The 6 Best Translation Apps for Visiting China


A translation app is an awesome tool to avoid potential awkwardness when facing the inevitable language barrier in China.

Although the ability to speak English is becoming more common amongst the Chinese, there are plenty of situations where you could find yourself struggling to communicate in China. if you find yourself off the beaten path, you could be waiting a very long time until an English speaker comes along to help you. On top of that, a good translation app is an essential tool in the quest to learn Chinese.

Aren’t all translation apps the same?

Yes and no.

Most translation apps come with the all-important text translator and voice translator.

However, there is an often overlooked and very important function that is often forgotten about until it comes to learning Mandarin Chinese, and that’s the text scanner.

Pleco‘s OCR text reader

As of this moment, I’m yet to find one app that serves literally all of your translating needs in China. However, taking a mix and match approach to the following apps can work wonders.

Most of them are free, too!

Google Translate

“Hold on a second. Aren’t all Google services blocked in China?”

Kind of, yes.

However, you can download the Chinese-English text translation file whilst connected to the internet so you can use it offline when you’re out and about. Be aware that the offline version can only translate texts. You’ll need to have an internet connection if you want to keep using the voice translation in China, and you’ll need to be connected to the internet via a good VPN.

As well as being able to translate large chunks of text, Google Translate can translate entire websites through a Chrome plugin.

Google Translate rarely offers up perfect translations (like all translations app), but you always get a reasonably accurate translation with the text reader.

Features

  • Store language offline.
  • Type to translate.
  • Write to translate.
  • Speak to translate.
  • Instant camera translation.
  • Save common phrases.
  • Tap to translate
ProsCons
– Very effective
– ‘Save-phrase-for-later’ feature
– Offline mode
– Free
– Robotic voice
– Need a VPN to use online in China

Baidu Translate

Baidu is China’s top search engine, so it only makes sense that they’ve thrown their own translation app into the mix.

When you search for Baidu Translate in the app store, you might be put off by all of the Chinese. This makes sense somewhat as it is a Chinese app geared primarily to a Chinese audience.

The main benefit of using Baidu Translate over Google Translate is that Baidu services aren’t blocked in China, meaning you don’t need a VPN to use it.

Baidu Translate includes a solid voice translation feature in addition to an image recognition feature – a fairly new development in the language app world.

Features

  • Speech-to-speech translation.
  • Type to translate.
  • Camera translation of multiple languages.
  • Conversation mode with chat history.
ProsCons
– Free
– Awesome image recognition tool
– Chinese voice clearer than Google
– No offline mode
– Not designed for native English speaking users

Waygo

If you have trouble reading signs or menus in Chinese, an instant character translation app will come in very handy. I find these apps particularly useful in local Chinese restaurants as menus will rarely be in English.

Playing the game ‘Restaurant Menu Selection Roulette’ in China loses its novelty quite quickly.

Waygo is without a doubt the cream of the crop when it comes to instant text translation. The OCR reader captures characters so easily compared to Pleco.

All you have to do is open the app and point your smartphone camera at the text you want to translate. Although regular translation apps like Google and Baidu have a text translator, Waygo is the easiest to use.

Another great thing about WayGo is it doesn’t require an internet connection, so you can use it whenever and wherever.

Just be warned that the free version only provides 10 translations per day, so if you want to use the app extensively, you’ll have to pay a one-off fee of £5.99 for unlimited translations of Chinese.

The translations can sometimes be a bit off the mark (like they are with all apps), and it doesn’t always work with books or really stylised fonts.

Features

  • Still and live OCR.
  • Zoom slider.
  • Built-in light.
  • Multiple line reader.
  • Other languages are available – Japanese and Korean.

ProsCons
– Fast and simple translations from Chinese to English
– Take a photo of the Chinese text to then translate it
– Keeps a log of your previous translations
– The ability to share translations
– Simple and clean user interface
– The free version only allows 10 translations a day.
– Can’t read handwriting.
– Not really suited to reading longer-form text.

Pleco

Pleco is my number one recommendation for a comprehensive Chinese dictionary and is an absolute must for any Mandarin Chinese learner.

One of the many paid add-on features (totally worth it) is the OCR (Optical Character Recogniser), where you can scan live texts or images you’ve taken on your phone and then translate them

My only issue with the Pleco OCR is that it doesn’t offer a full-text translator – you can only translate the characters on-by-one. So, Pleco isn’t much use when trying to translate longer-form content.

The Pleco basic bundle ($29.99) includes the full-screen handwriting function, document reader, OCR, flashcard function, stroke order diagrams, Mandarin Audio, and dictionary. I have the basic bundle, and it’s the best 30 dollars I’ve ever spent.

Pleco takes some getting used to, but it’s an awesome resource that’s definitely worth having.

Features

  • Still and live OCR.
  • Capture flashcards.
  • Document reader.
  • An absolute ton of other great features included in the basic bundle.

ProsCons
– Capture features that aren’t available on Waygo.
– Other features and services in combination with OCR.
– Can read printed text only.
– Background interference affects readability.
– The OCR system is kind of ‘fiddley’

Microsoft Translator

The first plus point of Microsoft Translator is that it’s free.

Secondly, it’s not blocked in China.

Thirdly, not only can you listen to audio translations, but it will also display the characters and pinyin of the audio as well.

Microsoft Translator can be integrated with other Microsoft applications, like using the Microsoft Translator API. The browser versions can translate only text and web pages, but the apps can work with real-time speech, images, and text.

You are able to use Microsoft Translator offline, but the text-to-text offline language file is a whopping 98 megabytes.

Google Translate’s real-time video translations might be star-spangled awesome to some users, but Microsoft translator isn’t far off the mark with its split-screen conversation mode. This means that if multiple phones all have Microsoft Translator, users can connect to each other with a code and join the same conversation.

Features

  • Network conversation mode.
  • Voice, character and pinyin translation.
  • Apple Watch app.
  • Image and capture translation.
  • Chat translation.
  • Messaging app.

ProsCons
– Voice, character, and pinyin translation at the same time.
– Group conversation mode.
– Free.
– Unblocked in China.
– Can link to the Apple Watch app.
– Robotic voice.
– Massive offline file at 98MB.

iTranslate 

For the effort of being the only app on this list trying to serve all of your translation needs, iTranslate unsurprisingly comes with a subscription price tag.

With offline mode, voice conversation, and website translation, iTranslate does a few things for users, and it does them well.

To get the most from iTranslate, it’s recommended to download the additional iTranslate Converse App. By holding the phone upside-down and pressing the screen to talk, the app automatically detects which language is being spoken and translates it into your chosen language.

The app is free for up to 300 translations per month. If you want to keep using it after that, it’s $4.99 per month or $39.99 annually. The good news is that if you already pay for a subscription on the iTranslate app, you won’t be charged again – just log in to the app and start using it.

Features

  • Website translator.
  • Dictionary.
  • Watch app and universal app.
  • Auto-detect languages.
  • Voice output.
  • Offline mode.

ProsCons
– iTranslate PRO is hands down the best all-around Mandarin translator app on the market.
– iTranslate Converse app is an awesome voice translator, perhaps better than the others on this list.
– The full version is the most expensive option on this list.
– Voice translation doesn’t work offline.

Translation Apps: Benefits for the Mandarin Learner

The main function of the translation apps listed above is pretty obvious. However, these apps bring a few other benefits to those learning Mandarin.

  • Dictionary – Translation apps aren’t the best language dictionaries by a long shot, but they’re better than nothing. If you don’t have a dictionary app (you should get Pleco), then a translation app will accurate enough in most cases, especially if you’re looking up nouns.
  • Sentence construction – If you aren’t sure how to put a sentence together or express a simple idea in Mandarin, translation apps will take you most of the way. Again, they can’t be relied on completely for flawless translations but most simple sentences will be fine. This is a very helpful tool for learning Mandarin.
  • Text reader – A genuinely helpful tool that many Mandarin learners make use of to consume reading material they find interesting. Simply scan websites or articles in Mandarin and see how much you understand. Use the translations as a reference for part of the text you don’t understand, and save important words to flashcard decks. This is a cheap and slightly laborious way of learning, but it can be rather effective.
  • Communication – If you’re really struggling to communicate with someone in Mandarin and they don’t speak your native tongue, using instant voice translation can really help out.

Summary

For those visiting China or Taiwan, the above apps will take care of most of your translation needs. Remember that although most translation apps can give you a fairly accurate translation of simple texts, the more complicated the text, the more wild and inaccurate the translation might be.

If you’re looking for some some good online translation services, check out my post The 5 Best Chinese Translation Services Online (No Apps!).

If you’re looking for resources to help you learn Mandarin Chinese, check out the links below.

Further Reading

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