TRANSLATE & LISTEN · PRACTICAL GUIDE
How to translate live captions and chat in Google Meet
If the speaker is using English and you want to read Chinese, Meet needs two choices: English for what it hears and Chinese for what you read. Changing the language of the Meet menus does neither. A typed message in the chat is a separate case.
CastReader · Reviewed:
Turn on translated captions in the call
Join the meeting in your desktop browser. Wait for someone to speak so you can check the result.
- Open the caption controls at the bottom, or go to More options → Settings → Captions. Turn captions on.
- Choose Translated captions if available. Set Translate from to the speaker’s language and Translate to to the language you want to read.
- If you only see ordinary captions, check whether the meeting has an eligible Workspace edition and supports the language pair. Ordinary captions can still show you what Meet heard.
Google Meet Help: translated captions, languages and availability
Read an incoming message or reply in another language
Changing the caption language does not translate text typed in the chat. For one message, copy its text into the translator below. For a reply, reverse the language direction, translate the draft, check names and times, then paste it into Meet and send it yourself.
Try a meeting reply →Read translations beside the original in the CastReader preview
In the desktop browser extension preview, leave Meet’s source captions on. Choose Meeting translation at the top of the call. Open the gear to select your reading language; close it to keep the conversation in view. Open Meet’s chat sidebar to translate new messages under their originals. Earlier chat history is not translated when you open the sidebar.
A private two-person test showed “The blue folder is on the desk.” alongside “蓝色文件夹在桌子上。” Another line was less successful: Meet heard “orange bus” as “orange Buzz.” The translation retained “Buzz.” If a name or key term looks wrong, check the original caption or ask the speaker to type it.
Try translating a meeting message
Load the example or paste a message you can share. Only the text in the box is sent to the translation service when you select Translate. This webpage does not join or record your meeting.
Text translation · Preview
Translate, then hear both sides.
No on-device voice for this language.
No on-device voice for this language.
Checking translation availability…
Open this language-pair page: Chinese (Simplified) → EnglishVoices & privacy
Translate sends your input to CastReader’s translation service. This tool does not save your original or translated text. Clear or leave the page to end the session. Reading uses on-device voices; languages depend on your device and browser, and do not use CastReader AI reading minutes.