Photos and screenshots
Menus, street signs, receipts, chat screenshots, a page of a textbook, or a whole album at once. The bot reads the text in the picture and translates it, keeping the line breaks.
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How to translate messages in Telegram: the button, Premium or a bot
Telegram can translate text messages by itself once you switch the button on. Here is how, what it can’t do, and what to use for photos and screenshots.
Open in Telegram
Free to start. Nothing to install, no sign-up.
Você pode me mandar o endereço do hotel?
English
Can you send me the hotel’s address?
Spanish
¿Puedes enviarme la dirección del hotel?
Russian
Можешь прислать мне адрес отеля?
Turn on the Translate button
The button is off until you enable it. It is free and works on every official Telegram app.
- Open Settings, then Language.
- Switch on Show Translate Button.
- Open a chat, tap and hold a message in another language (right-click on a computer) and choose Translate.
Choose which languages to skip
Under the same switch you will find Do Not Translate. Languages on that list never get a Translate option, which is handy for languages you read anyway. If the button never shows up for one language, check that it is not on this list.
Translate a whole chat or channel
With Telegram Premium you can translate an entire chat, group or channel at once: a bar at the top of the chat offers to show everything in your language. Without Premium, you translate one message at a time.
What the button can’t do
The built-in translation only sees the text of messages. It leaves these untranslated:
- Text inside photos, pictures and memes.
- Screenshots of other apps, websites and documents.
- Files such as PDFs and documents.
- A whole chat, unless you have Premium.
Translate photos and screenshots with the bot
For everything the button misses, send it to the bot: it reads the text in a picture and translates it into any of 86 languages. It is also handy when you want a message in a language other than your app’s, because you pick the language each time.
- Open @world_translate_bot and tap Start.
- Forward the message or send the photo or screenshot.
- Tap the language you need and read the translation.
The Translate button or the bot?
Telegram can translate text messages on its own. Here is what each option covers, so you can pick the right tool for the job.
| Telegram’s Translate button | World Translate Bot | |
|---|---|---|
| Translate a text message | Yes | Yes |
| Translate the text inside photos and screenshots | No | Yes |
| Translate PDF, DOCX and TXT files | No | Yes |
| Summarise a long text | No | Yes |
| Save the translation as DOCX or PDF | No | Yes |
| Translate a whole chat automatically | Premium only | No |
What you can send
Text messages
Type or paste any text, or forward a message from another chat or channel. The bot works out the source language by itself.
¿Dónde está la estación?Where is the station?
PDF, Word and text files
Send a PDF, DOCX or TXT file, scanned pages included. The translation comes back in the chat or as a file you can open anywhere.
MietvertragRental agreement
Summary and downloads
Under every translation there is a button for a short summary of it, and buttons to save it as TXT, DOCX or PDF.
Rapport annuel, 42 pagesThe main points in ten lines
Group chats and any chat
In a group, reply /tr to a message to read it in your language. In any other chat, type @world_translate_bot and your text to send it already translated.
Bis später!See you later!
Questions
Is Telegram’s translation free?
Translating single messages is free for everyone. Translating whole chats and channels at once is a Telegram Premium feature.
Why is there no Translate option on a message?
Either the button is switched off in Settings → Language, the message is already in your app language, or its language is on your Do Not Translate list. Our troubleshooting guide covers the rest.
Can Telegram translate pictures or screenshots?
No, the Translate button works only on message text. Send pictures to a bot like @world_translate_bot to translate the text in them.
How do I translate a message into a language other than my app language?
Send or forward it to the bot and tap the language you want. The built-in button translates into your app language by default.
Try it on the next thing you can’t read
Open the bot, send a picture or a message, pick a language. It takes about ten seconds.
Open in Telegram
Free to start. Nothing to install, no sign-up.