The short answer: Telegram translates messages itself, but its Translate button is off until you go to Settings > Language and switch on Show Translate Button. Then tap a message (on iPhone, press and hold it) and choose Translate; single messages are free, and whole chats need Telegram Premium. Telegram can’t translate a short reply before you send it, and Swift Translate can: drag its bubble onto your text on Android, or use its keyboard on iPhone.
How to translate messages in Telegram
You switch the button on once. After that, messages in other languages have a translate option.
Step 1: Turn on the Translate button
- Open Settings from the bar at the bottom of the screen. In older versions of Telegram for Android, it is in the ☰ menu.
- Tap Language.
- Under Translate Messages, turn on Show Translate Button.
Two more options are on the same screen. Translate Entire Chats translates whole chats and needs Telegram Premium (more on that below). Do Not Translate lists the languages Telegram won’t offer to translate.
Step 2: Translate a message
- Open a chat, a group or a channel.
- Tap the message. On iPhone, press and hold it.
- Tap Translate. A window opens with the translation.
This works on text messages, on the captions of photos, videos and files, and on polls. It works in private chats, groups, channels and comments.
On a computer, Telegram Desktop has the same switch under Settings > Language. Right-click a message to translate it.
Translate Telegram messages to English (or any language)
Telegram translates into the language your Telegram app uses. The top of the translation window names two languages: the message’s language and the one it is translated into. Tap the second one and pick English, Spanish or any other language. On Android, Telegram remembers your choice for the next message.
Translate a whole Telegram chat or channel
With Telegram Premium: turn on Translate Entire Chats in Settings > Language. When a chat, group or channel is mostly in another language, a bar appears at the top: Translate to and your language. Tap it and the chat’s messages appear translated. Show Original switches back. The bar’s menu also has Translate To (to pick another language), Don’t translate for that language, and Hide.
Channels that translate for everyone: some channel owners turn on auto-translation for all readers, with or without Premium. Posts then arrive in your language, and the bar at the top shows the original.
Translate your own message before you send it
Telegram’s AI Editor can also translate what you write:
- Type your message. Once it is three or four lines long, an AI button appears above the Send arrow.
- Tap it and open the Translate tab.
- Pick the language you want, then tap Apply to put the translation in the message box.
- Send it.
The editor can also change the style while it translates, for example to make a message more formal. It has limits. It appears only on longer messages. Free accounts get a small number of uses per day, and Telegram Premium raises that limit. It is off in secret chats.
Translate button not showing? Why, and how to fix it
| Why | What to do |
|---|---|
| Show Translate Button is off. This is how Telegram starts. | Go to Settings > Language and turn it on. |
| The message is in a language you speak. Telegram fills Do Not Translate with your own languages. | Go to Settings > Language > Do Not Translate and untick that language. |
| It’s a secret chat. | Telegram doesn’t translate in secret chats. |
| There is no text: a sticker, an emoji, a photo without a caption, or words that are part of a picture. | Telegram translates text, captions and polls only. |
| The AI button is missing when you type. | It appears once your message is three or four lines long. It is not in secret chats. |
| Your Telegram app is old. | Update Telegram from your app store. |
| You are on a computer. | Right-click the message instead of tapping it. |
What Telegram’s translate doesn’t do
For many people, Telegram’s own translation is enough. If you only need an occasional message translated, the free Translate button is all you need. If you have Premium, Translate Entire Chats is the most comfortable way to follow a channel in another language every day. And if a channel translates itself, you need nothing else.
Here is where it stops:
- Free accounts go one message at a time. Each message is tap, Translate, close, then the next one. Whole chats need Premium, unless the channel owner has turned on auto-translation.
- Short replies have no translate button. The AI Editor appears only after three or four lines, and free accounts have a daily limit. A one-line reply such as “See you at 8, I’ll bring the documents” can’t be translated in Telegram before you send it.
- Pictures and stickers stay as they are. Telegram translates text, captions and polls, not words that are part of an image.
- Voice messages need text first. Turning a voice message into text is a Telegram Premium feature. Free accounts get only a few each week.
- Secret chats get no translation at all. There is no Translate button, no AI Editor and no whole-chat translation.
- It works only inside Telegram. If the same people also write to you on WhatsApp or Instagram, you need something else there.
Read and reply in any language with Swift Translate
Swift Translate helps with three of these gaps: reading message after message, replying in a short line, and your other chat apps.
On Android: the floating bubble
Swift Translate puts a small floating bubble on your screen. In Telegram, drag it onto any message, channel post or caption, and a translation card appears next to the text, in your language. There is no menu to open and close for each message. Drag the bubble to the next message and keep reading.
The same bubble works in WhatsApp, Instagram, your browser and your other chat apps, so one habit covers all of your conversations.
Reply in their language
Type your message in your own language first. Then drag the bubble onto what you wrote. Your message goes out in the language you chose for them, and you can check the translation before it is sent. One short line works as well as a long message, so even “See you at 8” goes out translated.
On iPhone: Swift Translate Keyboard
Swift Translate Keyboard translates what you type in Telegram. Type your reply in your language and tap Translate. Your text changes to the language you chose for them, and you send it with Telegram’s own Send button. It works for one line or a long message.
To read a message, copy it, then tap Paste on the Swift Translate keyboard. The translation shows above the keys.
FAQ
Does Telegram have a translator?
Yes. Telegram has a built-in Translate button for messages. It is off until you turn it on in Settings > Language > Show Translate Button.
How do I translate Telegram messages to English?
Turn on the Translate button, then tap the message (press and hold it on iPhone) and choose Translate. Telegram translates into your app’s language. If that isn’t English, tap the language at the top of the translation window and pick English.
Can Telegram translate a whole channel automatically?
Yes, in two cases. With Telegram Premium, Translate Entire Chats translates whole chats, groups and channels. And when a channel owner turns on auto-translation, it works for every reader.
Is Telegram’s translation free?
Translating single messages is free for everyone. Translating whole chats and channels needs Telegram Premium. The AI Editor gives free accounts a small daily allowance.
Can Telegram translate my message before I send it?
Yes, with the AI Editor, once your message is three or four lines long. For a shorter reply, type it and drag the Swift Translate bubble onto it on Android, or tap Translate on Swift Translate Keyboard on iPhone.
How do I change Telegram’s language?
Go to Settings > Language and pick a language from the list. Telegram then also translates messages into that language.
Related: Telegram translator · How to translate WhatsApp messages · How to translate Instagram comments and DMs · Chat translator
