How to Translate Text in an Image

To translate text in an image, first turn the image into text with OCR, then paste that text into a translator such as Google Translate, DeepL or Microsoft Translator. Extracting first gives you text you can edit, check and keep, and the translator only sees the words, not your photo.

Why extract the text before translating?

• You can fix OCR mistakesCorrect a misread word before it turns into a wrong translation.
• You choose the translatorUse whichever service handles your language pair best.
• You keep both versionsSave the original and the translation side by side.
• You share lessOnly the text goes to the translator. The image stays on your device.

How do you translate text from an image?

1. Extract the textOpen Image to Text, add the image, and select the language the text is written in.
2. Check the resultRead it once and fix obvious OCR errors, especially names and numbers.
3. Copy itCopy the text, or download it as a file for longer documents.
4. Paste into a translatorPaste it into the translator of your choice and pick the target language.

Which languages can the OCR read?

The tool reads 14 languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish, Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Japanese, Korean. That covers Latin, Cyrillic, Arabic and the main East Asian scripts, so most signs, menus and documents can be extracted before translation.

What about translating with the phone camera?

The Google Translate app and Google Lens can overlay a translation on what the camera sees, which is handy for a street sign or a menu. For a full page, a document you want to keep, or a translation you need to check word by word, extracting the text first gives you more control.

Can an AI chatbot translate an image directly?

Yes, many can read and translate in one step, and the result is often fluent. The trade-off is that the image is uploaded, and an unclear word may be silently replaced. See AI vs OCR for image to text for when each approach fits.

How do you get the best translation?

A good translation starts with good text. Use a sharp photo, crop to the text and fix OCR errors first. Our guide to copying text from an image on any device has shortcuts for phones and computers, and scanned PDFs work the same way.