3 Quick Ways to Use Google Translate Camera Scan

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Use your phone camera to scan and translate any words

Written by Rain Kengly

Last Updated: March 17, 2025 Fact Checked

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• Using an Android
|
• Using an iPhone or iPad
|
• Using a Computer

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Are you in a foreign country and don't know the language well? If you have the Google Translate app, you can use it to scan and translate any text you see with your phone's camera. You can also take a picture and translate the text it contains into any language. This wikiHow will teach you how to use your camera to scan with Google Translate on an Android, iPhone, iPad, or computer.

Quick Steps

1. Open the Google Translate app.
2. Select the input language.
3. Select the output language.
4. Tap the Camera icon.
5. Point your camera at the text to translate it.

Steps

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Using an Android

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1. 
   1
   Open the Google Translate app

   

   . It’s a blue and white icon that you can find on one of your Home screens, in the app drawer, or by searching.

   • If you don’t have Google Translate, you can download it for free from the Google Play Store.
2. 
   2
   Tap the input language box. This is the first language box at the bottom of the screen.

   • A list of languages will appear in a drop-down menu.
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3. 
   3
   Select the language you want to translate. This indicates what the original language is.

   • If you want the app to automatically detect the original language, tap Detect Language, which is helpful when you don't know the origin language.
4. 
   4
   Tap the output language box. This is the second language box at the bottom of the screen. A list of languages will appear in a drop-down menu.
5. 
   5
   Select the language you want to translate to. If the language isn’t yet on your phone or tablet, you’ll need to download it first.
6. 
   6
   Tap the camera icon

   

   . This activates the camera so you can scan and translate text live.

   • If you want to translate text from an image in your gallery, tap All Images instead, and then select the image. Keep in mind that the text on the image must be clear.
7. 
   7
   Point the camera at the text. Make sure the text is clear and legible. Google Translate will begin to translate directly on the screen.

   • If you selected All Images, you should see your translation after a moment.
   • If you want to take a picture of the translation, tap the circular shutter button.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Using an iPhone or iPad

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1. 
   1
   Open Google Translate

   

   . It’s a blue and white icon that you can find on one of your Home screens.

   • If you don’t have Google Translate, you can download it for free from the App Store.
2. 
   2
   Tap the input language box. This is the first language box at the bottom of the screen.

   • A list of languages will appear in a drop-down menu.
3. 
   3
   Select the language you want to translate. This indicates what the original language is.

   • If you want the app to automatically detect the original language, tap Detect Language, which is helpful when you don't know the origin language.
4. 
   4
   Tap the output language box. This is the second language box at the bottom of the screen. A list of languages will appear in a drop-down menu.
5. 
   5
   Select the language you want to translate to. If the language isn’t yet on your phone or tablet, you’ll need to download it first.
6. 
   6
   Tap Camera. This is the camera icon at the bottom corner of the screen.

   • If you want to translate text from an image in your Camera Roll, tap the image icon on the left of the shutter, and then select the image. Make sure the text is clear in the image.
7. 
   7
   Point the camera at the text. Make sure the text is clear and legible. Google Translate will begin to translate directly on the screen.

   • If you selected an image, you should see your translation after a moment.
   • If you want to take a picture of the translation, tap the circular shutter button.
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Using a Computer

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1. 
   1
   Go to the Google Translate website. You can use any browser on your PC, Mac, or Chromebook to translate text from a photo.

   • If you want to translate the text in a picture, make sure you have the picture on your computer. If needed, you can transfer photos to your computer using a USB cable, Bluetooth, wirelessly, and more.
2. 
   2
   Click Images. This is the tab at the top, between Text and Documents.

   • If you want to translate a PDF document, you can select Documents instead. Make sure the text is clear.
3. 
   3
   Upload the photo to Google Translate. Click Browse your files to open your computer's file explorer to locate and select your file.

   • Alternatively, drag and drop the image file into the upload section.
4. 
   4
   Select the input and output languages. The input language is the original text language. If you're unsure, select Detect language instead. The output language is the language you want to translate to.

   • The file will be uploaded, and the image will be translated.
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