Veronica Pamoukaghlian
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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 Translator
- 2. Ultralingua
- 3. Google Translate
- 4. iTranslate Voice
- 5. Speak & Translate
- 6. Microsoft Translate
- 7. Linguee
- 8. BK Translate’s English German Translator
- 9. WordReference
- 10. Reverso
- The Pros and Cons of German Translation Apps
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
1. GreenLife German English Translator
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. Ultralingua
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.
3. Google Translate
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 Voice
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 & Translate
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 Translate
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. Linguee
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 Translator
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. WordReference
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.
10. Reverso
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.
To make your brain your best translation tool, and to supplement any translation app out there with the best updated knowledge, start learning authentic German in context with FluentU.
FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.
You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Click here to check out the website or download the iOS app or Android app.
German translation may not always be perfect, but they can be great tools if you use them correctly!
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
