You Can Now Instantly Translate Japanese To English With Your Phone Camera
Google Translate gets a much needed update and it even works without an Internet connection.
By John Lim — 27 Jan 2017, 11:13 AM
Google's highly acclaimed Translate app has gotten a new update that would be able to decipher one of the most complex languages in the world - Japanese
Under its Word Lens feature, you can now translate hiragana, katakana and even kanji characters from Japanese into English live before your eyes.
Before the update, the app allowed you to translate Japanese text to English and vice versa by snapping a photo. It was a bit slow, but it still worked.
The best part about the update? It can work without an Internet connection!
You just need to download a small 60MB file and you're good to go! It’s an extremely convenient tool for travellers, made even more so by the fact that it works even if you aren’t connected to Wi-Fi or you don’t have phone data.
Also, you can have English text translated to Japanese as well.
Do note that the feature works better with brief phrases and words, to convey the general meaning of the message rather than an exact translation
It is possible to get a live translation for a long passage of text, but the translation is likely to be disjointed when viewed in this way.
Nevertheless, the feature is a nifty add-on especially to anyone planning a trip to The Land Of The Rising Sun anytime soon! Here's a look at how the update works:
A quick background on Word Lens: it was originally a standalone app by Quest Visual until the company was acquired by Google back in 2014 and the feature incorporated into Google Translate.
Word Lens used built-in cameras on smartphones and similar devices to quickly scan and identify foreign text (such as that found in a sign or a menu), and then translate and display the words in another language on the device's display.
Google Translate now offers typed-input translation for a total of 103 languages, offline translation for 52 and camera-based translation for 30 of them. The app is a free download from iTunes and Google Playstore.