Free AI Image Translator
Upload a picture and the AI reads the text with OCR, detects its language automatically, and translates it into any of 230+ languages. You get clean translated text you can copy, share, or download — no app to install, no signup required.
How to translate text from an image
- 1
Upload your image
Drag and drop a photo, screenshot, or scanned page into the translator above, or click to choose a file. PNG, JPG, WEBP, and HEIC formats all work.
- 2
Pick the target language
Choose the language you want from 230+ options. The language in the image is detected automatically, so you don't need to know what you're looking at.
- 3
Get your translation
The OCR engine extracts the text and the AI translates it in seconds. Copy the translated text or download it to keep.
What can you translate from a picture?
Menus, signs & posters
Photograph a restaurant menu, street sign, or shop poster and translate the photo on the spot — no typing foreign characters.
Screenshots
Translate a screenshot from a chat, game, app, or PDF page — drop the image in and get the text back in your language.
Documents & handwriting
Scanned pages, forms, and clear handwriting in photos work too — including pictures of printed pages from books and manuals.
Photos in 230+ languages
From an Arabic image to English or a Japanese picture to Spanish — the language in the photo is detected automatically.
Translate images to popular languages
Upload a photo and translate the text into any of the world's most-spoken languages.
Translate images other tools can't read
Most image translators stop at about 100 mainstream languages. Polytranslator covers 230+, including ancient and historical ones — Latin, Ancient Greek, Coptic, Old Norse, Sanskrit, and more. Photograph an old letter, a manuscript page, a gravestone inscription, or a museum plaque, and translate writing that other tools don't even recognize.
More ways to translate
Image translation FAQ
- How do I translate text in an image?
- Upload or drag and drop a photo into the box above. The translator reads the text in your image and translates it instantly — no typing required.
- What image formats can I translate?
- PNG, JPG, JPEG, WEBP, and HEIC. Photos of signs, menus, documents, screenshots, and handwriting all work.
- Is the image translator free?
- Yes. Image translation is free with a generous daily limit and no signup required. Sign in for a higher limit, or upgrade to Pro for unlimited translations.
- What languages can I translate images into?
- Over 230 languages, including English, Spanish, French, German, Mandarin Chinese, Arabic, Hindi, Portuguese, Russian, Korean, and many ancient and specialty languages.
- Can I translate a screenshot?
- Yes — upload any screenshot (from a chat, app, game, or PDF page) as a PNG or JPG. The text in the image is extracted and translated instantly.
- Can it translate an Arabic image to English?
- Yes. Photograph a sign, menu, or document in Arabic and get an English translation. Every direction works, across 230+ languages — the language in the picture is detected automatically.
- Does it work with pictures of handwriting?
- Clear handwriting in a sharp, well-lit photo usually translates well. Highly stylized or cursive writing is harder — try the clearest picture you can take.
- Is my image stored or shared?
- Your image is used only to produce your translation. Uploads are never shared or made public, and are automatically deleted from our servers after at most 90 days.
- Does the image translator work on my phone?
- Yes — it runs in your browser, so it works on any phone, tablet, or computer. Snap a photo, upload it, and read the translation on the spot. No app download needed.
- Can it translate photos of old documents and manuscripts?
- Yes — this is what sets Polytranslator apart. Alongside the world's major languages, it reads ancient and historical ones like Latin, Ancient Greek, and Coptic, so photos of old letters, inscriptions, and manuscript pages can be translated too.
- How is the text extracted from my picture?
- An AI vision model performs OCR (optical character recognition) on your image — it finds the text, reads it in place, and passes it to the translator. This handles angled photos, decorative fonts, and mixed languages better than traditional OCR.