Are you concerned about communicating when visiting South Korea? We have a whole article on how to study Korean, but for those that do not have the time, there are so many great Korean-to-English translator apps available online, and it can be tough to choose the best one for your needs. The language barrier is a significant issue for travelers coming to Korea. Thankfully, there is a wide selection of translation apps for your smartphone to help you in these situations. They allow people with two different language backgrounds to have conversations without needing an interpreter or spending a lot of money.
In this article, we’ll look at some of the top translator apps and help you decide which is the best for the Korean language.
Papago by Naver
One of the best Korean-to-English translator apps is Papago by Naver. This app is powered by artificial intelligence and provides very accurate results. It also offers a wide range of features, such as translating sentences, phrases, and even entire paragraphs of text. It is the most accurate translation engine for Korean to English translation.
You can even take full Korean articles and copy and paste them into Papago. You will have a general understanding of what the article is about. Moreover, you can input through typing, microphone, conversation, and text recognition by using your camera. However, its main strength is Korean to English translation, whereas Google Translate covers many more languages. In addition, it doesn’t include Romanization, so knowing Hangul is needed.
Google Translate
We all know that Google Translate is the go-to choice for many people regarding online translations. However, there are other great options out there that can offer more accurate results for Korean. Google Translate is not great for Korean because the Asian language differs drastically in speech. Many phrases do not translate well through Google because no Korean would speak as Google suggests.
However, it is straightforward to use and does quick and easy translations, which are handy while on the go. Moreover, it offers voice input and output and is great for beginners. While the translations will be awkward, it is often correct. As long as you do not use slang or idioms, Google Translate is respectable as a Korean-to-English translator app.
Microsoft Translator
Another great option is Microsoft Translator. This app also uses artificial intelligence to provide accurate translations. It offers a clean interface and a variety of features, such as the ability to save your translations for later use. It has all the features you would expect from a translator app but includes the multi-person conversation translation feature. You can connect your smartphone and join conversations with up to 100 people across different languages.
The user uses Microsoft Translator to speak, and the app automatically translates your speech into text. In addition, the app also has a phrasebook which is excellent when traveling as it gives you quick access to vital phrases. Moreover, there are pronunciation guides and alternate translations for the meaning of certain Korean words.
Flitto
For those looking for a more professional/business-level Korean-to-English translator app, Flitto is the one for you. They are known for their direct human translators and crowdsourced translation services. It is not only for South Korea as it is available in over 170 countries and supports over 25 languages.
Users of Flitto can request translations in text, voice, and even image formats. Translations are done within 3 minutes on average for short texts. They also offer proofreading services and professional document translations. This includes business documents that have technical terms.
Daum Dictionary
This app is ideal for those who already have some knowledge of the Korean language and want to improve their skills through immersion. Many advanced learners use it to better learn the language from within the language itself.
The dictionary feature allows you to search for words and see their translations, including romanization, in either Korean-to-English or Korean-only. Searching in this backward way can provide more accurate Korean translations since you can tell when the English translation is incorrect. This is also useful for double-checking the accuracy of other translators, as some phrases don’t translate well due to their unique nature in the target language. Having a translator or dictionary in your target language can be helpful for cross-verification in these cases.
