Choosing a good English-Russian offline translator for Android.
operating system Android has convenient system a spell checker that can not only suggest the correct spelling of words, but also automatically correct typos. This autocorrection system can be made even more useful with the help of special user dictionaries. In this article you will learn how to use them correctly, including not only for spell checking. First of all, you need to make sure that the spell check feature is activated in your device settings. To do this, open the “Language and Input” section in Android settings and check the “Spell Check” option. Nearby there is a settings button, with which you can go to the language selection menu for which the text will be checked and corrected.
After checking that the auto-correction and dictionary settings are correct, you can open any text editor and try its work. As you enter text, a suggested correct version of the word you type will appear above the keyboard. You can speed up typing a long word by simply clicking on the correct option in the line above.
Very often there are situations when the built-in dictionary does not know the word you are entering and underlines it even though you are absolutely sure that it is correct. It is precisely for solving such problems that a user dictionary is intended. Adding a word to it is very simple: just click on the highlighted word in the line above the keyboard keys and a proposal will appear to add this word to the user’s dictionary. The same can be done by tapping on the underlined word in the already typed text.
To manage and manually fill the user dictionary, you should open the already familiar “Language and input” section in the Android settings and follow the “Custom dictionaries” link. Here you can see dictionaries for each language used, as well as one general one. By opening any of them, the user has the opportunity to view, delete or add the necessary entries.
For adding new entry click on the plus sign on the right top corner and fill in the required fields. In this case, as you can see in the screenshot, you can enter not only individual words, but also entire phrases and alphanumeric combinations. Thanks to this ability, it is quite possible to use a custom dictionary in several unusual roles.
Filling out forms. Count how many times you had to enter your mailing address and other personal information when registering. Add this data to your personal dictionary and you will be able to fill in the required fields with just a few characters.
Password manager. Many people complain about the lack of a simple and convenient password manager in Android, like LastPass on desktops. Spend half an hour entering passwords for the services you use into the user dictionary and get the ability to quickly enter them in any browser. Of course, this should not be done in relation to those services that contain your important financial or personal information; such passwords should be kept only in your head.
Common phrases. If when correspondence or SMS communication you often use the same phrases or even entire sentences, then label them keyboard shortcuts. For example, replace “C Best wishes, Name” to “snp” and you will save a few seconds each time you type this phrase.
Thus, users have the opportunity to use their dictionaries in Android not only for competent writing, but also for quickly entering their data, passwords, or even entire sentences.
TTDic- Russian-English And English-Russian free offline dictionary with an easy and functional interface covering more 177.000 words
Key Features:
1. functional user interface
2. Quick search with filter
3. Pronunciation of words (TTS - Text-To-Speech)
4. Learning function ( Flash Cards)
5. Favorites– Add a word to your favorites list.
6. Bookmarks- Create bookmarks and add words to bookmarks.
7. Story- Saving viewed words in history.
8. The note- Adding notes to words.
9. Backup/ restore from file or Dropbox (Backup/Restore)
Peculiarities:
Various settings
1. Night mode
2. Changes text size
3. Interface color changes
4. Manage story lists, favorites, bookmarks and notes.
5. Tab visibility - Show/hide tabs.
6. Change the direction of the tongue
You can send your suggestions, comments and legal questions related to the project to this address.
[email protected]
Change Log / What's New
Quiz (testing) feature
Integration to other apps (Moon+ reader etc.)
Some UI changes
Some bugs were fixed
This guide will cover dictionaries and translators for Android. By the way, this topic was touched upon in. Aspects of the review are:
- Language support. It is important that at least two languages are supported: Russian and English - initially or by adding dictionaries.
- Offline and online functions. First of all, it is offline opportunities that are of interest, although online ones may also be present, which will be mentioned.
- Working with a dictionary: connection, speech synthesis or support for audio recordings, transcription.
- Search: taking into account morphology, inaccurate search, search speed.
- Additional features: phrasebook, contextual translation, integration with other applications.
Review participants:
- Google Translate
- GoldenDict
- Fora Dictionary
- ColorDict
- "Offline dictionaries"
Google Translate
IN latest versions official client of Google Translate, the greatest attention is paid to offline translation. Therefore, now the application can be compared with other offline dictionaries using the same criteria.
First, let’s talk about offline features. Google Translate offers a choice of 80 languages that can be connected through the settings: just select the desired dictionary from the list.
Google Translate is the least “academic”; it differs from the traditional Android dictionary both in its interface and in the form of results. When translating a term, the transcription is not displayed, for irregular verbs form not specified, other reference Information is also missing. Division into parts of speech is carried out, but not always (the principle of dictionary output remains unclear).
Google Translate is not least a user-friendly interface. It looks optimal in mobile version, less advantageous in . Easy navigation, nice animation. However, there is one flaw: when switching from portrait to landscape mode, only the translation is displayed, which, in fact, is a useless distribution of space.
Additional conveniences are noted when working with dictionaries. During translation, voice-over is available (online function). You can translate entire combinations, but due to the limited vocabulary, the implementation of this function is significantly inferior to the online version.
A number of functions are activated when connected to the Internet: text recognition, audio recognition, handwriting input. These features are experimental and under development - although, in fact, they are well implemented. On the one hand, in " field conditions» recognition is far from perfect. On the other hand, Google Translate is capable of translating simple and clear phrases. As a result, if the text or sound is not noisy, decoding is fully justified.
Probably, the speech recognition function can be considered as a good tool for practicing pronunciation. It’s still too early to count on Google Translate as an assistant when having a “live” conversation with a foreigner. The role of translation, in the case of the functions described above, may fade into the background, but recognition results cannot be saved: export to Google Translate is not provided.
The phrasebook is another tool that deserves mention. It syncs with online devices linked to your Google account, allowing you to keep frequently used words with translations at your fingertips.
Summary. Google Translate would be correctly called a translator with dictionary functions available offline. Convenient and fast interface, wide selection of language components, easy handling of dictionaries. The online recognition functions are also notable.
[+] Unique features
[+] Convenient and responsive interface
[+] Supports 80 languages
GoldenDict
Some dictionaries for Android provide only a shell, and in this case the actual dictionaries must be added independently. GoldenDict is just such a solution. On the one hand, it is inconvenient that you need to perform additional actions and waste time searching for dictionaries. The positive thing is that you can add only the specialized dictionaries you need. The shell is not only extremely easy to configure, but also versatile. Supported following types dictionaries: Lingvo, Babylon, MultiTran, StarDict, Lingoes and Dictd.
After being added to the file system, dictionaries need to be indexed in order to include them in the search. Dictionaries of other installed programs can be added; Typically, GoldenDict detects them and indexes them automatically. There can be an unlimited number of dictionaries, however free version limit is set (5).
The search returns results fairly quickly and is case and punctuation insensitive. Separately, you can install morpheme dictionaries, then GoldenDict will take into account word forms.
If there are several dictionaries, the results are displayed in a list. There is a search by dictionary entry. Formatting allows you to highlight descriptions, terms, accented letters and, in general, make it easier to read. Voice acting is only available if the corresponding database is added (for example, from Lingvo). In the settings you can configure the output in detail and switch to night display mode.
What’s also useful is that GoldenDict can be integrated into reading programs, displaying the translation in a pop-up window, that is, acting as a contextual translator.
Summary. GoldenDict is an easy to configure and universal shell. It will be useful if detail (transcription, word forms, voice acting) and specialization in certain dictionaries are important. Or, say, in a situation where desktop dictionaries are used and you need to transfer them to mobile devices to access them offline.
[+] Translation details
[+] Taking into account morphology when searching
Fora Dictionary
Fora Dictionary is a cross-platform application available for both mobile (Android/iOS) and desktop (Windows/Mac/Linux) platforms. The desktop version is free, mobile versions contain advertising, which is disabled when purchasing a license.
The main thing to note is universal application this shell. Similar to GoldenDict, there are no dictionaries by default. There are five ways to add dictionaries: packages, downloads, offline dictionaries on an SD card, online and Wikipedia. Not all methods are applicable to English-Russian translation, so copying local dictionaries and then specifying them to the program will be useful.
The following types of local dictionaries are supported: StarDict, XDXF, DSL, DICTD databases and simple dictionaries (TSV). Installation packages are installed from resources such as WordNet, FOLDOC, Factbook, Moby. Dictionary management has been implemented: they can not only be added from various sources, but also create profiles, group.
At the same time, the process of installing a Russian-language dictionary is not as simple as expected. Finding a free dictionary is not difficult, but its further connection is difficult due to the inconvenient interface, and indexing takes a long time.
Although it cannot be said that Fora Dictionary pleases modern design, the interface is flexibly customizable: article design, menu layout, panels and buttons. Navigation is also well thought out: hotkeys, abbreviations, sidebar, search and navigation history can be used.
The search supports fuzzy input, and hints are available as you type. The output can be formatted according to the Fora Dictionary settings, although it largely depends on the original layout of the dictionary.
Speech synthesis (TTS, or Text-to-Speech) is used for dubbing, available for English, French, German, Italian and Spanish languages. As an option, it is suggested to download an audio file High Quality. In addition, voice input can be used when searching.
Summary. Fora Dictonary has common features with GoldenDict: on the principle of adding dictionaries. True, in terms of the number of sources, none of these solutions can compare with this application. Given Fora's cross-platform nature, the same databases can be used on mobile and desktop platforms.
[+] Support for many dictionary formats
[+] Convenient navigation and customizable interface
[−] Inconvenient adding of custom dictionaries
Bigg
Bigg - English-Russian dictionary and phrasebook. The application is convenient because the dictionaries are available offline without any preliminary configuration, the need to download databases and other actions. All components occupy 50 MB and are copied to the SD card during installation. TO at this moment Bigg doesn't support external dictionaries and other areas of translation. This is probably the only one significant drawback when compared with competing solutions.
The dictionary includes Russian and English terms, in total there are more than 3 million dictionary entries and about 2 thousand phrases in the phrasebook. On the one hand, this is relatively small, but there are also advantages: quick start of the application and instant search in the database. There is no need to switch the translation direction - the program does this automatically. The search is carried out taking into account morphology.
When translating, it is not necessary to open a dictionary entry: the search results already provide options. If multiple words are entered, the translation for each of them will be displayed. The article displays translation options grouped by parts of speech, and transcription is available. Through a separate section of the application you can familiarize yourself with irregular verbs.
The Bigg Phrasebook contains expressions in popular topics, common phrases- they are all carefully structured. Words and expressions from the phrasebook and dictionary can be added to favorites for quick access to them.
Summary. Bigg is one of the best English-Russian dictionaries. It will be useful to users learning the language. Very easy to use and contains only required functions, without requiring preliminary configuration. The only thing missing is the ability to add your own dictionaries and support for languages other than English.
[+] Speed and ease of use
[+] Translation is available immediately after installation
[−] Inability to connect custom dictionaries
ColorDict
ColorDict provides for connecting dictionaries from Google Play and other online sources. They can be used offline in the future. Some network functions used, for example, when searching for a word on Wikipedia.
As for offline dictionaries, there is support for the relatively popular StarDict format. Can be copied necessary set to the dictdata folder. Dictionaries are indexed automatically and are subsequently available for use. In the corresponding section of the application, you can sort dictionaries and assign color labels to them - convenient, say, for grouping.
Search works well when working with many dictionaries: options are displayed, you can view previously entered terms in the history, add items to your favorites, and set their sorting order. The result from any field is copied to the clipboard. As a wish, it would be nice to implement adding results to favorites and then exporting them.
When displaying terms, blocks are used various colors, reading is quite comfortable. There are three display options to choose from: WebView, TextView and TextView Space. Unfortunately, some dictionaries do not provide even minimal formatting, making the text difficult to read.
Language learners will find the TTS voiceover option useful, with American and British versions. Transcription is not available everywhere; this option depends on the original content of the dictionary.
From additional features- ColorDict integrates with reading programs, namely FBReader, Moon+ Reader, Cool Reader and ezPDF Reader. Thus, he can act as a context translator.
Summary. ColorDict works with local dictionaries and supports Wikipedia search. Another plus is integration with reading programs, which allows you to use ColorDict as a contextual translator (along with GoldenDict).
[+] Connecting StarDict dictionaries
[+] Integration with reading programs
[+] Color labels for blocks and dictionaries
"Offline dictionaries"
“Offline dictionaries,” as the name suggests, offer access to dictionaries without an Internet connection. However, to add them you still need to download the necessary databases. About 50 multilingual dictionaries of various directions are offered: English, Russian, French, German, Chinese, Hebrew, etc. For Russian, at the time of review, 12 directions and dictionaries are available, for English - 32. Adding local dictionaries is not provided.
The program is not very user friendly. Even if we assume that advertising - as a distracting factor - can be turned off when purchasing a license, the translation adds confusion: “option, preferences” and other inscriptions distract from the essence.
Now about the search. Filters allow you to set search criteria. Theoretically, this could be useful for clarifying spelling (although in this case a fuzzy search would be more convenient). Filters are ideal for solving crossword puzzles, although this task cannot be called specialized for translation.
You can display the result either on a separate dictionary page or in a list. Another inconvenience is that “Offline dictionaries” do not use a single database, which significantly slows down the search, taking up time when switching between dictionaries. The same GoldenDict dictionary offers convenient option- display all results in a single list.
The actual display of articles in the “Dictionaries” is well detailed, there is a grouping by parts of speech. Highlighting is not available and transcription is not provided. TTS synthesis is available (including British and American pronunciation, plus 6 additional languages), but it is also not very convenient, since it synthesizes the entire article, and not the search word in the search bar (see Fora Dictionary).
Summary. We can assume that the application copes with its main responsibilities, allowing you to quickly install necessary dictionaries and get a comprehensive translation of the word. The negative factor is that insufficient attention has been paid to the ergonomics of the application. This is especially noticeable when actively accessing dictionaries and searching for words.
Pivot table
Application | Google Translate | GoldenDict | Fora Dictionary | Bigg | ColorDict | Offline dictionaries |
Developer | Google Inc. | GoldenDict | NG-Computing | Alexey Ilyin | Notes | NGHS.fr |
Full version price | for free | $4,99 | for free | $2,99 | for free | $2,05 |
Android version | depends on device | depends on device | 1.0+ | depends on device | depends on device | depends on device |
Supported languages | 80 | not limited | not limited | Russian English | not limited | not limited |
Adding online dictionaries | + | − | + | − | + | + |
Adding local dictionaries | − | Lingvo, Babylon, MultiTran, StarDict, Lingoes, Dictd | StarDict, XDXF, DSL, DICTD, TSV | − | StarDict | − |
Voice acting | + | + | + | − | + | + |
Contextual translation (integration with reading programs) | − | + | − | − | FBReader, Moon+ Reader, Cool Reader, ezPDF Reader | − |
Other options | Phrasebook; recognition of audio, photos, manuscripts; translation of phrases, SMS | − | Search on Wikipedia | Phrasebook |