Frequently Asked Questions

What is "automatic translation"?
What does it mean when I see "translate this page" next to a search result?
Why don't all the results in translatable languages have the "translate this page" link?
What languages can this service translate into English?
What does the "Save translated page to MyStuff" option mean?
The translation isn't as good as I'd like it to be. Can you make it more accurate?

What is "automatic translation"?
Translations of web sites you are seeing are created on-the-fly and automatically by advanced computer software, and without the intervention of human translators.

What does it mean when I see "translate this page" next to a search result?
Ask.com is proud to offer a free service that automatically translates pages published in languages other than English. Not all languages are translated and not all pages in those languages we do support are translated completely. Text within images and some dynamic content also remain untranslated.

Clicking on the "translate this page" link takes you to a version of the page that has been automatically translated into English. You can choose to view the original page instead by clicking on the "view original".

Why don't all the results in translatable languages have the "translate this page" link?
We only offer the "translate this page" link when we have a high degree of confidence about the language on the selected page. Some pages may contain multiple languages or insufficient text to provide a high degree of certainty about the language in which they were written.

What languages can this service translate into English?
Currently, Ask.com offers English translation from French, German and Spanish, with many more coming.

What does the "Save translated page to MyStuff" option mean?
You can save any page you visit into MyStuff, your very own personalised web. Simply click the save link in the red bar to add a link to the translated page into MyStuff. A guest account will be automatically created for you if this is the first time you save anything. If you register to MyStuff - this is free - clicking the save link will also save an entire copy of the translated page into MyStuff, so that you can always have it as it was, even if the original page changes or become unavailable

With MyStuff you can also save any web page you visit, as well as other useful information you see on uk.ask.com and beyond, such as images. Just watch for the "save" links, or for more convenience install a save button or the Ask.com Toolbar in your browser.

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The translation isn't as good as I'd like it to be. Can you make it more accurate?
Translating languages is a very complex task, and today's most sophisticated technology doesn't match the skill of a professional translator. That's because accurate translation requires an understanding of context, as well as an understanding of the structure and rules of a language.

The automatic translation works best when the text you wish to translate uses proper grammar. Slang, misspelled words, poorly placed punctuation, and complex or lengthy sentences can all cause a page to be translated incorrectly.

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