To a certain extent, native English speakers have it easy. The language is spoken by one in five people globally, making it easily understood anywhere from Athens to Zagreb. And for those of us who learned English as toddlers, the languages we picked up in high school or fine-tuned during study abroad make the world feel even more interconnected.
But sometimes that leg up still leaves us at a literal loss for words. When you’re trying to communicate with a taxi driver in Tokyo or pick the right cold medicine in France (how do you say non-drowsy, again?), there’s only so much that rudimentary language skills, or a helpful concierge, can do to help.
Enter Google Translate. Since 2006, the free app has been breaking the language barrier for travelers far and wide—and its algorithmic, machine-learning methods have only gotten better (and fluent in more languages) over time. Its technology is now available to developers all around the globe via a public API, which means more savvy translation tools than ever before. Some are specialized for particular languages or regions, some can listen to your voice in addition to reading text, and some can even auto-detect languages or use image recognition to supply the words you’re looking for.
None of them are perfect—not yet—and sometimes they can’t tell the difference between an asp and an elbow. But after eight months of on-the-road testing in France, Spain, Germany, and Japan, these are the five that stood the test of time. All have free versions and are available for both Android devices and iPhones alike.
Best for Global Coverage
Google Translate
Why we like it: With more than 100 languages that can be automatically detected and translated in either direction by text, voice, and character recognition (in varying combinations), this app covers more of the globe than any other—even if competitors use its technology as the basis for unique specialized features and regional expertise.
Earlier this summer, Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc., announced that its neural machine translation engine—which creates more natural-sounding translations by parsing entire sentences, rather than individual words—now functions offline for 58 languages. And Google Lens, which triggers Google Translate from your phone’s camera, lets you hover over a sign or menu and instantly see its written translation. The feature is now built into most Android phone cameras; just look for the Lens icon. It’s also accessible through the “camera” option inside Google Translate or via a separate companion app.
Caveat: Give it big chunks of text or anything vaguely technical, and Google struggles—sometimes comically. Use Lens to translate the label on a carton of whole, non-homogenized milk in a Kyoto supermarket, for instance, and it might tell you it’s “Breaking fat globules homogenizing without doing homogenizing milk close to milked fish made as handmade as possible.”
Best for Business Trips
TripLingo
Why we like it: More than just a translator, TripLingo is a full service travel app aimed at minimizing miscommunication and missteps while traveling abroad. It offers instant voice- and text-based translations in 42 languages, plus guidelines on local customs, etiquette, and tipping around the world. (There are even cheat sheets on medical and safety phrases, just in case.)