Don’t Speak the Language? No Problem! Google Translate Has You Covered—Here’s How

One hesitation I hear time and time again when I talk to people about traveling is, “But I don’t speak the language.” To be sure, a language barrier can be a bit of a problem when traveling, and not being able to communicate can feel intimidating or make navigating through a foreign country trickier.

And certainly, I’ve experienced this myself. I’ve traveled to 27 countries, and while many of them I either speak the language (French), or plenty of locals speak mine (English), there have been a lot of times when we’ve needed alternative means of communication.

For example, I had plenty of language barrier experiences when traveling in Rio de Janeiro, Colombia, Costa Rica, Germany, and Morocco, just to name a few.

But the good news is that in this blessed digital age we live in, there are a lot of great workarounds, including my personal favorite, Google Translate.

Google Translate is an incredibly robust app with tons of really clever and helpful features to help you navigate the language barrier easily.

Here are all my best tips and tricks for using Google Translate like a pro when you’re out and about in a foreign country.

Download the App

The first step is to download the Google Translate app—don’t just rely on your browser. The app is where all the really useful features live, and it’s what makes Google Translate so powerful on the go.

Download the Language

Once you’ve got the app, go in and download the language (or languages) you’ll need. Technically, you don’t have to do this if you’ll always have data or Wi-Fi—but if you’re traveling abroad, even with an eSIM, your signal might be spotty.

I always download the language for offline use. That way, even if you lose service completely, you’ll still have full access to all the app’s features.

To download a language, open the app and click on either language at the bottom.

This will bring you to this list of languages, where you can simply scroll through and hit the download icon on the right side.

Regular Translate

The most obvious function of Google translate is the opening translate screen. Simply tap and type in a word, phrase, or sentence, and the translation will appear right below what you entered.

Being able to quickly switch the direction of the translation is super helpful, too—just tap the arrows between the languages to flip them instantly.

Talk to Translate

However, this type-to-translate option is really not a great option for anything longer than a phrase or one-off sentence. If you’re trying to have more of a back-and-forth conversation, the Conversation button at the bottom of the screen is a game-changer.

Tap the button, start talking, and your words will appear on screen in both your language and the one you’re translating to. Show your companion the translated text, then tap the microphone under the other language, and they can respond.

It’s surprisingly accurate—and way more natural for real-time communication.

Tapping the sound icon will play the translated phrase out loud—super helpful if you’re not sure how to pronounce something.

You can also tap the two inverted text bubbles to flip the screen layout, showing each language on opposite ends of the phone. That way, you and the person you’re speaking with can both read it clearly from your own side.

The Conversation feature has come in handy so many times for us. For example, one time, we used it to have a discussion with shopkeepers in Rio de Janeiro, where we discussed the type and size of jerseys we were looking for.

It was also really helpful when we were taking a taxi in Medellin, Colombia—we were heading to a market, and the driver was able to tell us that the area around the market wasn’t safe to wander. (Which we did know already, but the concern and reminder were appreciated, and he gave better clarification on the exact unsafe areas).

If you tap the settings icon, you can adjust the text size or enable auto-play, which makes the app automatically speak the translation without needing to press the sound icon. This is especially useful if you can’t easily hold the phone up close or want a more hands-off exchange.

Note: To do a quick voice translation, simply tap on the microphone at the bottom of the main page. This is essentially just doing the simple translation version, but by talking rather than typing.

Camera

Another incredibly helpful feature of the Google Translate app is the camera feature.

This feature lets you point your phone’s camera at any text and see the translated words appear right on your screen, overlaid on the original image in real time.

This is particularly useful for translating displays at museums, informational pamphlets, packaging in grocery stores, or menus at restaurants.

Note: If you click on the lightning bolt symbol at the top, it will turn on the flashlight—helpful if the text is in a low-light area.

Saved Phrases and Transcripts

After you type a phrase or use the conversation tool, you might notice a small star icon on the screen. Tapping the star saves that phrase or conversation for future reference. Later, you can access all your saved items by clicking the star icon from the main menu—super handy for directions, menu items, or key phrases you know you’ll use again.

Note: Conversations are saved under “transcripts”. And one thing to keep in mind—if your keyboard is still open, you won’t see the star icon. Just tap your back button to minimize the keyboard, and the star will appear so you can save the translation.

Write Feature

This feature allows you to use your finger or tablet tool to “sketch” the words on the screen. It’s especially useful for languages that use non-Latin scripts—like Chinese, Japanese, or Korean—where trying to type the characters on a standard keyboard can be tricky or time-consuming.

Honestly, I don’t see this one as being as useful as some of the other features, at least not for alphabet-based languages. Personally, I would use the camera more often than the sketch feature.

Click On Your Google Icon

If you tap your Google Account icon, you’ll see a history of all your recent translations—not just the ones you’ve saved. So if you heard a phrase a few minutes ago and need to find it again, you can easily scroll back and grab it from your history.

Biggest Inconvenience

My main complaint about the app is that when you do type in other languages, it will autocorrect constantly to English words. As long as you are aware of this, you can check what you type and fix mistakes—but it does make it hard to type quickly. Note how “keine” changes to “Kennedy” as soon as I hit the spacebar to type a new word.

The Wrap Up

Overall, Google Translate is a powerful tool for navigating foreign languages on the go—and the many features of the app make traveling through a foreign country much more manageable. With just a few quick downloads and features to learn, you’ll be well-equipped to handle signs, menus, conversations, and more as you travel the world.