To translate a WhatsApp message, long-press it and look for Translate; on phones that have WhatsApp's new built-in option, you pick a language, a small language pack downloads, and the translation appears under the message. If you do not see Translate, copy the text into Google Translate or the iPhone Translate app, or use a keyboard that translates as you type.
Those are the quick answers. The rest of this guide goes through each method in order, from the one built into WhatsApp to the ones that translate everything for you, with what each one can and cannot do. It ends with the case the simple tricks do not cover: a business that talks to customers in another language all day, including voice notes.
Method 1: WhatsApp's built-in Translate option
WhatsApp has started adding translation to the app itself. On a phone that has it, long-press a message, tap Translate (on Android it may sit under the three-dot menu or More), choose the language you want to read, and confirm the download of a language pack. The pack stays on the phone, so later translations in that language work offline.
On Android you can also turn on translation for a whole chat from the chat's info screen, so new messages are translated as they arrive. On iPhone it works one message at a time.
- It translates text only. Voice notes, images and documents are not translated.
- It translates what you receive, not what you write. Your reply still goes out in whatever language you typed.
- The list of languages is short and differs between Android and iPhone, so the language you need may not be there yet.
- It does nothing for a team: translation happens on one phone, for one person.
Do not see Translate at all? Update WhatsApp from the app store first. The option is rolling out gradually, by phone and by country, and an old version will never show it.
Method 2: Google Translate and Tap to Translate (Android)
Google Translate on Android has a feature made for exactly this. Open the Google Translate app, open its settings, and turn on Tap to Translate. From then on, whenever you copy text in any app, a small Translate icon appears; tap it and the translation pops up over WhatsApp without leaving the chat.
To reply, type your answer in the pop-up in your own language, translate it, copy the result and paste it into WhatsApp. It is a few taps per message, which is fine for a friend and tiring for a customer queue.
- Works with every language Google Translate knows, which is far more than WhatsApp's own option.
- Needs the text to be selectable, so it cannot read a screenshot or a voice note.
- Everything you copy is sent to Google for translation, so think twice with sensitive messages.
Method 3: iPhone: select and Translate, or the Translate app
On an iPhone, press and hold a message, choose Copy, then open the Translate app that comes with iOS and paste. Or select the text in any app that allows selection and look for Translate in the pop-up menu; WhatsApp shows it for copied text in many cases.
The Translate app can also listen: tap the microphone, play a voice note out loud on another device or in speaker mode, and it will transcribe and translate what it hears. It is a workaround, not a feature, and it mangles anything with background noise, but it works in a pinch.
Method 4: a keyboard that translates while you type
Gboard on Android and Microsoft SwiftKey on both platforms have a translate mode in the keyboard toolbar. Turn it on, pick the direction, type in your language, and the keyboard inserts the translation into the message box. The person you are writing to receives only the translated text.
This covers the direction the built-in option does not: replying. Pair it with Method 1 or 2 for reading, and you can hold a basic two-way conversation. You still cannot see what you sent in your own language afterwards, and the keyboard does not know the context of the chat, so idioms and names come out odd now and then.
Method 5: paste the conversation into an AI assistant
For a long thread, copy the messages and paste them into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini with a line such as "translate this to English and keep the speaker names". You get the whole conversation translated at once, often with better handling of slang than a dictionary-style translator, and you can ask follow-up questions about it.
Be careful with what you paste: these are other people's messages, and an AI assistant is a third party. Remove phone numbers and anything private first.
What about voice notes?
None of the methods above translate audio directly. WhatsApp can transcribe voice notes on the phone for a few languages (turn it on under Settings, Chats, Voice message transcripts, then long-press a note and choose Transcribe), and you can translate the transcript with any method above. For the rest, you need a tool that transcribes first and translates second.
Related: How to transcribe and translate WhatsApp voice notes
For businesses: automatic translation on your WhatsApp number
If you answer customers in another language every day, every method above costs you a few taps per message and leaves voice notes unread. A shared WhatsApp inbox such as Spun turns that into a setting on the chat: pick the language you read and the language the customer reads, once, and every message after that is translated both ways.
Incoming messages show a translation underneath, with the original a tap away. Your replies are translated before they are sent, and you see the translation first and can edit it. Voice notes are transcribed, translated, and can be played back in your language; you can even record a voice note in yours and have the customer receive it in theirs. Your whole team sees the same translations on one number, each person in their own app language.
- Per chat: translation on where you need it, off where you do not.
- Preview before sending, or send exactly as typed with one switch.
- 100+ languages, including Hebrew, Arabic, Hindi and 22 Indian languages.
- No WhatsApp Business API: connect the number you already use with a QR code.
A word on privacy
Every translation method sends text somewhere: to a language pack on your phone (WhatsApp's own option), to Google, to Apple, or to an AI service. For a chat with a friend that rarely matters. For customer conversations, check what the tool does with the text. In Spun, personal data such as names, phone numbers and card details can be stripped before any text reaches the translation service, and translation can be turned off entirely.