Translate Spanish to English

Reading Spanish you receive

Most people translating from Spanish want to understand something: a message from a landlord, a school letter, a supplier's email, a document from a Spanish-speaking office. That is where this direction is strongest. In a test, "Si no puedes venir, avísame antes del miércoles por la noche" became "If you can't come, let me know before Wednesday night."

For documents, Translate a document… reads a Word file or a PDF and saves an English Word file: see translate a PDF.

Where it needs a second look

• Who is "you". Spanish often drops the subject, so "he", "she", "you" (formal) and "it" can be mixed up when the sentence does not say who.
• Regional words. Words used in one country only, and slang, may be translated literally or left as they are.
• Accents. Text typed without accents (esta for está) is mostly understood, but can change the meaning.
• Legal and medical terms. For an official document, use the translation to understand it, and a sworn translator when it must be filed.

Private by design

A letter from a doctor, a lawyer or a bank is exactly what you would rather not paste into a website. Here the model runs on your PC; translating makes no connection at all. It also works on a phone-tethered laptop with no data left, or abroad without roaming.

To answer in Spanish, download English to Spanish too and press the swap button between From and To.