Clear, tested guides to translate WhatsApp chats, statuses, and media with privacy-respecting methods and easy steps.
When a Sticker Leaves You Guessing Not long ago, a friend from Mexico sent me a WhatsApp sticker that looked hilarious. Everyone in the group chat was laughing, but I just stared at it. The text was in Spanish, bold, and colorful. I had no clue what it meant. I didn’t want to kill the …
When an Image Becomes a Puzzle A few weeks ago, a friend from Japan sent me a WhatsApp image with a poster about an event. The problem? The entire thing was in Japanese, with bold kanji characters I couldn’t even begin to guess. I sat there staring at it, wondering if should I ask him …
When a Single Message Feels Like a Wall A few months ago, I received a WhatsApp message from a new business partner in Brazil. The text was in Portuguese. I don’t speak Portuguese beyond “obrigado”, so I did what most of us would: I copied the message into Google Translate. The translation was fine, but …
A Simple Status That Caused Confusion Last summer, my Italian friend posted a WhatsApp status with a caption that said “La vita è bella.” I had a feeling it was something meaningful, but I didn’t know the exact translation. Out of curiosity, I pasted it into Google Translate and found it meant “Life is beautiful.” …
A Real Life Dilemma A few weeks ago, a student from Spain messaged me on WhatsApp. His texts were in Spanish, and while I can read a little, one message looked very formal, almost legal. I copied it into a translation app to make sense of it. For a second, though, I stopped and thought: …
When Chats on WhatsApp Web Get Lost in Translation A few months ago, I joined a WhatsApp Web group chat for an international conference. The participants came from Spain, Japan, Brazil, and Germany. As the chat lit up with excitement, I realized I could only understand about half of what people were saying. Some wrote …
A friend added me to a study group where half the classmates text in Spanish, another handful post French screenshots, and one teacher likes to drop Arabic quotes as “motivations.” It’s sweet, but pretty soon your brain’s doing jumping jacks just to keep up. Travelers feel this too: you join a hostel group in Bangkok, …