How-To

How to Translate Text, Images, Video and Websites with Google Translate

By Brian Burgess

Updated September 24, 2023

Google’s multilingual translation service can translate text, speech, images, websites, documents and video. Here’s how to use the web and mobile versions.

As the global economy continues to grow, so does the need to communicate with people who speak different languages than your own. Or, maybe you want to read an article that covers a topic from another country. If you find yourself in a situation where you need to have important information translated to your language, Google Translate is a great way to do it easily and for free.

Google’s multilingual translation service can translate text, speech, images, websites, or even real-time video. You can access it via its web interface, mobile apps for iOS and Android, or browser extension.

Translate Text with Google Translate

If you need to translate a bit of text quickly, you can type: Google Translate into search to get the basic translation tool. This provides an easy way to quickly copy and paste some text and get the translation to and from the language you need. If you need additional features, head to the Google Translate site.

Note that there are over 100 different languages you can translate to or from. Just select the language you need translated and then what you want it translated to.

From here, you can also click on the mic button and start speaking what you want to be translated, swap languages back and forth, or have the text read back to you.

Another feature to point out is the Phrasebook that lets you save the various translations you do for future reference.

Google Translate Extension

Another thing you might want to check out is the Google Translate extension for Chrome. It allows you to highlight a section of text and then translate it to your language or even translate the entire page if you want. This saves you the hassle of opening a new tab and navigating away from the page you’re on.

If you’re on a mobile device, you can grab the free Google Translate app for Android or iOS. It also lets you translate between over 100 languages as well as 52 languages when you’re offline. It also lets you use your camera to translate text to 30 languages (a sign while you’re traveling, for example). Like the web-based version, you can use handwriting, and if you’re signed in to your Google account, your Phrasebook will sync between devices.

And, of course, there is the magic of real-time video translation. You really have to see it, to believe it, so let’s take a look at a video that demonstrates the mobile app’s capabilities for real-time video translation.

Translate Almost Anything

And of course, we would be negligent if we didn’t mention the classic Google Translator Website. Here, you can translate text, speech, handwriting, and even an entire website if you enter the URL into the text box. One of my favorite features, of course, is the ability to upload an entire document.

Note: Be sure to read the Google TOS before uploading any documents which might be confidential to your personal or business life.

Keep in mind that not all translations are 100 percent accurate. As the saying goes, “some things get lost in translation.” But in most cases, it’s good enough and getting better every day thanks to Google’s machine learning and deep learning advances. Also, if you’re multilingual and want to help increase the accuracy of the Google Translate experience, you can join the Translate Community and lend a hand.

Do you use Google Translate or another service to translate information from the web? Leave us a comment below and let us know how accurate you find it to be.