Learn how to use the built-in translation feature in Gmail on your phone and computer to read emails written in foreign languages without needing external translation services.
Back in the day, if you received an email in a language you didn’t know, you had to copy the email text, open another app or website like Google Translate, and then convert the email to English. Thankfully, Gmail’s built-in translate feature has made all that a thing of the past.
Note: While you can add non-Google email accounts like iCloud, Outlook, Hotmail, Yahoo, or other IMAP accounts to the Gmail app, the translation feature only works for emails received in your Google (Gmail) account.
Automatic translation suggestions on the Gmail app and website
Imagine your Gmail’s language is set to English, and you receive an email written in French. When this happens, Gmail will automatically show you a translate banner at the top of the email saying “Translate to English.” Tap that banner, and you’ll see the email instantly translated into English.
Translate an email into another language in Gmail
If you don’t get the translate banner at the top or have already dismissed it, you can manually use the translate option by following these simple steps.
On computer
1) Visit Gmail in a web browser and open the email.
2) Click the three dots menu icon from the top right and choose Translate message.
3) Gmail’s translation tool will automatically detect the email’s original language and change it to your preferred language, like English. It will even translate the email’s subject!
Further, you can use the thin translation bar at the top to change the detected email language or the language you want to translate the email to. For instance, if you understand both English and Spanish, you can click English (the current translation language) and pick Spanish from the list. Note that, in almost all cases, Google will rightly detect the original language, so you may not need to change that.
Lastly, hit the “Show Original” button to get back to the original email without translations, and use the “Always translate: [language]” option to automatically translate all future emails you receive in this language.
On iPhone or Android phone
1) Go inside Gmail’s mobile app on iOS or Android and open the email that’s in a foreign language.
2) Tap the three vertical dots icon for that email (not the one at the top).
3) Choose Translate, and the email will be translated from its original language to your preferred language.
Additionally, you’ll see a banner to automatically translate all future emails you receive in this language. You can tap that to make things easier for the future. And to manage automatic translations, tap the setting icon in the thin translate bar and choose from:
- Ask to translate [language]
- Automatically translate [language]
- Don’t translate [language] again.
Bonus tip: Use iOS translate
You can also use Apple’s system-wide translate tool to translate an email inside the Gmail app on your iPhone or iPad:
1) Select the email text.
2) After selecting, you’ll automatically see the thin menu strip. Tap Translate.
3) Apple’s translate feature will detect the original email language and change it to your iPhone’s system language. You can also tap the language menu and pick a different one.
Note that Apple’s translate tool may not work with as many languages as Google’s.
Change your preferred language for Gmail
I mentioned “preferred language” a few times above. In most cases, this is the language you choose while creating your Google account or the one automatically assigned, depending on your region/country.
You can change your account’s default language by going to Google language settings, and it will affect all other Google apps and services. Alternatively, Gmail also has a dedicated language setting that you can adjust.
1) Access Gmail settings on a computer by clicking the gear icon from the top right and selecting See all settings.
2) Make sure you’re in the General tab.
3) Click the Language drop-down menu and choose from a wide range of languages.
4) Finally, scroll down and click Save changes.
Gmail will refresh automatically and show everything in the newly chosen language. From now on, when you use the translate tool, it will automatically translate the email to this new language.
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