How to Automatically Translate a Message in Gmail

You may receive emails in a foreign language. If you need to have these emails automatically translated, Gmail offers a built-in message translation tool. It works on your computer and, since 2023, natively inside the Gmail app on Android and iOS.

This lets you benefit from an automatic translation of your emails into English (or any other language you choose), regardless of the original language of the content. Gmail usually detects the source language automatically.

How do I translate an email in Gmail on my computer?

Here is how to automatically translate a Gmail message received in another language, verified for 2026:

1. in Gmail on your computer, open the message to be translated
2. click the 3 vertical dots to open the contextual menu of the message
3. click “Translate message”
4. the message is instantly translated by Google

In many cases you will not even need the menu: when the language of an email does not match your Gmail display language, a banner appears at the top of the message inviting you to translate it in one click.

Note: obviously, you need to be connected to your Gmail account. The Google Translate service is used. For reference, you can consult the official Google Help page on translating Gmail messages.

Once translated, you can use the links of the translation bar displayed above the message to :

• change the original language (if Gmail made a mistake in the automatic detection) and the destination language
• return to the original untranslated message with a single click
• configure Gmail so that all messages received in a certain language are automatically translated from now on

If you need to translate your entire mailbox, find out how to translate Gmail into English.

See also: how to delete all my messages at once in Gmail?

How to translate an email in the Gmail app (Android and iOS)?

Since a 2023 update, the Gmail app includes a native translation feature on both Android and iOS, so you no longer need to copy and paste the text into Google Translate. The simplest method:

1. open the email in the Gmail app
2. tap the “Translate to…” banner that appears at the top of the message
3. the email is translated instantly into your preferred language

If the banner does not appear (for example if you dismissed it earlier), you can translate manually:

1. open the message in the Gmail app
2. tap the 3 vertical dots at the top right of the email
3. tap “Translate”
4. to change the target language, tap the settings icon on the translation banner and pick your language

See also: how to be notified that a Gmail mail has been read? or how to add a signature on Gmail?

Gmail translation features compared: web, Android and iOS

The three versions of Gmail now offer very similar translation options. Here is a synthetic comparison:

Feature	Web (computer)	Android app	iOS app
Native built-in translation	Yes	Yes (since 2023)	Yes (since 2023)
Automatic “Translate” banner	Yes	Yes	Yes
Manual translation via the 3-dot menu	Yes	Yes	Yes
Change source and target language	Yes	Yes	Yes
Always or never translate a language	Yes	Yes	Yes
Languages supported	100+	100+	100+
Works on non-Google (IMAP) accounts	No	No	No

How many languages does Gmail translation support?

According to Google’s own Workspace announcement, Gmail on the web has let users translate emails into more than 100 languages for years, and the native mobile feature covers the same range of 100+ languages. Under the hood, Gmail relies on the Google Translate engine, which itself supports over 130 languages, so the vast majority of the emails you receive can be translated, including major business languages such as English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Chinese, Japanese and Arabic.

Notes for Google Workspace (professional) accounts

If you use Gmail through a Google Workspace account (a professional address on your own domain), the translation feature works exactly the same way as on a personal @gmail.com account. Two points are worth knowing for professional users:

• No admin control is required. Message translation is available by default and there is no separate administrator setting to switch it on or off for the organisation, so any user in the domain can use it right away.
• Google Accounts only. The translation feature is exclusive to Google accounts. If you have added an external mailbox (Outlook, Yahoo, iCloud or any other IMAP account) into Gmail, the built-in translation will not work on those messages. For those cases, a browser extension is the practical alternative (see below).

How to disable auto translate in Gmail

If Gmail keeps translating your messages when you do not want it to, you can turn the automatic translation off for a specific language:

1. open a message where the translation bar is showing
2. on the computer, click the 3 dots in the translation bar; on mobile, tap the settings icon on the translation banner
3. select “Never translate [language]” (or accept the “Don’t translate [language] again” prompt when you dismiss the banner)

From then on, emails in that language will no longer trigger the automatic banner. You can still translate them manually at any time through the 3-dot menu. To reverse the choice, open a message in that language, translate it manually, and adjust the language settings in the translation bar.

Alternatives to Gmail auto translate: the best browser extensions

Gmail’s native translation is convenient, but it has limits: it only works on Google accounts, and its quality is standard Google Translate output. If you handle sensitive business emails, need higher accuracy, or read mail from non-Google mailboxes, a browser extension is often the better option. The main alternatives to consider in 2026:

• DeepL Translator (best for accuracy): widely regarded as producing the most natural, context-aware translations, especially for European business languages. The DeepL extension works directly inside Gmail (and Google Docs), letting you translate what you read and improve what you write. The free plan covers everyday needs; Pro plans add glossaries, formality settings and unlimited characters.
• Mate Translate: a versatile all-in-one extension that translates highlighted text and full pages in 100+ languages, syncs across devices and browsers, and includes a dictionary and phrasebook. A good pick if you value flexibility and language learning features.
• Google Translate extension: the simplest free option, useful if you just want to highlight text and translate it quickly across a very large number of languages.

For most professionals, DeepL is the best browser extension for email translation thanks to its accuracy and its ability to help you write replies in the target language, not just read incoming mail. Because these extensions act on the web page itself, they also work on webmail that Gmail’s native tool cannot translate, such as external IMAP accounts.

Other questions

Source and further reading: Google Help, Translate Gmail messages.

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