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Equalang Notes

Can't Read the Menu Abroad? Take a Photo to Translate

Equalang

In brief

Translate menus on the go with Equalang. Snap a picture and read the translation directly on the image to uncover drinks, prices, and handy notices.

After a long morning of sightseeing in a foreign city, we step into a local café for a cold drink. The menu on the wall is filled with unfamiliar words. We want to try something local, but standing at the counter typing words into a dictionary one by one isn't the relaxing break we had in mind.

With Equalang's photo translation feature, you can point your phone at the menu and take a picture. After a short wait, the translated text appears over the image, following the structure of the original photo.

A traveler photographing a café drinks menu with a phone
A pause for a cold drink starts with a photo of the menu

1. Snap a picture, see your choices

Take a look at this photograph of the Ignatius Sancho Café menu, taken by Jodiepedia in 2026. The board is divided into hot drinks, seasonal specials, and iced drinks. To show you how it works (and what it looks like for a Chinese-speaking traveler), we used this English menu and translated it into Simplified Chinese.

The original English drinks menu at Ignatius Sancho Café
The original menu: iced drinks and their prices are shown at the lower right

When we encounter a menu in a language we don't speak, we pull out our phone and open photo translation, tap “Open camera”, and select the target language. (If it’s your first time, you'll need to sign in and allow camera access.) We point the phone at the menu, make sure the text fills the screen, avoid heavy glare, and take the shot.

The Open camera button and photo tips on Equalang’s mobile page
Open photo translation on your phone and tap “Open camera”

Translation begins automatically. Once it's done, the screen displays the translated image, and we can toggle back to the original anytime. Here is the actual Chinese result generated from our test.

The menu translated into Simplified Chinese by Equalang
The Chinese translation: the three iced drinks at the lower right align with their prices

2. Spot the bring-your-own-cup discount

If we look at the lower right of the translated image, the Chinese labels for iced latte, iced Americano, and homemade lemonade align with their prices—4.95, 4.45, and 4.75. We don't have to guess which price belongs to which item among these three lines.

There's also a notice in the middle of the board. The translation reads: "Bring your reusable cup for 50p off any hot or iced drink." If we were just typing individual words into a dictionary, we might have completely missed this reminder. Snapping a photo of the menu lets us catch this specific detail. (Keep in mind this is an older photo, so we'd still want to ask the staff if the offer is valid today!)

3. Order with confidence using the original

Once we've chosen a drink, we can switch back to the original image, point out its name to the staff, and confirm the price before ordering. There's no need to struggle through unfamiliar words at the counter. Order placed, we can find a seat and give our feet a break.

Some translations still need a check against the original: on this menu, "Syrup Shot" became "糖浆射击", awkwardly treating a serving of syrup as an act of shooting. If a name seems odd, we can show the original wording to the staff and ask what it means. Anyone with dietary restrictions should also confirm the ingredients.

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