Best FREE Android app for English voice to Thai text translation

[dingdongrb]

I'm hoping to find a good app as mentioned in the title. Looking for one that's totally free with no ads, doesn't need access to all my personal information, and doesn't take up a lot of memory where it runs slow or bogs down phone operation.

 

Anyone have any recommendations? Listing pros and cons would be helpful.

 

Thanks in advance.

[tomazbodner]

I used Google Translate (which should already come preinstalled on your Android phone). Has no ads. You either type text, or paste it in, or use camera to capture text, or press big microphone button and talk into it, and it displays recognised text, then translation, and offers a speaker icon, so pressing it reads out translation in voice.

 

It has offline translation capabilities by downloading the language packs.

 

The downside is that it probably fishes for words in conversation and sells your soul to devil to spam you with ads in other apps and on web pages.

[FritsSikkink]

  On 3/1/2023 at 3:44 PM, tomazbodner said:

I used Google Translate (which should already come preinstalled on your Android phone). Has no ads. You either type text, or paste it in, or use camera to capture text, or press big microphone button and talk into it, and it displays recognised text, then translation, and offers a speaker icon, so pressing it reads out translation in voice.

 

It has offline translation capabilities by downloading the language packs.

 

The downside is that it probably fishes for words in conversation and sells your soul to devil to spam you with ads in other apps and on web pages.

Expand  

Google translate is good for word but <deleted> when translating longer texts

[ozimoron]

Google translate actually does a terrible job at translating to or from English and Thai. I use it constantly.

[DrJack54]

  On 3/1/2023 at 3:36 PM, dingdongrb said:

Anyone have any recommendations?

Expand  

It's called play store.

Check it out! 

[dingdongrb]

  On 3/1/2023 at 4:56 PM, DrJack54 said:

It's called play store.

Check it out! 

Expand  

An app called 'play store'.......  Hmmmmm, sounds good, I'll download it. Thanks for providing a sound application that you have had good experience with.

[ozimoron]

  On 3/1/2023 at 5:18 PM, dingdongrb said:

An app called 'play store'.......  Hmmmmm, sounds good, I'll download it. Thanks for providing a sound application that you have had good experience with.

Expand  

You can't download it. It is part of every Android installation by default and is the source of most apps which run on Android.

[tomazbodner]

  On 3/1/2023 at 4:15 PM, FritsSikkink said:

Google translate is good for word but <deleted> when translating longer texts

Expand  

True. Thai is not great on Google. So what's better?

[jerrytr]

  On 3/2/2023 at 1:12 AM, tomazbodner said:

True. Thai is not great on Google. So what's better?

Expand  

Thai is a very difficult language. Most have difficulty with the tonal use of words. Same words with different accents on parts can mean the exact opposite. Slang used a lot. 

[Speedhump]

  On 3/1/2023 at 5:21 PM, ozimoron said:

You can't download it. It is part of every Android installation by default and is the source of most apps which run on Android.

Expand  

Can it translate sarcasm? 

[ozimoron]

  On 3/2/2023 at 4:16 AM, Speedhump said:

Can it translate sarcasm? 

Expand  

No, but it does translate stupid. I just checked it.

[Pouatchee]

When not using google translate I use an app from the play store called simply enough: English Thai Translator. When all else fails I use pictures. Funny thing is is that only a few Thais are ever bothered to use apps when trying to explain things. Really pisses me off how lazy or ignorant they are.

[Pouatchee]

  On 3/2/2023 at 4:52 AM, ozimoron said:

  On 3/2/2023 at 4:16 AM, Speedhump said:

Can it translate sarcasm? 

Expand  

No, but it does translate stupid. I just checked it.

Expand  

Tried with english thai app and it did translate it.... but it comes out as satire.

[Skallywag]

Just find a girl who speaks some English, you really do not need long conversations with Thais girls, they will get bored and move on to the next guy 5555

[Skallywag]

  On 3/2/2023 at 5:22 AM, Pouatchee said:

Really pisses me off how lazy or ignorant they are.

Expand  

I think that is Libel dude, you have 30 minutes to edit  5555

[Skeptic7]

Google Translate has much improved over the years. It's quite good and best for free. While some avoid Google anything and everything for myriad reasons, I use Google everything for everything and find it all awesome. Search, Translate, Photos and especially Maps. Directions in Maps while walking or driving is fab and essential when navigating unfamiliar territory. 

[Pouatchee]

  On 3/2/2023 at 5:28 AM, Skallywag said:

I think that is Libel dude, you have 30 minutes to edit  5555

Expand  

555 thought police. I will stand my ground at the risk of being branded and deported. Been teaching their kids for nearly 20 years so I have first hand experience.  e.g. --> How old are you?  I'm fine thank you and you? 

Also works the other way around.

[Speedhump]

  On 3/2/2023 at 5:26 AM, Pouatchee said:

Tried with english thai app and it did translate it.... but it comes out as satire.

Expand  

Not surprised, satire can be clever and witty, but sarcasm is just the sharp tool of a blunt mind. ????

[IAMHERE]

  On 3/2/2023 at 4:16 AM, Speedhump said:

Can it translate sarcasm? 

Expand  

I have found that sarcasm doesn't translate or travel very well. 

[amexpat]

After google translates for me, I always tap "reverse translate" to see what I'm about to send or say. It's usually ok but often very misleading and needs rephrasing.   

[Sheryl]

I find Googke Translate works best if you:

 

- Feed it only short sentences at a time.

 

- As much as possible put the English in Thai sentence structure, leaving out words Thai does not require (articles, many prepositions etc)

 

- Do a back translation one sentence at a time. This will often identify words that were mistranslated allowing you to try again using a different Englush term.

[Speedhump]

  On 3/2/2023 at 9:04 AM, IAMHERE said:

I have found that sarcasm doesn't translate or travel very well. 

Expand  

I agree. My comment was itself sarcastic. ????

 

Not all countries have an elevated system of humour. In many the general level hardly gets above basic slapstick, with lots of screaming and if on TV, with silly sound effects. 

[herfiehandbag]

  On 3/2/2023 at 1:12 AM, tomazbodner said:

True. Thai is not great on Google. So what's better?

Expand  

I rather suspect that most of not all such apps are basically repackaged versions of Google Translate.

[Dirk Z]

I have recently started to use SayHi and find it excellent. To which extent it uses Google I don't know, but it has never misunderstood me so far and the translation seems to be quite OK.

[JimmyJ]

  On 3/3/2023 at 11:03 AM, Dirk Z said:

I have recently started to use SayHi and find it excellent. To which extent it uses Google I don't know, but it has never misunderstood me so far and the translation seems to be quite OK.

Expand  

"SayHi Translate" 

"An Amazon Company"

This one???

[Cricky]

  On 3/1/2023 at 5:21 PM, ozimoron said:

You can't download it. It is part of every Android installation by default and is the source of most apps which run on Android.

Expand  

You can download playstore.

.

My gf Realme phone came with Chinese apps pre installed, had to download playstore and Uninstal the Chinese apps.

Couldn't Uninstal a few apps that came with the phone, I Put them in a separate folder, out of the way but annoyingly they pop up asking to allow use.

[Dirk Z]

  On 3/3/2023 at 11:27 AM, JimmyJ said:

"SayHi Translate" 

"An Amazon Company"

This one???

Expand  

Yes.

[JackGats]

What I don't like about Google translate is that Google seems to have stopped developing it it. Translations are no better than they were, say 3 years ago.

[KhunBENQ]

  On 3/3/2023 at 11:03 AM, Dirk Z said:

I have recently started to use SayHi and find it excellent. To which extent it uses Google I don't know, but it has never misunderstood me so far and the translation seems to be quite OK.

Expand  

Agree about SayHi. Quite good. Like it better than Google translate.

And as it is from the Amazon empire it is obviously not Google related.

It can do voice and text input, gives original text ("understood") and translated text (Thai script) and voice output.

How well the the Thai voice output is understood? I don't have sampled enough experience with that. Also haven't done much about Thai speaker to English.

In addition I use a paid (German/Thai) dictionary which splits the Thai text to words and has perfect pronunciation by native Thai speaker.

 

[KhunBENQ]

And in the end they will all have their limits.
Example:

"The shop is open from 10:00 to 10:00 every day."

Spoken: "the shop is open from 10'o clock to 10'o clock every day.

 

Translation to German no better from 10 to 10.

 

The Thai text used the traditional time of four o'clock in the evening ("si tum") which is 10 PM or 22:00h.