DeepL App – Translate texts well and easily – this is how it works

by Johannes

The DeepL app is a great translation programme that puts Google and Co. in their place. Until now, the translation service has only been available online, but DeepL has recently become available as an app for both Windows and Mac.

DeepL: This is what’s behind the translation app

Developing DeepL was a challenging task, as the founder of the company of the same name, Gereon Frahling, reported in an interview with the online portal Gründerzeit. Before the mathematician set to work, he was employed for some time by the competition – at Google in New York.

  • In 2007, Frahling founded the start-up Linguee and went into seclusion with his comrade-in-arms Leonard Fink to work on a significantly improved web dictionary. After about 18 months, the two presented the web dictionary Linguee.
  • The dictionary differs from others in that it is able to process linguistic information. Linguee searches the web for appropriate translations and provides not only individual words but also complete phrases. The words searched for are presented in a suitable context so that one can better judge whether the term is really correct for one’s own translation.
  • The programme quickly became very popular and, building on this, the Linguee team began to develop a neural network in 2016, from which DeppL emerged.
  • Neural networks work similarly to our brains and are capable of handling multiple processes in parallel. Algorithms, on the other hand, which are used by many other translation programmes, proceed successively. In addition, neural networks relate the results to each other and are capable of learning.
  • The following year, the Cologne-based technology company changes its name from Linguee to DeepL and towards the end of 2017, the DeepL translator is presented.
  • Since the end of 2019, you can get DeepL as an app for Windows and the MAC, making working with the translation programme even more convenient.
  • A supercomputer with 5.1 petaflops ensures that you receive your translation as fast as lightning. It’s also ecologically correct, because the computer, which is located on Iceland, is powered by hydroelectricity.

DeepL App: handy Windows tool for convincing translations

Much could be said about the exciting development process of the programme, but much less about the app. Both the installation of the DeepL app and the use of the translation programme are so simple that one hardly needs to say anything about them.

  • Once you have downloaded the free translation app DeepL and installed the programme, you can get started straight away.
  • DeepL currently translates into eight languages, which is a whopping 72 language combinations. So far, the translation tool has mastered English and French as well as Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Dutch and Russian in addition to German.
  • The free DeepL app is limited to 3,000 characters and that is generally enough for private use. However, it is no problem to have a longer text translated piecemeal by DeepL if necessary.
  • For larger translations, DeepL offers a paid version. With the Pro app, you are not subject to any restrictions. The costs for DeepL Pro start at around 7 euros per month.
  • If you want to have something translated, first mark the relevant text passage in your document. Then press the key combination Ctrl + C twice. The marked text will automatically be transferred to the tool and you will receive the translation almost simultaneously.
  • Note: You must be online to work with DeepL as the translation is done with the help of a neural network.
  • As is so often the case in life, this gift is not entirely altruistic. The translations are used to further develop the programme. Furthermore, you should bear in mind that as good as the translation programme is, this app is not always error-free. You should not blindly rely on the tool for important translations.

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