Whether you’re trying to get started learning a new language, just looking get by while you’re overseas or just translating something you’ve found on the web, our Top 10 Translation Apps for Android should have something to suit your every need no matter what the language!

Google Translate

We’ll kick off with one of the more obvious choices for translating one language to another, Google Translate is a nice and simple, go-to app in your time of translation need. With pretty much every modern language included, Google Translate is great in a pinch, and even works great with an Android Wear watch. However, to get the most out of it you’ll need to be connected to the internet, otherwise some forward planning to download your needed language packs is needed. An all-rounder, Google Translate gets the job and then some.

 

Duolingo

 

Duolingo is the app you start using if you’re looking to start learning a new language. It’s a great way of getting to grips with basic phrases, pronunciation and verb structure and more importantly; it’s quite good fun. It’s simple and rewarding, with the ability to compete against your friends as well. If you have a big trip planned for a few months in the future, you can get started with Duolingo, learn at a steady pace and keep up with your language skills when you return home – maybe pick up a different one!

 

Yandex.Translate

 

If you’re familiar with Yandex, you’ll know what the Russian-based company is all about, otherwise it’s safe to simply call them the Russian Google, to make a long story short. Offering similar services to Yahoo and Google, Yandex have their own translation app and, it works just about as you’d expect, with over 40 languages included and a fairly straightforward user interface that’s really easy to use, Yandex have a good offering on their hands here. It also goes without saying, if you’re primarily going to be translating Russian, this is one of your better bets.

 

Word Lens Translator

A true translator for the travelers out there, Word Lens can help you make sense of those menus, those signs by the side of the road or whatever else it is you need to understand. All you do is point your phone’s camera at some text (it works with Spanish, German, Portuguese, Russian, Italian and French) and it’ll translate it to a language of your choice. This is excellent if you need to know what something is on a menu and your Spanish might not be good enough to ask, or if you need to translate an information leaflet or something. It’s worth noting that Word Lens doesn’t work on handwriting or fancy-looking fonts, but it’s not a miracle worker.

 

Dolphin Translate

Use Dolphin Browser as your main browser on Android? Then you’ll like this add-on, it’s pretty self-explanatory and all it does is translate the webpage you’re looking at to a different language that you can actually understand. While this is now built-in to Google’s Chrome browser on Android, not everyone wants to use Google’s wunderkind of a browser and if your device is a little on the lower-end of things, Dolphin Browser can help speed up the web, and with this you can translate the web, too.

 

OnScreen Translate

OnScreen Translate is an Android app that, as you can see from the above screenshot hasn’t been updated in a while however, it still works just fine and is a nice way of getting translations no matter which app you’re in. This is great if you’re liaising with people all over the world and you don’t want to jump between apps all the time. It’s pretty simple, granted. However, it works well and there’s nothing to complain about here, really.

R2D2 Translate

 

Okay, so I managed to sneak something a little more fun into this list. This isn’t going to help if you’re negotiating a new deal with the French, but it will help you talk to any Astromech Droids you find on your travels…if any. See, this fun little app just translates speech into R2D2 style beeps and bloops, it’s a lot of fun and after having to trawl through all sorts of different translator apps, why not have a little bit of fun?

Translate Voice

Translate Voice is an Android app that, as you might have imagined, focuses on using voices in order to translate things back and forth. It’ll translate between 80 or so languages, with 44 of them supporting voice input and output. So, if you’re looking for a method to be more verbal with your translation, then this is certainly one way to go about it.

 

Copy Translate

 

Copy Translate is an updated version of OnScreen Translate, and it’s a doddle to use. Just turn it on in the app and then when you hit copy, you’ll be given a translation of your highlighted phrase. This is really great for students who have found a phrase that they’re not quite sure about, or if you’re reading something with foreign phrases thrown in you can quickly translate and keep on reading. It’s slick, great for studying and seamlessly integrates with your Android experience.

 

Japanese Translation

 

Ever been to Japan? Found the language barrier overwhelming? Thinking of going to Japan but don’t want to make the trip because of the same issue? Japanese is incredibly hard to learn, I spent years at school learning it and my Japanese is passable at best. You can learn as many phrases as you like, but there’s always going to be one piece of Kanji or one character you forget and you’ll be stuck. This is where Japanese Translation comes in, it’s a polished app that can help you out in a pinch and has everything you could ask for, and is specifically created for Japanese, so you know that you’re going to get a good translation with this.