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Google Translate upgrade offers a smarter dictionary

The search giant wants to help you choose the right words with its latest translation service upgrade.

Charlie Osborne Contributing Writer
Charlie Osborne is a cybersecurity journalist and photographer who writes for ZDNet and CNET from London. PGP Key: AF40821B.
Charlie Osborne
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Google has added a small but important upgrade to its Google Translate service that's meant to help you understand foreign tongues better.

The tech giant's upgrade to the feature comes in three parts. According to the Google Translate blog, "Reverse translations" can be used to distinguish different variations of an offered translation to make sure you get the correct meaning. For example, you can view and pick out the subtle difference between 'dialect' and 'lingo' in a dozen languages.

 
Google

Another new feature is called "Frequencies." Google says that because it "prefers to deliver results in an instant, ranked in order of relevance," frequency indicators will now mark each translation as "common," "uncommon," or "rare" so that users will have a better understanding of which word they are looking for. The "rarest" translations are hidden by default but can be viewed by clicking.

The final update is called "Synonyms." Instead of relying on one long list of words that share a common meaning, translations are now clustered together to make hunting for the perfect word easier and more accurate.

 
Google

Currently, "Synonyms" is only available when translating into English, but Google plans to support more languages soon.

Google has also recently updated its Google Hangouts feature with an updated sidebar, more colorful notifications and improved applications.