How to translate anything on screen

[fakestrawberryflavor]

I'm an English speaker who lives in Japan. I'm often in many situations whether it's Twitter, insta, Tinder, or walls of text that's in Japanese. I need to translate to English quickly to read and respond.

My current workflow is so cumbersome, I'm debating switching to android to see if there are ways there or shady apps which will overlay and read the whole screen to provide translation, which obviously has privacy concerns.

Presently, I have to take screenshots of text that apps won't let me select-copy-paste text from and then do the ocr translation. This is a few steps, a few clicks. It doesn't sound like much but I perform this function 200 Times per day, every day. I have a boatload of useless screenshot I forget to delete because I'm trying to 'go fast'

Another work flow I have is in apps that allow me to select text, I can copy and paste into a translator app or google translate but I have to swipe out of the app I'm currently in to go to the translation app, paste there. Too many steps and it takes me out of current app that I want to be in.

I know there is no built in ios way to make this better and not sure if there is a trusted 3rd party app to do this but I need some help and recommendations.

I thought OK I can automate multiple steps here with an ios shortcut and assign it to my action button! But I'm not a programmer and honestly I can't even design the simplest of work flows in the shortcuts app. It's way way above my technical accumen to do so.

Any help is appreciated. Thank you!

 

[BBDDVV]

For 'walls of text', you can use the native Translate app, tap the camera at the bottom and point it to text to have it translated instantly.

In the native Camera and Photos app (an in the screenshot preview window), you can just point your camera at something, notice the 'text-detected' icon (see Live Text option below) appear, tap it so it pulls out the text, select the text and tap Translate in the pop-up menu.
Live Text option: depending on the phone (works as of at least Xs) and only when 'Live text' is ON (by default ON when you phone is in English and a few other languages, or you can toggle it to ON in Settings -> General -> Language and Region -> all the way at the bottom.

This popup menu is also present in Safari, the Mail app, ... (I guess wherever you can select text, i.e. with Live Text enabled this means also in the screenshot preview window!)

Has been pretty handy for me so far... Hopefully it's helpful for you too.

B.

 

[fakestrawberryflavor]

For 'walls of text', you can use the native Translate app, tap the camera at the bottom and point it to text to have it translated instantly.

In the native Camera and Photos app (an in the screenshot preview window), you can just point your camera at something, notice the 'text-detected' icon (see Live Text option below) appear, tap it so it pulls out the text, select the text and tap Translate in the pop-up menu.
Live Text option: depending on the phone (works as of at least Xs) and only when 'Live text' is ON (by default ON when you phone is in English and a few other languages, or you can toggle it to ON in Settings -> General -> Language and Region -> all the way at the bottom.

This popup menu is also present in Safari, the Mail app, ... (I guess wherever you can select text, i.e. with Live Text enabled this means also in the screenshot preview window!)

Has been pretty handy for me so far... Hopefully it's helpful for you too.

B.

Thanks for the reply.

What I want to do is avoid taking a screenshot altogether. Taking a screenshot, clicking the preview window, and clicking the OCR button is 3 too many steps. I just want real time translation for what im viewing on the screen as a overlay to whatever is on my screen, at any time.

I know this is not built into iOS, but its my desired effect.

 

[jchap]

I'm an English speaker who lives in Japan. I'm often in many situations whether it's Twitter, insta, Tinder, or walls of text that's in Japanese. I need to translate to English quickly to read and respond.

My current workflow is so cumbersome, I'm debating switching to android to see if there are ways there or shady apps which will overlay and read the whole screen to provide translation, which obviously has privacy concerns.

Presently, I have to take screenshots of text that apps won't let me select-copy-paste text from and then do the ocr translation. This is a few steps, a few clicks. It doesn't sound like much but I perform this function 200 Times per day, every day. I have a boatload of useless screenshot I forget to delete because I'm trying to 'go fast'

Another work flow I have is in apps that allow me to select text, I can copy and paste into a translator app or google translate but I have to swipe out of the app I'm currently in to go to the translation app, paste there. Too many steps and it takes me out of current app that I want to be in.

I know there is no built in ios way to make this better and not sure if there is a trusted 3rd party app to do this but I need some help and recommendations.

I thought OK I can automate multiple steps here with an ios shortcut and assign it to my action button! But I'm not a programmer and honestly I can't even design the simplest of work flows in the shortcuts app. It's way way above my technical accumen to do so.

Any help is appreciated. Thank you!

It sounds like you want an instant translation of the Japanese text that you see on the screen in every iOS app that you're using, 200 times per day.

Are you using web apps and accessing websites within Safari (you mentioned Twitter, Instagram and Tinder), or are you using the respective iOS apps? If the latter, you're going to have an even harder time with this, since you have to wrestle with the user interface... and some elements on the page are selectable, where others may not be, or else you'll have to change the cursor focus by tapping on different elements to copy the text you want.

What device are you using? If you're on an iPhone, it will not be practical (or possible) to split the screen; but if you're on an iPad, you could split the screen and at least see your translation pane in one side and your app in the other.

What version of iOS is your device running? If you're running iOS 17 (the latest), you can easily do this in Safari with a few taps... provided you're in Safari. Tap the "AA" icon in the address bar in Safari, and tap "Translate to English". Done. It's even easier on macOS, if you have a Mac. Some browsers will also automatically translate pages for you, for what's that worth, although again you should do that on a computer for best results and the fastest workflow.

If you don't want to work in Safari, have you considered that an iOS device may not be the best solution for you? You're trying to open a tin can with a spoon (or a pair of chopsticks), basically. I doubt that Android is going to be much better for your use case, either, unless you ditch the apps and go with auto-translation of your pages in Google Chrome (everything you view will be sent to Google—translation is generally not an on-device process).

Also, keep in mind that an automatic translation is just that: automatic. Accuracy is not 100% guaranteed, and you may be missing key information or getting misinterpreted sentences. If you want to communicate with people in an authentic way in Japanese, I suggest that you start learning the language. (Especially if you're on Tinder and want to start finding prospective dates...) Even a little knowledge of a language can go a long way, and might give you a sense of satisfaction and enjoyment in and of itself as you find it's not as hard as you thought.

 

[MacCheetah3]

I found some of the mentioned apps do have at least some form of integrated translation function:

See translations for comments, captions and profiles on Instagram | Instagram Help Center

If your language is available as a translation, you can tap See Translation below the text to see it.

www.facebook.com

2 Ways to Translate Instagram Stories, Comments, Captions, and Bio

Trouble reading Instagram content in other languages? Here's how to translate Instagram stories, comments, captions, or bio to your language.

gadgetstouse.com

How do I translate a post or comment on Facebook written in another language? | Facebook Help Center

Learn how to see the translation of a post or comment on Facebook written in another language.

www.facebook.com

About Post translation

You can view a translation for a post by tapping the globe icon. Find instructions, as well as frequently asked questions, in this article.

help.twitter.com

As @jchap describes, using the Web app versions could be an alternative:

Translate Webpages in Safari on iPhone and iPad

On iPhone and iPad, Apple includes a Translate app that can translate several different languages in real-time, and Safari has integrated translation...

www.macrumors.com

For external text:

Use Live Text with your iPhone camera

Copy text, open websites, make phone calls, and more from text that appears within the camera frame on your iPhone.

support.apple.com

And I do agree:

keep in mind that an automatic translation is just that: automatic. Accuracy is not 100% guaranteed, and you may be missing key information or getting misinterpreted sentences. If you want to communicate with people in an authentic way in Japanese, I suggest that you start learning the language. (Especially if you're on Tinder and want to start finding prospective dates...) Even a little knowledge of a language can go a long way, and might give you a sense of satisfaction and enjoyment in and of itself as you find it's not as hard as you thought.

 

[BVStudioCity]

I'm an English speaker who lives in Japan. I'm often in many situations whether it's Twitter, insta, Tinder, or walls of text that's in Japanese. I need to translate to English quickly to read and respond.

I’ve been in japan for the past month and I feel your pain. Nearly every app lacks any built in translation and Apples lack of any screen view translation from the OS level is annoying.

Taking constant screen grabs, doing a flurry of gestures to swap to a translator app and a flurry more to return back is incredibly time consuming, and aggravating.

Apples own translator is the worst with more screen clicks to get to full screen camera mode than the others like google.

Even saffari, which does have built in text translation, has limits. if the page developer misses a setting then the translate option will not appear. Worse yet if the dev favored graphics containing text, which a lot of site go this route for stylistic control, safari cant currently translate graphics containing text.

 

[Ruggy]

It sounds like you want an instant translation of the Japanese text that you see on the screen in every iOS app that you're using, 200 times per day.

Are you using web apps and accessing websites within Safari (you mentioned Twitter, Instagram and Tinder), or are you using the respective iOS apps? If the latter, you're going to have an even harder time with this, since you have to wrestle with the user interface... and some elements on the page are selectable, where others may not be, or else you'll have to change the cursor focus by tapping on different elements to copy the text you want.

What device are you using? If you're on an iPhone, it will not be practical (or possible) to split the screen; but if you're on an iPad, you could split the screen and at least see your translation pane in one side and your app in the other.

What version of iOS is your device running? If you're running iOS 17 (the latest), you can easily do this in Safari with a few taps... provided you're in Safari. Tap the "AA" icon in the address bar in Safari, and tap "Translate to English". Done. It's even easier on macOS, if you have a Mac. Some browsers will also automatically translate pages for you, for what's that worth, although again you should do that on a computer for best results and the fastest workflow.

If you don't want to work in Safari, have you considered that an iOS device may not be the best solution for you? You're trying to open a tin can with a spoon (or a pair of chopsticks), basically. I doubt that Android is going to be much better for your use case, either, unless you ditch the apps and go with auto-translation of your pages in Google Chrome (everything you view will be sent to Google—translation is generally not an on-device process).

Also, keep in mind that an automatic translation is just that: automatic. Accuracy is not 100% guaranteed, and you may be missing key information or getting misinterpreted sentences. If you want to communicate with people in an authentic way in Japanese, I suggest that you start learning the language. (Especially if you're on Tinder and want to start finding prospective dates...) Even a little knowledge of a language can go a long way, and might give you a sense of satisfaction and enjoyment in and of itself as you find it's not as hard as you thought.

I use this all the time. It works even better in Mac os where it's in the address bar next to the reload icon.
There rarely is an advantage to using an app. Apps are just a way for the site to keep tabs on you and feed you advertising. You can do pretty much everything in Safari.
Even Amazon. It'll translate everything for you almost instantly including all the reviews.

 

[Ben J.]

On mac I have PopClip that lets me select any text and a little list of icons show that lets me do anything from look up in dictionary or send to google translate. That's two clicks, one to select text, and one to select google translate. Extremely customizable.

Unfortunately it's mac only, but I find it to be one of the utilities I use the most, it's simply genius - so some might want to try it on mac, but there must surely be something similar for iOS.

Welcome — PopClip

Instant text actions for macOS

www.popclip.app