How to download Google Translate and use it online or offline!

Last updated on March 21st, 2025 at 10:49 pm

Want to know how to how to use Google Translate?

Its way easier than you think. You can use the app online, but can also download a whole language on your Google Translate app to use offline! All you need is the space on your phone and its easy to do. And how easy does that make travel life!!

In this post I take you through:

• Why use the Google Translate App
• How to download Google Translate
• How to use Google Translate
• How to download a language to use offline (and delete it later)
• How to know what languages you have downloaded on Google Translate
• Alternatives to Google Translate
• Related Posts

Why use the Google Translate app?

• It’s really blooming useful!! Don’t know what someone is trying to tell you? Don’t know what that is on the menu? Open your app – translate – and voila!
• There are currently 107 languages you can download – not that you would want all at once!
• It installs and uninstalls easily
• You can use it on Apple or Android
• Its free

How to download Google Translate

Enter Google Translate in the search on your app store and hit “Install.” When it has installed, tap on the app icon to open it.

How to use Google Translate…..

…..when someone is talking to you in another language and you have no idea what they are saying?

• Open the app.
• Tap on “Conversation” in the bottom left of the screen.
• Select the language you want to translate from and to by tapping the two boxes underneath the camera. (The list of language options will appear when you tap.)
  You need to know what language they are speaking and select this in the left hand box.
• Start talking and it will translate as you, or the person you are talking to, talks.
• If you want to hear how to pronounce the other language, click on the microphone icon next to the translation.

…..when you want to know how to say something in another language

1. Open the app.
2. Select the language you want to translate from and to by tapping the two boxes underneath the camera – the list of language options will appear when you tap. Choose the language you want. (You can hit the arrows between the two languages to change the direction of translation – e.g. from Spanish to English, to, English to Spanish.)
3. You see the “Enter Text” panel. Write what you want to translate.
   or…
   Tap the “Conversation” option at the bottom left of the screen and say what you want translated. (You can also tap the microphone icon to do this.)
4. The translation will appear on the screen. Tap the loudspeaker icon underneath the translation to hear how to pronounce the words.

…..when you want to translate a sign or text (great for grocery shopping or menus!)

1. Tap the camera icon at the bottom right of the screen
2. Hold the camera over the text you want to translate.
3. Select the language you want to translate from and to by tapping the two boxes underneath the camera – the list of language options will appear when you tap. You can select “Detect Language” for Google Translate to automatically recognise the language.
4. The translation will appear on the screen. If the text is too small or unclear this may not work – but usually it does. (You can swipe from the original to the translation and vice versa.)

How to download a language to use offline (and delete it later)

1. Open the Translate app.
2. Click on your icon in the top right corner
3. Click “Downloaded languages.”
4. Tap on the language you want to download.
5. A message appears – click “Download.” The language you have chosen downloads very quickly and then appears in the list of your downloaded languages at the top of the list.
6. To delete a language, click on the trashcan icon next to the language in this list (see the trash can next to Spanish in the right hand image below).
7. A confirmation box appears.
   Click “Remove.”
   The language is then deleted automatically.

How to know what languages you have downloaded on Google Translate

1. Open the Translate app.
2. Click on your icon in the top right corner
3. Tap “Downloaded Languages.”
4. You will see the languages you have downloaded at the top of the screen (as in the photos above).
   Note: You can tap on any language you have downloaded to see how much space it uses e.g. Spanish takes 81MB on my phone.)

Alternatives to Google Translate

1. Microsoft Translator is another free translation app that you can use on both iPhone and Android. It is very similar to Google Translate although personally I did not find it as intuitive!
2. Apple Translate is a free translation app for iPhone.
3. SpeakText is another free translation app for iPhone.
4. BK Translate is a free translation app for Android.

Other travel tip posts

How to download google maps to use offline

What to take in your hand luggage on a flight – especially long haul!

My 10 top tips to get remote or off the beaten track while traveling