Google translator confuses me

[dtommy79]

Hi Guys,

I've used google translator for the following sentence: "I want to kiss you"

its answer is "quiero besarte"

However, if I add an exclamation mark to the end of the sentence like this: "I want to kiss you!" it comes up with "quiero darte un beso!"

Is there any difference or which one is better?

[Paolo]

Google translator will often give you incorrect results.

Quiero besarte. means: I want to kiss you.

¡Quiero darte un beso! means: I want to give you a kiss!

So it really doesn't matter which one you use.

[Kaynil]

Well, it is not incorrect results in themselves in the end translations are approximations and both results give the same idea.

Like Paolo has said it doesn't matter which one you choose but "(Yo) quiero besarte" is the most 'direct' translation to your English wording.

Yet another translation can be "¡Te quiero besar!"

It makes no difference what you choose and I just adding these comments to further illuminate the differences, voice intonation (or exclamation marks) really is what sets the tone between an spontaneous burst and a hopeful confession. 

[A0130]

Google translate is rarely right. This is because it has no context of what you're saying and only has its computer knowledge. Human brains take in context and give you a correct sentence that fits most comfortably.

[BWL]

Ah yes, Google Translate. I've stopped using it except to translate simple one- or two-word phrases like "market" or "post office" or "shopping mall".  That will probably give you a more accurate translation than "I want to kiss you!".

[LauraM]

Ah yes, Google Translate. I've stopped using it except to translate simple one- or two-word phrases like "market" or "post office" or "shopping mall".  That will probably give you a more accurate translation than "I want to kiss you!".

I agree.  Google Translator is best for when you want the gist of something or a general comprehension of some text.  I mainly use it when I want to read news articles in a different language, or occasionally for background research.

It falls short in capturing the nuances of emotion and the subtle differences in phrases and word choices in relationships between people.   

I'll be curious to see to what extent Google Translator will improve as time goes on.  But I don't think it will ever be able to replace a human translator who can take into account the full cultural and social context when translating text.

[pcgamer]

Google Translator is not a reliable source for translating words. At best, you can translate the whole website to another language in an understandable language, but don't expect any perfection.

[altrouge]

Google Translate is unreliable. I guess the only way you could use it where it would be right most of the time is to recall some words' meanings, or for phrases that you want to have a general idea of.

[webdesignsbyapw]

To be honest with you, Google Translator is either a hit or miss. I would double check the phrase online after using the translator. Also, another good idea would be to have your own Spanish journal. This way you can write down your commonly used phrases and remember these. It worked for me. 

[Alfonso]

Correct me if im wrong, from my understanding beso is derived from besarte. Like LauraM said, Google translate is very useful for understanding the gist of the word or sentence but you can't rely on it for 100% grammatically correct translations.

[pandandesign]

Yes, Google Translator isn't the best online translator out there because it does have its flaws. I don't really trust Google Translator because it sometimes messes up my translation, which I still have to edit some of the sentences myself. I would say you only use Google Translator as an example or an idea of how the translation has done for you. I would not rely on it too much.

[petesede]

Part of the problem is just the word ´kiss´.  In english, it is both a verb and a noun.  This is compounded in your example because there already is a verb ´want´

Google translator actually uses ´advice´ that it has received in the past regarding the correct translation.  .  It could be that two previous users both ´offered´ slightly different translations as being better depending on if there was an !  or not.

[SpringBreeze]

Google translator is not the best way to translate. Actually, most automatic, free online translators are rarely correct in translating medium to difficult sentence structures. I learned that the hard way in college when I used an online translator to write a couple of essays. Big mistake... I just use the translator when I need a basic understanding or guide.

[sidney]

I agree, if you just want to know the gist of a sentence, then Google Translate can decently do it. But don't count on it to be fluent. Nowadays, I just usually use Google Translate to understand the negative customer feedbacks that I read on Ebay.

[True2marie]

Stop relying on Google Translator.

Your best bet is to run a phrase you're confused about by a Spanish-speaking friend.  He or she can give you cultural-insights on the use of the phrase (or word) and how to write it out.

[MyDigitalpoint]

Google Translate has improved through the years, but it's still really inaccurate so certainly it can give you a clue of what the translation should be, but with a little grammar knowledge you can correct it yourself.

Otherwise asking a Spanish-speaking friend certainly is a good way to go.

In the case of the two version of the translated phase, Google wasn't inaccurate, simply used two different versions to say practically the same.

[linguaholic]

Have you been wondering how Google Translate works exactly? There is a nice little video on Youtube explaining the concept of Google Translate. Please have a look here:

[SmartPea85]

I find Google translator is a good app to get the basics of the translation, and you can tweak the results as needed. Google doesn't know the context of the words, so it can "mess up" and confuse you with some of its results. I've had this app give me strange translations in a similar situation.

However, in this case I agree that both phrases are interchangeable: I want to kiss you and I want to give you a kiss. I don't know why an exclamation mark would make the difference for the app, but wouldn't both phrases be acceptable to mean the same thing? Now you know two ways to say it instead of one!

[Rosyrain]

I agree, I would avoid using Google translator unless you have to.  If you do need to use it, make sure you keep it simple, one or two words.  I have used it in the past and people get really confused as to what you are trying to say to them.  Babblefish is an ok site to use.

[Mshel]

The translator is confusing because it provides literal, word for word translations.  In order to get the correct translation, the sentence or expression that you want translated, should be placed in the correct cultural context.  You're better off asking a native Spanish speaker for a translation.

[LivetoErr]

I've become disenchanted with Google Translate. It's been messing up basic translations for me. Sometimes, I like to put in a simple sentence that, say, Duolingo gives me and Google translate spits out something entirely different. I know the Google translation is wrong because I know what the sentence should be (following the basic rules and whatnot).

[ImMrCuriosity]

Never trust Google Translator. It doesn't matter if you use "!" or not. The translation will be the same. So "Quiero darte un beso" with "!" would be "¡Quiero darte un beso!". Exclamation sign won't change the meaning of the sentence

[OddVisions]

I no longer trust Google Translator for anything other than the most basic of words in a language due to past experiences like this one; and even then some of the basic words are still wrong. However, yeah, technically you could use those two sentences like that and it be considered just fine. It's confusing at first but it might be better to get a friend to help you out with other romantic wordings if he or she knows any Spanish.