Checking and replying to international Emails is now an everyday routine for multinational employees, international students, scholars, scientists, artists, or anyone globally engaged. When the Email recipient doesn’t understand the same language as yours, there comes the need for Email translations. This article contains useful information on how to translate an Email with the right tool or translator.
How to Translate an Email?
Thanks to technological advancements, businesses operate in an increasingly integrated world instead of limiting themselves to their self-contained homeland. The globalization of markets means you’ll, at some point, need to connect with someone living in another country whose native language isn’t English. What would you do to ensure smooth and effective Email communication in such a situation? Email translation is the answer.
However, before you roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty, it’s critical to be specific about what you translate the Email for. Is it an Email received in a foreign language that you need to get the gist of or a formal letter to be written in another language? Your intention to translate an Email will determine the correct translator (machine or human) best fits the work.
How to Translate an Email in Gmail?
When receiving a foreign-language Email from your acquaintance or friend, the most common practice would be to copy and paste the message on Google Translate to get a general idea of the message. Actually, you can get quicker translations of your Email message within Gmail. Gmail can detect the language of the message other than your default language and offer the option to translate an Email directly. Here’s how it’s done.
Step 1: Open the Email received in Gmail that requires translation.
Step 2: Click the three-dot menu button on the top right and click the Translate message option.
Step 3: The original message is automatically replaced by its translation into your default language.
Step 4: You can also alter the source (on the left) and target (on the right) language manually by using their drop-down menus.
Step 5: The required translation should appear instantly.



TIP: You can change your default language by clicking the Settings button (gear icon), then use the drop-down box under the path of General > Language to select your preferred display/default language.

Since both Gmail and Google Translate are products of Google, the Email translation results produced within Gmail are likely to be pulled from Google Translate. Compared with Google Translate App or the website, Gmail can translate an Email faster without copying and pasting the content.
How to Translate an Email in Outlook?
If you prefer to use Outlook for checking and sending Emails, you can also use its built-in translation option to handle Email translations from another language. The steps are similar to translating Emails in Gmail.
Step 1: Open your Email for translation in Outlook on the web.
Step 2: Click the three-dot button on the top right of the Email for More actions.
Step 3: Select the View tab and choose Translate.
Step 4: The Email translations in the target language should replace the original message.



TIP: You can change the translation preferences by clicking the hyperlink text Translation preferences at the top middle of the Email or clicking the Settings button and selecting view all Outlook settings. Then change your Email translation preference following the Mail > Massage handling path. Remember to save the settings before closing the Settings box.

Use Professional Email Translation Services
Translating Emails received in Gmail or Outlook is convenient and effective with their translation add-ins. Due to the development of Google’s and Microsoft’s machine translation engines, the accuracy of Email translations by their machine translators has been highly improved over the years. Be that as it may, machine translation is still not appropriate for official/formal use, including translations used for business Emails in which mistranslations will tarnish your professional/corporate image.
If Email translation accuracy is paramount to you and your recipient, how do you pull it off? Professional Email translation service is the go-to option. Actually, it’s more of a necessity than an option.
Machine translators can get all the Email translations on the fly. But what about the Email’s formats, tones, salutations, compliments, pleasantries, or sign-offs? Do these engines know the specific requirements of each culture and adapt the target message translation to the local needs accordingly? Can the machine adjust the tone of Email translations based on the style guide instructions? Not likely! At least not shortly. Even with the advent of ChatGPT translation, AI-powered translation is not quite there yet. Currently, only professional translation service providers skilled in Email translations can take care of these challenges in localization.
For these specialized LSPs, Email translations are not only transposing the source text into the target language. There’s more to consider. They tend to divide Email translation services into several types to cater to different needs. Most importantly, these Email translations are done by native-speaking linguists who excel in composing and proofreading topic-specific Emails in their specialized fields. If you want to translate Emails like the following types, you might need to consider using a professional Email translation service.
Common types of Email translation services:
- Marketing Emailtranslations
- Promotional Emails
- Newsletter translation
- Lead nurturing Emails
- Milestone Emails
- Transactional Emailtranslation
- Tech support Emailtranslation
- Surveys & questionnaires Emails
- Other content Emailtranslations
Unleash the power of language
Finding the Right Email Translator
You’ve probably spent hours or even days composing your Email message. We appreciate that effort. However, how do you ensure to send the right and compelling Email? Apart from sophisticated writing skills in the source language, having the right Email translator by your side is key. Whether to use a budget machine translator or a quality-guaranteed human Email translator service depends on the end use of your Email and how the recipient will perceive the accuracy of the Email translations. These practices will produce different results in building a desired relationship (business or personal) with your audience.
If you need to translate Emails quickly and accurately, Wordspath is on hand to provide the service required. Powered by a global network of 30,000 linguists specialized in 14+ industry domains, Wordspath can easily translate Email to Spanish, English, or 150+ other languages. Regardless of the content, we always connect you with the right expert. With Wordspath, you will have the peace of mind that all Email translations are prepared and cross-checked by the most qualified professionals, and the delivered work will be ready to use in your next Email sending. Try Email translation services by filling in the free quote form on the right.
Summarizing Email Translations
There are many different ways to translate an Email. If you use Gmail or Outlook to send and receive Emails every day and intend to establish a good relationship with someone via Email, Email translations can be completed within the web. Suppose you want something more reliable and consistent. You can turn to dedicated Email translation services. You can decide on the practice that best meets your requirements. However, to ensure effective communication globally, sometimes you have to strike the right balance between costs and quality.
Wordspath can help
Wordspath provides highly reliable human translation and state-of-the-art machine translation services for content related to diverse subject matters with accuracy and consistency.
We take pride in our quality-driven workflow that combines the excellent work of our linguists, desktop publishers, project managers, customer service, and technical team. Their endless support allows Wordspath to provide first-rate language solutions in 150+ languages for thousands of customers who need to connect with the world.
Wordspath also offers machine translation post-editing services translating the content with our proprietary MT engine and having our in-house/contracted linguists review, edit, polish, and proofread the results.
Meanwhile, we are highly experienced in delivering tailor-made localization-related solutions such as desktop publishing, transcription, subtitling, and voiceover. Our ability to quickly handle a wide range of content types between nearly all language combinations sets us apart from our competitors. Should you need to consult on your best-fit language solution, you can contact us through live chat or email to info@wordspath.com. Or simply request a free quote.