# Is there a good English-Spanish translation app?



## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Hey! I just had my BlackBerry all juiced up and connected to everything. Could anyone recommend a good English-Spanish translation app? I tried Google Translate before, and it's okay, but I'm hoping there's a better one. Any suggestions, please?


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## Calas felices (Nov 29, 2007)

I have used spanishdict.com in the past but I don't know if there is an app (whatever that is?:confused2


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## davexf (Jan 26, 2009)

Hola

Yes there are Apps available, I have "Transzilla" which usually works whenever I need a word 

Davexf


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Calas felices said:


> I have used spanishdict.com in the past but I don't know if there is an app (whatever that is?:confused2


 Thanks, Calas felices. An app is short for an application. An application is a software program that works on a mobile phone. So Spanish.com is used when you're on the Internet on your phone, but an app is those icons for programs that you see on your phone. Does that make sense?



davexf said:


> Hola
> 
> Yes there are Apps available, I have "Transzilla" which usually works whenever I need a word
> 
> Davexf


 Thanks, Davexf. I just tried, but Transzilla isn't supported by my BlackBerry. I've only ever downloaded free apps before, with the exception of Google Translate, which was in BlackBerry App World. Do you know if an app is not listed in BlackBerry App World, can I still get that app?


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

Word Reference. SpanishDict is quite poor.


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## Lolito (Aug 25, 2012)

You have to be careful with these things.... 

SER DURO (as in 'to be hard')

translates as 'to be a five pesetas coin'...

and 'pederasta' (pedophile) used to be 'homosexual'... 

I always tell Mark to let me know first before he uses these translators online, you never know !


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## Calas felices (Nov 29, 2007)

"Does that make sense" I lost you when you said you had your blackberry juiced up!


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

elenetxu said:


> Word Reference. SpanishDict is quite poor.


Thanks for the tip, Elenetxu. I found an app called "WordReference Multilingual Dictionary" by OpenMerchantAccountLtd. Is that the one you mean?



Lolito said:


> You have to be careful with these things....
> 
> SER DURO (as in 'to be hard')
> 
> ...


Hey Lolito. You give Mark good advice. Typically I get a lot of furled eyebrows from Spaniards whenever trying to translate.  I haven't found any online ones that are even close to perfect. So I've got several online sources, and I want to do the same with my phone. 



Calas felices said:


> "Does that make sense" I lost you when you said you had your blackberry juiced up!


Sorry for confusing you. Best not get into my head as to how things work in this world.  So here's what I think is a good article to explain this better:

Computer Basics: Understanding Applications


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## stevesainty (Jan 7, 2011)

I use www.reverso.net, it also has an app.

It gives several examples for the word with different contexts to give you a fighting chance of getting it right.

It is getting better all the time as it encourages collaboration with its users.


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

stevesainty said:


> I use www.reverso.net, it also has an app.
> 
> It gives several examples for the word with different contexts to give you a fighting chance of getting it right.
> 
> It is getting better all the time as it encourages collaboration with its users.


 Thanks Stevesainty! This is where I'm running into problems with apps... I can use www.reverso.net on my browser app (i.e. online on my phone), which is good. But I can't find the app in my BlackBerry Apps, and I don't see an app online on my phone. So does that mean I can't use the app because it's not compatible with my phone?


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## stevesainty (Jan 7, 2011)

AllHeart said:


> Thanks Stevesainty! This is where I'm running into problems with apps... I can use www.reverso.net on my browser app (i.e. online on my phone), which is good. But I can't find the app in my BlackBerry Apps, and I don't see an app online on my phone. So does that mean I can't use the app because it's not compatible with my phone?


When I used the reverso.net as a webpage on my android it asked me if I wanted to download the app. I guess if you did not receive that request, when you entered the web page on your Blackberry, Reverso has not yet written one.

You can still use the web page though, just a bit clumsy on a phone.


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Thanks for explaining that Steve. I'm now a titch more tech savvy thanks to you.  Yes, it's a little clumsy, but at least I can use the online version for my phone now (saved to bookmarks). The SpanishDict doesn't even work at all online on my phone, but I have it saved to my computer as it works well there.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Speaking of apps, any one know of any good apps for helping you learn a language? Maybe they send you a phrase a day or there are games, pictures to identify etc? I'm thinking for students of English. 
I don't have a smart phone so I won't be able to use these myself, but could I look at a pc version before recommending it?
As you can tell, I'm barely in the 21st century so treat me gently!


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Speaking of apps, any one know of any good apps for helping you learn a language? Maybe they send you a phrase a day or there are games, pictures to identify etc? I'm thinking for students of English.
> I don't have a smart phone so I won't be able to use these myself, but could I look at a pc version before recommending it?
> As you can tell, I'm barely in the 21st century so treat me gently!


some of my students are using Duolingo for Spanish practice - it has an English version too - I'm sure they use it as an app

I haven't had a good look at it, but they do seem to be benefiting from it (though I'd like to think the 6 hours of classes a week might have something to do with it  ) 

They like using it too


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## Helenameva (Aug 15, 2014)

I've used the DuoLingo app on Android for Spanish practice. It's enjoyable and easy to use. It would be good for beginners up to A2 I would say, or anyone who wants to brush up. 

I haven't used the English version (cos I is good at it) but presume it would be the same.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

I have WordRef for Android on my phone. Good as a dictionary but a bit clunky for translating whole sentences. Sometimes it's better just to find a different way of saying what you want to say!

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wordreference


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## Ishtak (Aug 18, 2014)

I've started using a program called Memrise. There are apps for all the smartphones and it can also be used online. Free version and a paid version


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Ishtak said:


> I've started using a program called Memrise. There are apps for all the smartphones and it can also be used online. Free version and a paid version


Ha! I found Memrise a couple of weeks ago and am using it, although not for language learning. So far, I like it.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Alcalaina said:


> I have WordRef for Android on my phone. Good as a dictionary but a bit clunky for translating whole sentences. Sometimes it's better just to find a different way of saying what you want to say!
> 
> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wordreference


I don't know if there's an app, but I always recommend Linguee now, especially for a phrase. Look at this for "How long did it take" for example
how long did it take - Traducci?n al espa?ol – Linguee


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Anything for high level English learners?


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## Helenameva (Aug 15, 2014)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Anything for high level English learners?


I've just downloaded this app by the British Council

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=hk.hkbc.epodcast&hl=en

It says it's a series of podcasts for elementary students but could be used for advanced students too.

I've also downloaded this

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=me.fasttest.advocab&hl=en

It's called Advanced English Vocab. It gives you a word (eg procrastination, whatever that is) and four possible definitions. You have to select the right answer, with or without a timer. It's okay, not very exciting and a bit repetitive doing the same thing 5000 times but the reviews are good.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Helenameva said:


> I've just downloaded this app by the British Council
> 
> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=hk.hkbc.epodcast&hl=en
> 
> ...


Thanks. This is the kind of thing I'm looking for I think (haven't had a chance to look at it yet). I'll investigate the others on that page too.


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## Calas felices (Nov 29, 2007)

"Procrastination" is the thief of time! That brought back memories of the favoured line that our Deputy Head used to impose.


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## Allie-P (Feb 11, 2013)

xabiachica said:


> some of my students are using Duolingo for Spanish practice - it has an English version too - I'm sure they use it as an app
> 
> I haven't had a good look at it, but they do seem to be benefiting from it (though I'd like to think the 6 hours of classes a week might have something to do with it  )
> 
> They like using it too




It is an excellent App. for those learning from scratch. I use it on a daily basis, incorporated with one Spanish speaking class a week. 

In this area, I could only find one to one classes. Those run by the council are awful. Huge classes & only Spanish is spoken, from the outset, which rather defeats the purpose !!

Therefore, my teacher is quite pricey & I need to do a lot of learning on my own.

It is not a translation aide, though.


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Thanks for all your suggestions! The only app I have is the one that Alcalaina and Elenetxu recommended - WordRef. So I tried downloading the app, but I have an error that won't let me buy apps.  I researched the error online and there's no fix.   Now they have my credit card information until 2019, and I can't delete it from their system. It's at times like this that I understand why BlackBerry fell apart. If only the binary code were a person.... :boxing:

My phone is almost four years old, but I don't want or need the expense of a new one. So I'll just keep doing what I've been doing like they did in older times - carrying around my heavy Oxford 'Pocket' English-Spanish Dictionary. Poor me. Oh, poooooor me. Please cry me a river! A really, really, really big river!


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