Not all online translation sites are created equal. Some transcribe your spoken words into another language and then speak the result back to you. Others are less detailed and are better for simple word-to-word translations or website translations.

Google's online translation website translates the text you enter into the box, as well as documents and entire web pages.

This translator excels when you want to convert a few words or sentences to see how they appear or sound in another language. It also works surprisingly well when you need to talk to someone who doesn’t understand the other language. Just type or speak and watch the translation appear on the right.

One of the best features is the ability to accurately determine what language any text you throw at it is in, and then instantly convert it to a language you understand. This is great if you don’t know the original language; it’s better than clicking through each one until the translation works.