After studying French for some time, you'll likely have a pretty good vocabulary and even be able to converse in French. If not, don't worry, though. You'll get there. In your French classes, at least, you should be trying to speak as much as you can.
Once you reach a certain level, your French teacher will likely suggest that you broaden the range of resources that you use to include not just your textbooks and guides, but French-language media like the news, magazines, websites, etc.
The move to texts designed for French speakers can be a bit jarring as the language isn't adapted to your level and it's often assumed that anyone reading it is fully familiar with the French language.
At this stage, you'll mostly be reading for gist and won't be able to fully understand all the nuances in each text. In some cases, you'll even need to look up words or translate entire sentences or paragraphs into English just to make sure you've understood.
Whether it's English to French or French to English translation, you're going to need some help.
When reading French texts, translating from French to English needs to be part of the learning experience. There are plenty of French-to-English translators out there and you can find real people, automated tools, free services, and professional translation that you have to pay for.
We've put together a few resources to help you translate between French and English.
Learn French with French-English Dictionaries
We're certainly not suggesting you just sit down and read the dictionary to learn French, but dictionaries should definitely be one of the resources that you use.
After all, whenever you need to know the meaning of a word of phrase, dictionaries are your best bet. The best dictionaries will give you the meanings of words, examples of the words being used in context, synonyms, and antonyms.
As French uses gendered nouns as well as a whole host of grammatical features that aren't present in English, French dictionaries will also give you information as to the word type, the gender of nouns, etc.
In the Collins dictionary online, for example, you'll be given the word, the word type, an audio sample of the pronunciation, and several examples of it used in a sentence.
The Reverso French English Dictionary includes even more functions and details including verb conjugations, idioms and their translation, technical phrases used in business and medicine, and an entire page on literature.
Think of it as a linguistic encyclopedia for the French-speaking culture.
French Linguistics is another useful online dictionary that we recommend but over time, you'll likely find your own favourites and preferred tools.
This is mainly designed for British students who are learning French and offers French vocabulary for the GCSE exams that many 16-year-old British students take. The level should be somewhat equivalent to NCEA French.
Learn French with Google Translate, Microsoft Translator and Babylon
Most people have likely used one of these tools for French or another language and at one point, there was even a popular online version of the game Telephone that used Google Translate to generate nonsense by translating through several languages at once.
While that was just a bit of fun to highlight the inaccuracies of the tool, you can still get some good use out of them. Generally, the simpler the better as these tools tend to stumble when some context is required or sentences could be understood in a number of different ways.
They also struggle a lot with idiomatic expressions, for example, but you really should be looking these kinds of things up in specific dictionaries.
Online translators cannot distinguish context clues, which means that they are ineffective in translating homonyms, and they completely mangle the substance of any idiom you enter.
Another option would be to use real human translators. For example, SDL (which also goes by the name of its product, Trados) is a translation service and translation software company.
Don't forget to train your ear with the best French podcasts for French learners.
Human Translation via Translated.com
When the accuracy of your translation is essential, you'll need to work with real human translation.
Automated or machine translation may be fine for gist, finding out a few words, and just for your own personal use, but any translation that's going to be used officially or made publicly available (like a website, restaurant menu, official documents, etc.) needs to be completed by a qualified human translator.
Translated is a translation service company with many reputable customers and decades of experience. There are three levels of service available with each balancing cost and service. Naturally, the middle-tier is a balance of cost and service and offers the best value for money.
Translated.net offers three levels of service: economy, professional and premium, with the second one touted as the best value for the money.
If there's something you don't understand on a French website, you could always get a professional translation done, but it's probably better that you try to work out what it says as this will help you learn the language.
Day Translations are another language service provider that offers quotes in a matter of minutes. They offer various language pairs for translation and this service is particularly popular with people who need translations when applying for visas, etc.
In addition to translating general documents, they can also translate websites, official medical and legal documents, and many other text types.
Medical records or legal documents are the kinds of things you don't want automated translation dealing with. It always pays to hire a professional translator for anything official.
It's also important how your documents are handled and machine translations tend to use whatever information you give them to improve the service, which is good for the service, but worrying if you've submitted sensitive information into it.
Hiring a Freelance Translator
While there are lots of big companies offering translation services, sometimes you need a personal touch and want to know exactly who'll be translating for you.
Rather than dealing with a project manager, a liaison, or another person who isn't actually your translator, when you work with a freelancer, you can contact your translator directly.
It's also quite easy to find freelance translators online. Upwork is a popular site in the freelancing community as freelancers can make a profile, detail what they do, including any qualifications and certificates they may have, and show off reviews left for them by other clients.
The platform also has a number of tests that freelancers can do to prove their skills, but what you should really be looking for are official credentials like academic qualifications (which can also be verified on the platform).
You can find a whole host of translators for every language combination, including from French to English and vice versa. While you can search for freelancers, it's normally better to post a job and allow freelancers to apply to it. From there, you can browse each freelancer's application and see their profile, portfolio, and qualifications.
Again, translators should only really be used for official documents. For understanding French texts, it's much better to attempt to do it yourself as that's how you learn. That said, these are the translation tools you have at your disposal:
- French-English dictionaries
- Online automated or machine translation tools
- Translation companies
- Freelance translators
A translation is generally a shortcut to understanding and should only be used when you're completely lost or need an official or professional translation.
As you're learning, it's fine to not understand every word and your first forays into reading more advanced French texts will certainly include a lot of misunderstandings, reading for gist, or having to look up several words.
Rather than resorting to translation, consider learning with French learning apps or private French tutors.
A French tutor or teacher will translate when necessary, but they can also focus on making sure that you're learning what you need to learn. They can adapt their lessons to your preferred learning style, take more time on the things you struggle with, and quickly brush past the things you've clearly mastered.
There are private tutors out there for all levels and budgets and when you start working with one, it's probably a better idea to make a note of the words you don't understand and bring them into class with you. Make a concerted effort to focus on vocabulary that you haven't understood rather than quickly using translation to look it up and run the risk of immediately forgetting your new vocab!
No matter where you live, thanks to online tutoring, you can also find tutors from all over the world, including native French speakers from French-speaking countries!
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