# A Translator App, simple hack
**URL:** https://community.thunkable.com/t/a-translator-app-simple-hack/1389479
**Category:** Tutorials and DIY Guides
**Tags:** google, translate, intermediate, tutorial
**Created:** [July 10, 2021, 5:30pm UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/a-translator-app-simple-hack/1389479 "2021-07-10T17:30:24Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@muneer](https://community.thunkable.com/u/muneer)
#### Post date: [July 10, 2021, 5:30pm UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/a-translator-app-simple-hack/1389479/1 "2021-07-10T17:30:24Z")
Creating a translator app is not easy and not straight forward specially when it comes to API solutions. Most translators will require a kind of payment or subscription if you really want to maintain your app.
In this tutorial, I try to show you a different way or a less known approach to solve the issue of translation in Thunkable.
The project requires a connection to a Google sheet so you need to make a new Google sheet and have **four** columns. I named them as:
- **LangFrom** to store the country code of the language you want to translate **from**.
- **LangTo** to store the country code of the language you want to translate **to**.
- **TextFrom** is the text to be translated.
- **TextTo** the translated text.
The sheet is simple and has only one single row. The first 3 columns are simple **text** columns.
The magic takes place in the **fourth** column. You will enter a Google sheet formula just as shown in the image.
The Thunkable app to demonstrate this is simple. You need to get input from the user for the first 3 columns and when you update the connected sheet, finally read the fourth column which has the translation required.
This approach does not require API keys or registrations and contains all the languages supported by Google Translate.
see attached [a sample app](https://x.thunkable.com/projectPage/60e9cc5396946e044d30a30b) that demonstrate the idea. Remember to create the Google sheet and connect it to the project and go to the blocks page to reconnect it so that it works.
Should you prefer to try it as a webapp first, here is the [link](https://thunkable.site/w/yeqtpxE1W) _(Not working atm)_
_Staff Edit: If you want to remix the app, or try it, you will need to create your own Google Sheet and follow the tutorial above (and connect it to the project). You will also need to fix the blocks (reconnect the data source blocks correctly)_
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### Author:  [@rishabh\_jain](https://community.thunkable.com/u/rishabh_jain)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2021, 6:20am UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/a-translator-app-simple-hack/1389479/2 "2021-07-12T06:20:40Z")
Amazing !! it’s working using the shot codes
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### Author:  [@VijayaKrishna](https://community.thunkable.com/u/VijayaKrishna)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2021, 7:03am UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/a-translator-app-simple-hack/1389479/3 "2021-07-12T07:03:04Z")
it is super awesome with the method:=GOOGLETRANSLATE(C2,A2,B2)
It is working but not with my mother tongue: Telugu as all the APIs can’t get this easily
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### Author:  [@codeswept](https://community.thunkable.com/u/codeswept)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2021, 7:53am UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/a-translator-app-simple-hack/1389479/4 "2021-07-12T07:53:21Z")
@muneer You are a genius! You’ve found a Google Sheets hack for everything. You even helped me use it to convert (was it called UNIX? ) times to normal times. This is really, really helpful. Would Google Sheets maybe have a hack to generate a random word? For if it did, I’m sure you’d know it.
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### Author:  [@muneer](https://community.thunkable.com/u/muneer)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2021, 8:05am UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/a-translator-app-simple-hack/1389479/5 "2021-07-12T08:05:37Z")
Thank you for your encouraging words.
I will sure check about random word.
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### Author:  [@codeswept](https://community.thunkable.com/u/codeswept)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2021, 8:12am UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/a-translator-app-simple-hack/1389479/6 "2021-07-12T08:12:40Z")
Thank you!
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### Author:  [@manyone](https://community.thunkable.com/u/manyone)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2021, 3:36pm UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/a-translator-app-simple-hack/1389479/7 "2021-07-15T15:36:29Z")
Very clever! Thanks for the tutorial!
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### Author:  [@ioannis](https://community.thunkable.com/u/ioannis)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2024, 1:19pm UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/a-translator-app-simple-hack/1389479/8 "2024-11-08T13:19:51Z")