How to translate messages in Telegram on Android

Despite the fact that Telegram is a messenger created by a Russian-speaking developer, it has become widespread throughout the world. Therefore, it is logical that not only Russians use it, and the content that appears on the platform does not necessarily have to be presented in Russian. Needless to say, if Pavel Durov himself maintains his blog on Telegram in English and only occasionally duplicates some of the posts that appear there in the Russian-language channel. So the need for a message translation function was obvious, and finally it appeared.

At the very end of 2021, Telegram developers released a major messenger update for all supported platforms, including mobile and desktop, with a lot of new features and tools that make it easier to use. Among the implemented innovations was the built-in message translation mechanism.

How to enable translation in Telegram

Thanks to him, it no longer matters in what language the original message was written – in English, Chinese, Turkmen or any other. Now it can be easily translated into the language in which it is more convenient for you to perceive information. And it doesn’t have to be Russian. Translation works equally well in all directions.

To translate messages to work, you must first enable it:

• Install the latest version of Telegram for Android;
• Launch the application and swipe to open the side menu;
• Go to “Settings” and open the “Language” tab;
• Turn on Show Translate Button;
• Select your native language in the “Do not translate” column;
• Go back to the chats and find a message in a foreign language;
• Click on it and select “Translate” in the context menu.

The preparation just seems daunting. In fact, everything is extremely simple. After you configure all the necessary translation parameters , you can translate any messages, regardless of who sent them and in what language they were originally written. In general, all languages ​​available in Google Translate are available for translation.

Yes, Telegram uses Google Translate , so there is no doubt about the efficiency and correctness of the translation. The branded translator of the search giant uses a large array of data and neural networks, due to which the level of language adaptation is consistently high.

Google Translate in Telegram

Please note that the “Translate” button does not appear in the visible part of the interface until you make the appropriate effort. Unlike, say, Twitter, which places a translation button under each tweet, in Telegram, things are arranged somewhat differently. Here you must first bring up the context menu, and only then you will be allowed to perform the translation.

For those who do not speak Russian well or, conversely, want to translate Russian-language messages, the reverse translation function is available. To use it, you must select any other language other than Russian as your native language at the setup stage. Then Telegram will even translate messages written in Russian. And the language into which the translation will be carried out must be selected in advance.

The translated text opens in a separate window, which is superimposed on the chat itself, overlapping about half of the screen. Again, unlike Twitter or, for example, Google Chrome, in Telegram, the translation does not replace the original message, replacing the characters of the original language. Perhaps this is done to avoid misunderstandings, or, perhaps, it was simply easier for the developers.

However, there is something else that must be mentioned. It turns out that Telegram, when it sends a command to Google Translate, impersonates Google Chrome and other compatible browsers. So the messenger manages to deceive the service and not pay for the translator’s API, which, when placed in applications, is paid. Telegram explained this by the fact that so far they are only assessing the demand for the translation function.