Chinese to English Live Voice Translator
Speak Mandarin, or let someone speak it near your device, and read English as it’s said. Free for 2 minutes, no sign-up.
Audio is processed live by SonicMeet and our speech provider. We don’t keep a recording.
- 60+ languages
- Phone or computer, no install
- Chinese kept under every line
- We don’t keep a recording
Translating a Zoom, Meet or Teams call?
This page listens to your microphone. For a call, SonicMeet listens to the call itself and puts English captions right on it: in the Chrome or Edge tab, or with the Windows and Mac app, which works with any call app, WeChat included. Google sign-in, 20 minutes free, one time.
SonicMeet runs on desktop — open this page on your computer to install.
Prefer a desktop app? Get SonicMeet for Windows →Joining from a browser instead? Get the extension →Also available as a desktop app for Windows and Mac →How to translate Chinese to English live
- 1
Pick the two languages
Chinese on the left, English on the right. The swap button turns it into English → Chinese.
- 2
Press the microphone
Allow microphone access when the browser asks. Speak Mandarin, or hold your phone or laptop near the person who is.
- 3
Read English as it’s said
English appears a phrase at a time, with the Chinese in smaller type underneath. Copy the transcript when you’re done.
Chinese to English, the way people actually talk
Real SonicMeet captions from our tests, on the spots where Chinese and English work differently.
Big numbers: 万 and 亿
Chinese counts in 万 (ten thousand) and 亿 (a hundred million). The caption converts both: 3500万 is 35 million, and 2个亿 came out as 200 million.
Chinese with English mixed in
Workplace Chinese borrows English words like case, deck and follow up. They come through as one natural sentence.
Sentences without “I” or “you”
Spoken Chinese often drops the subject. This line has none, and the caption fills in the natural one.
When “a bit difficult” means no
The caption keeps the wording as it was said. In a negotiation, 有点困难 is often a polite no, so read it the way you would in the room.
Names, brand names and very fast speech can still slip. The Chinese stays under every line, so anyone on your side who reads Chinese can check it at a glance.
In your meetings: Instant or Accurate?
The translator on this page runs in Instant. The extension and the desktop app let you trade a few seconds for steadier sentences.
Instant
sub-second delayGood for casual calls and following the gist.
Accurate
roughly 1 to 5 seconds behind InstantGood for prices, quantities and dates. Our pick for supplier calls and negotiations.
Does your meeting app already translate Chinese to English?
Sometimes, on the right plan. Here’s what each one needs for this direction.
Chinese is on its list. Certain Workspace and Google AI plans; not free Gmail, not Business Starter.
Meet pageIts six languages paired with English don’t include Chinese.
Meet pageIncluded on Business Plus and Enterprise, an add-on on Pro and Business. The host turns it on.
Zoom pageChinese and English are among its five languages. Needs ZoomMate or the Live Translation add-on, desktop app 7.0 or later.
Zoom pageThe organizer needs Teams Premium or a Copilot license.
Teams pageSimplified and Traditional Chinese are among its ten languages. The organizer needs Copilot or Premium.
Teams pageAny plan on any of these apps. Captions on your screen only.
Based on each vendor’s help pages. The platform pages linked above have the details and sources.
Questions about the Chinese to English voice translator
Is this Chinese to English translator free?
Yes for 2 minutes on this page, no sign-up. SonicMeet itself needs a Google sign-in: new accounts get 20 minutes free, one time, and paid plans start at $10 a month.
Does it speak the English out loud?
No. It shows the English as text on your screen, with the Chinese in smaller type under each line, and nothing is played aloud. If the other side needs to hear the translation, Zoom’s Voice Translator and Teams Interpreter can speak Chinese and English on paid plans; Google Meet’s speech translation doesn’t cover Chinese. The table above has the details.
Does it understand Cantonese?
Not on this page: the translator here is set up for Mandarin. The SonicMeet extension and the Windows and Mac app have a separate Cantonese engine that turns Cantonese speech into English captions. The Cantonese translation page linked below has the details.
Does it work for Mandarin from Taiwan or Singapore?
Yes. Mandarin from mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia all goes through the same Chinese setting. On this page the Chinese line under each caption is shown in Simplified characters; the extension and desktop app also offer Traditional Chinese (Taiwan).
Can it translate a WeChat, Zoom or Teams call?
Not from this page: it only hears your microphone. The SonicMeet extension translates the call’s own audio and shows the captions on top of Google Meet, Zoom or Teams in Chrome or Edge. The Windows and Mac app listens to your computer’s sound, so it also works with WeChat, DingTalk or any other call app.
Does it translate both ways at once?
No. It translates one direction at a time: Chinese into English, or English into Chinese after you press the swap button. In a back-and-forth conversation, swap when the other person starts talking.
Does it translate in real time?
Yes. The Chinese appears as it’s spoken, and the English follows a phrase at a time, a moment behind. Each sentence is fully translated within about a second of the speaker finishing it. In the extension and the desktop app you can switch to Accurate, which runs roughly 1 to 5 seconds behind Instant but translates whole sentences.
Is my audio recorded?
No. Audio is sent to SonicMeet and our speech provider to be processed live, and we don’t keep an audio recording.
More live voice translators
More for calls in Chinese
Chinese in the call. English on your screen.
Add SonicMeet to Chrome or Edge, or get the Windows and Mac app. Google sign-in, 20 minutes free, one time.