| App | Offline camera | Offline text | Live conversation | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Translate | Yes (download pack) | Yes | Needs connection | Best all-rounder if you pre-download |
| Apple Translate | Limited | Limited | Needs connection | Fine on iPhone for typed text |
| Pleco | Yes, full dictionary | Yes | No | Best for reading characters |
| Baidu Translate | Partly | Yes | Yes, in China | Works on Chinese networks |
| WeChat translate | No | Yes | No | Good for messages, not menus |
| Alipay translate mini-app | No | Yes | Limited | Convenient because you have it open |
The three-minute setup
- 1Download the Google Translate offline Chinese pack
Settings → Offline translation → Chinese (Simplified). About 40 MB.
- 2Test the camera on a photo of a menu
Do this at home. The camera OCR is the feature you will use fifty times.
- 3Install Pleco
Free, works entirely offline, and its handwriting input is how you find a character you saw on a sign.
- 4Save four allergy sentences to notes
Copy-paste is faster than speaking, and it removes accent problems.
What translation apps cannot do
Menus with poetic dish names. Regional dialect. Any conversation with more than two speakers. And the specific problem of a driver who reads the address you show him and says “no, that road is one-way now” — which is exactly the sort of problem a local guide solves in four seconds.
A realistic expectation: apps get you through transactions. They do not get you through explanations. Budget for that difference when you decide whether to travel with a guide on the days that matter.