Whether your taxi driver in Athens tries to talk to you or a friendly Japanese shows you the way, understanding each other is quite a challenge. Now you can look up one word in an app and hope someone understands what you're saying, but entering a lot more translation text would be more convenient. This is possible with these apps, because they can translate a whole piece of text in one go.
Google Translate
The most used application to translate text is Google Translate. Google simply has so much data that it is extremely good at translating texts, whether that is from English to Dutch, or from Dutch to Greek. It uses artificial intelligence to understand the context of a sentence, so that you actually say what you mean instead of it being translated too literally, so that the grammar in that other language is no longer correct. Google Translate works best when you type a piece of text, instead of speaking it through the assistant.
TextGrabber
Let's say you're on vacation and want to understand the menu so you don't accidentally order escargots and snails instead of the sirloin steak you were expecting. The TextGrabber app ensures that you can easily have that translated, without having to enter everything separately. You scan a text via the camera of your phone and the program starts translating the text. This way you know in no time what you can order. Then it is only a question of what you want to order.
waygo
While most translation apps are still very much oriented towards the Roman script we use in the West, Waygo is there to help make chocolate from the Japanese, Korean and Chinese scripts. Here too you can scan something with your phone, after which Waygo will get to work for you. The disadvantage is that the app translates to English, but not to Dutch, but otherwise it is a very useful tool for when you are on the road in Asia. There is one drawback to Waygo, which is that it is only available on iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.
iTranslate
iTranslate is a useful app because you can use it offline with ease. 16 languages are then supported, compared to more than 100 languages when you are online. What's great about iTranslate is that it works in tandem with the Apple Watch, making it very easy to translate on the go. You can use your phone's camera in iTranslate, but even better is the text input, which also allows you to easily switch between different languages. This app is not only available for iOS but also for Android.
