Photo Translator

Extract English text from a photo using OCR, then translate it into another language. Upload a picture of a sign, menu, document, or screenshot, review the extracted text, and get an instant translation.

Click or drag a photo here

JPG, PNG, or WebP — text is read locally with OCR

How was this tool?

Your feedback helps us improve Photo Translator.

Why use Photo Translator?

Photo Translator combines two steps: optical character recognition (OCR) to read text out of an image, and machine translation to convert that text into another language. The OCR step runs entirely in your browser using Tesseract.js, so your photo itself is never uploaded to a server. Once text is extracted, you can review and correct it before translating — useful since OCR accuracy varies with image quality. The translation step sends only the extracted text (not the image) to a translation service to produce the final result.

Key benefits

OCR text extraction runs locally in your browser
Editable extracted text so you can fix OCR mistakes before translating
Supports 11 target languages including Spanish, French, Hindi, Urdu, and Arabic
No signup required

Features

Client-side OCR powered by Tesseract.js
Editable text-extraction step before translation
Translation via a server-side proxy (no API key needed on your end)
Copy button for the translated result

Popular use cases

Translating a menu, sign, or label photographed while traveling
Reading a screenshot of foreign-language text
Extracting and translating text from a scanned document photo
Quickly checking what a photographed paragraph says in another language

How to use Photo Translator

1
Upload a photo
Click or drag an image containing English text — a sign, document, menu, or screenshot.
2
Review the extracted text
OCR reads the text from your photo automatically. Edit it if anything was misread.
3
Choose a language and translate
Pick a target language and click Translate to see the result.

Frequently asked questions

How accurate is the text extraction?

Accuracy depends on the photo — clear, well-lit, high-contrast text extracts best. Blurry or handwritten text may need manual correction, which you can do in the editable text box before translating.

Is my photo uploaded anywhere?

Text extraction (OCR) happens locally in your browser — the image itself is never uploaded. Only the extracted text is sent to the translation step.

What languages can I translate to?

Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Hindi, Urdu, Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Japanese, and Russian.

Does this work with non-English photos?

The OCR step currently reads English text. Photos containing other languages may not extract accurately.

Is there a text length limit for translation?

Yes, up to 500 characters per translation request. For longer text, translate it in sections.

Why did the extracted text come out garbled?

Low-resolution, angled, or low-contrast photos are harder for OCR to read accurately. Try a clearer, well-lit, straight-on photo for best results, or edit the extracted text manually.

Last reviewed: July 2026

How was this tool?

Related tools