Google Translate is the quickest way to translate sentences and words from English to Japanese or Japanese to English.
Even though is not always perfect if you can learn to use Google Translate for Japanese properly then it can be a powerful tool for learning Japanese.
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How Accurate is Google Translate for Japanese
Most simple to understand words translate well from Japanese to English or from English to Japanese. These are the words that are commonly used in both English and Japanese such as dog or cat, run or walk.
It is not only easy words though. Harder concepts such as scientific words also can translate correctly. Any Japanese word that has a close equivalent in English will translate accurately most of the time.
However, words that don’t have exact matches or several meanings are harder to translate.
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Next, if you are translating commonly used phrases then it is probably correct most of the time. Google Translate to some extent seems to have data on common phrases. This is most likely because common phrases are more likely to get user feedback and become more accurate.
Continuing on below, there are differences between translating from English to Japanese and Japanese to English.
English to Japanese
Japanese is a highly contextual language. For example, if the context is clear often you can leave out I or you. Japanese also has words and parts of speech that represent intention, mood, emotion, and so on. In these situations, if you translate a phrase from English to Japanese it will give you the blandest, plain phrase. For that reason, the Japanese that come out on the other end does not always sound natural.
If you want to learn to speak Japanese well, Google Translate is not enough to provide you with how Japanese is used in a variety of situations. This is understandable though since Google Translate is not going to understand the context of whatever English phrase you enter.
Finally, Japanese has a formal and informal way of speaking. Since English does not have this when you translate to Japanese you don’t know which type you will get. I think that Google Translate tries to give you the formal type when it is able to though. For example, if you type Good Morning it will give you the formal translationおはようございます instead of おはよう.
Japanese to English
Translating from Japanese to English is not as big of a problem. First, assuming you already speak English or it is your first language you will have an easier time noticing when something is off.
My suggestion though would be to just take every translation with a grain of salt. If Google outputs a phrase that does not sound right in English then it probably is not the best way to say it. Or, it is a uniquely Japanese phrase that can not be translated easily. In that situation, you would do better to search the individual words in a dictionary that has an explanation. Or, search for phrases online where that word is used.
Words such as 頑張る or やばい don’t have direct English translations. Google will give you a translation but it only tells you one example of when that word may be used. For example, やばい is translated into dangerous. Yes, that is one situation where you can say やばい. But, the meaning of やばい is not dangerous. If you have multiple examples sentences with the word やばい then translate those for a better idea of what やばい really means.
Google Translate Tools for Translation for Japanese
Google Translate does have several good tools and features. After you have an understanding of what Google Translate can and can not do, you can use these tools to your advantage.
Audio
For any Japanese sentence, you type, Google autogenerates audio for you. The audio is not perfect but it is better than others. For example, if you use Duolingo to learn Japanese, the audio for Google is better than Duolingo. Duolingo has a tendency to raise the intonation at the end of sentences. In Japanese, this sounds like you are confused or asking a question. Google does a better job and having a more human-sounding and accurate robot. If you want something better though, try Suzuki-Kun which shows you the intonation for full sentences. Suzuki-Kun is the best-autogenerated audio I have heard for Japanese but Google would come in second.
Save your Translation
If you have a Google Account you can also save your translations. This helps if you want to try to use them for studying later. You just click on the star and you are all set.
Google Sheets
You can also export your saved translations to Google Sheets. After this, you can have a spreadsheet of your words or translations and use it for your Japanese Studies.
English Alphabet or Romaji
Another great feature of Google Translate is it provides you with Romaji. After you type something in Japanese, you can see how to read it below the Japanese phrase.
Image and Voice
If you have the Google Translate app on your phone, you can translate with your voice or from an image. You can use this voice function if you want to test your Japanese pronunciation if you want. Also, The image translation is nice if you see Japanese written somewhere.
When should you use Google Translate
So, now that you know the tools you can use with Google Translate and what to watch out for, when should you use it?
When you Want Suggestions
Another feature I did not mention above was suggestions. When you start typing something in Japanese, Google will provide you with a list of suggestions. This can be helpful if you are learning Japanese. The suggestions show you examples of common phrases that use the word you are trying to type.
Quick Translation
Whether you translate English to Japanese, or if you translate Japanese to English Google Translate is the fastest. You can translate a huge list of words at once, or paragraphs of text. If you are learning Japanese, being able to instantaneously translate several words at a time is invaluable.
Big List of Words
When you start learning Japanese you will soon notice that several words have multiple translations. This makes it confusing to remember the meaning of words when you have so many choices. If instead you just paste a huge list of words into Google Translate things get easier. The translation is not always a complete one, but it is enough to help you get a good grasp of the meaning. You can also search a dictionary later for all the specific ways to use the word.
So that is my suggestion on how you should use Google Translate for Japanese. There are other online translators out there also. If you are interesting I explain what I recommend for translating Japanese.
Also, if you want to learn more Japanese I reviewed a dictionary of grammar series which I personally recommend and use myself.
I also have several other posts on various topics on Japanese Universe if you are interested.
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