Travel Tips

Travel Tip: Translation Apps You Can Use While You’re Traveling

Google-Translate-2015Whenever you travel overseas, not being fluent in a foreign language can be a little awkward, a little embarrassing, sometimes hilariously funny, or could get you into trouble.

Now there are some translation apps that can help you navigate the language, or literally talk your way out of trouble.

One is called Excuse Me, and it’s got a memory of about 200 useful travel phrases in five different languages—Spanish, French, Chinese, Japanese, and English. There are also different categories for use at an airport, hotel, or restaurant. The app even helps you pronounce the words.

Want a more sophisticated approach? Google Translate can help you write the right thing. Speak English into the mic and the translation plays in real time. Remarkably, this app works in 90 languages.

There’s also iStone, which has a phrasebook of more than 300 daily phrases and native pronunciation in 12 different languages. It also has quick-access icons for common phrases and needs, like “Thanks” or “Ask Directions.” For more specific requests, you can tap on the icons, such as Hotel, Dining, or Shopping.

For more information about apps you can use on the road, check out:

Keep reading for more travel tips.