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.
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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 UkraineNov 2, 2019 at 21:29
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1@bytebuster done.– R SNov 2, 2019 at 21:40
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I highly doubt that a government mandated system would per se exceed a community system (which Google Translate is not, anyway).– LjLNov 2, 2019 at 22:35
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@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 SNov 2, 2019 at 23:21
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@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.– LjLNov 2, 2019 at 23:42
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3 Answers
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.
bab.la has a number of dictionary language pairs. I find them useful:
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.
