What a camera translator does
A camera translator points your phone camera at text, recognises the characters with OCR, and shows a translation. Google Translate and Apple's built-in Translate app both do this well for Chinese, overlaying the translated sentence where the original text was. That is exactly what you want when the goal is simply to understand a sign.
The pinyin gap
Translation tells you what a phrase means. It does not tell you how to say it. If you want to order the dish, ask a taxi driver for the street, tell a pharmacist which product you need, or remember the word for next time, you need the pronunciation, and for Mandarin that means pinyin with tone marks.
This is the gap HanCam is built for. Instead of replacing the Chinese with English, it keeps the hanzi on screen and adds the pinyin and the English next to it. You read all three at once. If you are learning the language, that is the difference between using a translator and using a reader.
Side by side
Based on the apps as of September 2026. Features in Google Translate and Apple Translate change with releases; check the current versions before relying on a detail.
| HanCam | Google Translate | Apple Translate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pinyin shown live next to the characters | Yes, with tone marks | Not in the live camera overlay. Where pinyin is offered, you tap through to a text result to see it. | No |
| Chinese to English translation | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Simplified and Traditional | Both | Both | Both |
| Works offline | Yes, after a one-time language pack download | With downloaded offline language packs | With downloaded languages |
| Where processing happens | Always on your device. Nothing is uploaded. | Online by default; on-device when using offline packs | On-device when the language is downloaded and On-Device Mode is enabled |
| Account, analytics, ads | None | Subject to Google's privacy policy | Subject to Apple's privacy policy |
| Languages | Chinese to English | 100+ languages | Around 20 languages |
| Translate text from other apps | Yes, via the share sheet | Yes | Yes, system-wide |
| Price | Free with 10 translations a day; one-time Premium for unlimited, no subscription | Free | Free, built into iOS |
When HanCam is the right tool
- You are learning Mandarin and want to pronounce, not just decode, what you see.
- You travel in Chinese-speaking regions and want to say the name of the dish or the street, not only know what it means.
- You read study material: textbooks, graded readers, subtitles, product packaging, and want quick pinyin without a dictionary lookup.
- You care about privacy. HanCam never uploads what you scan, has no account and no analytics.
When to use Google Translate or Apple Translate instead
- Other languages. HanCam does one thing. For Japanese, Korean, Thai or anything else, use a general translator.
- Vertical or handwritten text. HanCam currently reads horizontal printed text. If you regularly scan vertical signage or handwriting, keep a general-purpose translator installed as well.
- Conversation mode and voice translation are not something HanCam does.
- You only need the meaning and prefer the translated text drawn in place over the original.
In practice the apps complement each other. Many HanCam users keep Google or Apple Translate for everything else and open HanCam when they want to read Chinese with pinyin.
Frequently asked questions
Does Google Translate's camera show pinyin?
Google Translate's live camera view overlays the translated sentence on the image. Pinyin is not part of that overlay; where it is available, you reach it by tapping through to the text result. Users have asked Google for a pinyin option directly in camera mode.
Does Apple's Translate app show pinyin?
No. Apple's built-in Translate app shows the translation but does not display pinyin for Chinese, in text mode or in the camera view. Users have asked Apple to add it.
Does HanCam translate Chinese into languages other than English?
HanCam translates Chinese to English. Pinyin itself is language-neutral, so the pinyin is useful to learners regardless of their native language.
Read Chinese with pinyin, offline and on-device.
