Can't read a Word document because it's in a foreign language? Fortunately, there's an option to translate your documents (or selected text) without even leaving the Word app.

1. How to Translate Selected Text in Word

If you're only looking to translate certain text or parts of your Word document, you can take advantage of a Word feature that translates only the selected word or text block. This won't touch any other parts of the document.

You can access this selective translation feature by doing the following:

1. Launch your document in Microsoft Word.
2. Find the text you want to translate in your document and highlight it using your cursor.
3. Switch to the Review tab at the top of your screen. Here, select Language then click Translate , followed by Translate Selection .

4. A new pane with your translations will open on the right side of the screen. In most cases, Word can detect your source language, so all you need to do is select the target language.
5. Once your text is translated and you're happy with it, click Insert to add the translated text into your document.

At the bottom of the translation pane, you can view more details about your selected text and words. This includes the definition of the word means and its part of speech.

When you've finished translating your text, click X in the translation pane to close it and get back to your document.

2. How to Translate a Whole Document in Word

If you're looking to translate your entire Word document to another language, there's a feature for that as well. This doesn't require you to select any anything in your document; it takes the contents and translates them to your chosen language.

A great aspect of this Word feature is that it won't overwrite your original document. It stays as-is, while Word creates a new document for your translated version. This makes sure you preserve the original file.

You can utilize the full document translation feature in Word as follows:

1. Open your document with Word.
2. Click the Review tab at the top, choose Language , select Translate , and click Translate Document .

3. On the right-side pane, select the source and target language for your document. Then click on Translate to start translating your document.

4. Word will create and open a new document with your translated text in it. You can save this document by clicking the save icon as normal.

This basically uploads your Word document to Google Docs, translates the text, and lets you save the translated version to your computer. You can do this as follows:

1. Open a new tab in your browser and head over to Google Drive . This is where you upload documents to edit them in Google Docs.
2. Click New followed by File upload and select your Word document.

3. Right-click on your document in Google Drive and select Open with , followed by Google Docs .
4. When the document opens in the editor, click the File menu and choose Save as Google Docs . You need to do this because Google Docs can't directly translate Word documents.

5. A new Google Docs file will open with your Word document's content in it. To translate this, click the Tools menu at the top and choose Translate document .

6. Enter a name for your new translated document, choose the target language from the dropdown menu, and click Translate .

7. Your translated document will open in a new tab. To save it as a Word document, click the File menu and select Download , followed by Microsoft Word .

4. Use Online Translators to Translate a Word Document

If you aren't happy with Word's translation feature or want a second opinion, you have several online tools to translate your Word document from one language to another.

Before you use these services, keep in mind that not all of them will preserve your document's formatting. If that doesn't bother you, here are two online translation services you can use for your Word document:

1. Google Translate

Google Translate is arguably the best free translator available, and offers many languages to choose from. Unlike other Google services, you don't need a Google account to use this translation feature.

Here's how you use it for your Word documents:

1. Copy the text that you want to translate from your Word document.
2. Head to the Google Translate website in your browser.
3. Paste the text in the box on the left and select the source language. If you aren't sure, click Detect Language and Google Translate will detect it for you.

4. Choose the target language on the right box and your translation will instantly appear in the box.

5. Copy the content from the box on the right and paste it into your Word document.

Your Word document is now translated.

2. Online Doc Translator

Unlike Google Translate, Online Doc Translator doesn't require you to manually copy text from your document for translation. You can upload your entire Word document to translate it to your chosen language.

The service uses Google Translate to do the task, so you know that you'll get a high-quality translation for your document. It works as follows:

1. Open the Online Doc Translator site in your browser.
2. Click Upload file and upload your Word document.
3. Select the source and target languages. Then click Translate .

4. Click Download your translated document to download your Word document.