if you use Google Translate at work. SO you can save time by saving them.
After translating something, Tap the star icon to save. Now whenever you want to retrieve the phrase, return to the app and on the main screen tap the star in the top left corner.
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