10 of the Best German Translation Apps of 2023

I once had a partner who used Google Translate for understanding important documents, like legal contracts. I can tell you that important documents and automatic translations don’t mix well.

Nevertheless, in the age of smartphone apps, automatic translations have truly evolved.

I make a substantial portion of my income with translations, and I don’t fear machines are going to compete with what I do anytime soon. But I do believe that apps are wonderful for translating simple texts.

Of course, you don’t want to end up with nonsensical phrases, so it’s key to find the best translation apps around and know how to use them. 

Whether you’re looking for a professional tool or a quick on-the-go app, this post will give you 10 great options for German translation apps.

Contents

1. GreenLife German English Translatorbest german translation app

Available on: Android

This free app offers a user-friendly interface and is ideal for translating simple phrases and practicing pronunciation.

It’s a bit low on colloquial phrases, but includes SMS integration and speech recognition. The app’s sleek and responsive design is its biggest asset.

2. Ultralinguabest german translation app

Available on: iOS and Android

When you are traveling, you don’t always have an internet connection. Ultralingua can be used offline, which makes it perfect for the road.

The German dictionary is an add-on for the free basic app; it costs $15 for Android and $20 for Apple devices. This is the price per language pair, so if you want to add another language you have to pay again.

Interesting features include Google integration and a verb conjugation tool. Ultralingua’s German database has over 270,000 terms.

best german translation app3. Google Translate

Available on: iOS and Android

The biggest advantage of the Google Translate app comes to you from millions of users all over the world, who are constantly feeding new translations into the system.

While the initial automated translations it offers are often riddled with mistakes, it’s probably the best simple tool for translating and later editing lengthy texts.

4. iTranslate Voicebest german translation app

Available on: iOS and Android

This award-winning app is one of the best for speech recognition and instant voice translation.

It allows users to edit manually, has chat and SMS integration, and offers a convenient phrasebook.

It is available free for Android and at a small cost for Apple devices ($7).

5. Speak & Translatebest german translation app

Available on: iOS

This is a dedicated app for speech recognition and translation. It is free and supported by ads. 

You may find the ads a bit distracting, and it may not be the best for translating longer sentences, but it still offers the advantages of good speech recognition, good translation speed and ease of use.

6. Microsoft Translategerman-translation-app-for-android

Available on: Android

Microsoft Translate is especially mobile and easy to use anywhere as it offers offline use.

It also features multiple-person translation and alternative translations. You can even hear your translations out loud or use the voice and camera translation features.

There’s also a built-in phrasebook and pronunciation guides.

7. Lingueebest german translation app

Available on: iOS and Android

Linguee is a fabulous tool. When you enter a phrase, you get two side-by-side columns featuring texts using the phrase you entered in German and their English translation.

This information is taken from multilingual sites. Thus, you can not only see the word or words in context, but also in many different contexts, so you can decide which meaning is the most accurate for the text you are translating.

The only drawback is that it doesn’t protect you against bad translations, which do abound on the web. Just bear in mind that some of the results may be wrong.

8. BK Translate’s English German Translatorgerman-translation-app-for-android

Available on: Android

This very user-friendly app allows you to translate voice, handwriting, words and full sentences.

It’s focused exclusively on German-to-English and English-to-German translation, so if you want to avoid bells and whistles, this is your best bet.

The app can also be used as a dictionary, but some users have mentioned that this app doesn’t always include the gender of nouns, which is crucial for learning German.

9. WordReferencebest german translation app

Available on: iOS and Android

This is an online multilingual dictionary. It features everything you need to really get the meaning of a word, from definitions to examples of the word used in context to comments from users.

It is one of the prime online resources for translation.

best german translation app10. Reverso

Available on: iOS and Android

Reverso functions similarly to Google Translate. When you enter text, you will receive an automated translation, which can be literal and misleading—but you will also receive sentences with the word or phrase used in context. 

The Pros and Cons of German Translation Apps

The key to using translation apps is knowing what they are great for and what they are not very reliable for. 

Pros

  • Translation apps often offer many different options and synonyms for nouns and verbs. Some app translations feature clickable words, which can be switched for a number of suitable alternatives.
  • Translation apps may offer pronunciation guides or audio. Simply click on a word or phrase to hear a native speaker pronounce your text. You really couldn’t do this in the long-lost age of the print dictionary.
  • Some apps build memories as users edit them, so that they provide access to up-to-date knowledge by professional translators. While there’s no guarantee that a previous user didn’t get a translation wrong, in my experience, this is a fabulous feature.
  • Apps are fast. Press ENTER, and you’ll receive your translated text almost instantly. I have auto-translated whole books in a matter of seconds.
  • Apps are either free or affordable. The competition is fierce, and developers are offering new free and affordable apps every day.

Cons

  • Apps tend to translate words in isolation, except when dealing with the most common phrases. This often leads to error.
  • Some interfaces are not practical for editing the text within the app. If you can’t edit within the app, then the translation of written texts can get a bit complicated. You’ll have to exit the app and paste the translation into a word processor, losing the app’s functionalities, such as clickable words and pronunciation aids.
  • Apps seldom work for translating slang and colloquial language. As fast as developers may update them, language evolves faster, and they often lag behind when it comes to current colloquial language.

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Vocabulary and phrases are learned with the help of interactive subtitles and full transcripts.

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Hovering over or tapping on any word in the subtitles will automatically pause the video and instantly display its meaning. Interesting words you don’t know yet can be added to a to-learn list for later.

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For every lesson, a list of vocabulary is provided for easy reference and bolstered with plenty of examples of how each word is used in a sentence.

Your existing knowledge is tested with the help of adaptive quizzes in which words are learned in context.

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To keep things fresh, FluentU keeps track of the words you’re learning and recommends further lessons and videos based on what you've already studied.

This way, you have a truly personalized learning experience.

Start using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)

 

German translation may not always be perfect, but they can be great tools if you use them correctly! 

If you liked this post, something tells me that you'll love FluentU, the best way to learn German with real-world videos.

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