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I used to use Google Translate (mostly as a dictionary - for single words), but I would wish to know if there's something else worth considering, so I don't miss something better. I concerned if there's something that is of better quality than Google Translate, more precise, more formal, may be government backed, instead of community affected data.

R S
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  • Welcome to Language Learning! This question seems to be only tangentially relevant to language learning, e.g. language teaching or acquisition. Also, it invites for an open-ended list of possible resources with no limit to what features the service(s) should offer. Could you please narrow it down a little, focusing on the very process of language learning? – Be Brave Be Like Ukraine Nov 02 '19 at 21:29
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    @bytebuster done. – R S Nov 02 '19 at 21:40
  • I highly doubt that a government mandated system would per se exceed a community system (which Google Translate is not, anyway). – LjL Nov 02 '19 at 22:35
  • @LjL may be saying "community" is too much, I meant that users can add and edit translations on Google Translate, it feels different if compare to a dictionary you get in a store or in a library. – R S Nov 02 '19 at 23:21
  • @RS that doesn't mean it has to be worse. Let's compare Wikipedia with a paper encyclopedia you get in a store or a library, since in this case the "community" aspect is much more clear cut: many people think Wikipedia will turn out to be inferior and exhibit many more inaccuracies, but as a matter of fact, some analyses have shown that paper encyclopedias may have more inaccuracies, at least when excluding the niche article that Wikipedia has and paper ones don't. Who writes paper encyclopedia articles? Usually undergraduates... I suspect something similar happens with dictionaries. – LjL Nov 02 '19 at 23:42
  • @LjL do you mean internet-encyclopedias written by undergradutes? – R S Nov 03 '19 at 01:39
  • @RS No, I mean well-known paper encyclopedias, I did say that. I don't remember which one this analysis had studied, though. – LjL Nov 03 '19 at 16:34
  • Let us continue this discussion in chat. – R S Nov 03 '19 at 18:44
  • I have closed this question because it is too broad. (1) Translation software and dictionaries are two vastly different things; the question should not try to cover both. (2) Even if it focused on only one of these, the question would still be an open-ended recommendation question. Please read What types of questions should I avoid asking? – Tsundoku Nov 15 '19 at 18:13

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I prefer monolingual dictionaries where possible. If I want to translations in particular, I use Wiktionary via https://www.sanakirja.org/ (no affiliation). The benefit is that when I write a word there, it gives the translation in all languages covered by Wiktionary; for example https://www.sanakirja.org/search.php?q=kaukoputki. This often helps in understanding the word and gives better nuance for words that do not have one-to-one translations.

I am sure there exist other more convenient user interfaces.

Tommi
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bab.la has a number of dictionary language pairs. I find them useful:

https://en.bab.la/

jeffmcneill
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Personally I like Reverso as it gives words in context so that it can provide better translations. There's a bit where you can convert either singular words or entire paragraphs.

http://www.reverso.net/text_translation.aspx?lang=EN

Samantha
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