Translate Irish, with no signal at all.
Typed Irish translation runs on your iPhone with nothing connected. The camera reads Irish on the phone too, and more accurately online, so it uses a signal when there is one. Below are two real scans, unedited.
Typing works with no signal
Download the Irish pack once, over hotel wifi, and typed translation runs on the phone from then on — as it does in all 58 languages.
The camera reads it better online
Your iPhone can read Irish on its own, and reads it more accurately with a connection — so it uses the connection when there is one and the phone when there is not.
Speech depends on your iPhone
Spoken translation uses Apple's own speech packs, which cover about half of these languages and differ from phone to phone — so the app tells you if it cannot hear Irish rather than failing while someone waits. How speech works.
Two real ones, printed and photographed
Both went through the app on an iPhone from pages we had printed, so the Irish is known rather than guessed. What came back is below it, unedited.
Printed on it
- An Príomhstáisiún
- Ardán 3
- Traenacha go dtí an t-aerfort
- Ceannaigh do thicéad sula dtéann tú ar bord
- Slí amach ar dheis
What the app gave back
- The main station
- Platform 3
- Trains to the airport
- Buy your ticket before you go on
- board
- Exit to the right
Read and translated on an iPhone, 1 September 2026, from a page we had printed — so the original is known rather than guessed. Nothing here is tidied up.
Clean. The ticket line was split in two when it was read, but "Ardán 3" came back as "Platform 3" and every line, including "Exit to the right", means what the sign says.
Printed on it
- Biachlár an lae
- Anraith glasraí le harán
- Sicín griolláilte le prátaí
- Iasc úr an lae
- Cáca seacláide
- Caife agus tae san áireamh
What the app gave back
- Menu of the day
- Vegetable soup with a tale
- Grilled chicken with potatoes
- the day's fresh switch
- Chocolate cake
- Coffee and tea included
Read and translated on an iPhone, 1 September 2026, from a page we had printed — so the original is known rather than guessed. Nothing here is tidied up.
Less tidy. The capital I of "Iasc" was read as a lower-case l, and the fish came back as "the day's fresh switch"; the soup also became "Vegetable soup with a tale". The chicken, cake and coffee lines are right.
Questions
Does Irish camera translation work offline?
Yes, and better with a connection. The phone reads Irish on its own; the online reader is more accurate, so SofiLingo uses it when there is a signal and the phone when there is not.
Does typed Irish translation work offline?
Yes. Download the Irish pack once, over wifi, and typing runs entirely on the phone from then on. That is true of all 58 languages.
How good is the Irish translation?
Good enough for menus, signs and tickets, and not for anything that matters legally or medically. The two examples on this page are unedited, mistakes included, so you can judge it yourself before you pay anything.
Can SofiLingo hear spoken Irish?
It depends on your iPhone. Spoken translation uses Apple’s own speech packs, which cover about half of the 58 languages and differ from phone to phone, so the app tells you before you start if it cannot hear Irish.
Take it with you
The first 15 translations are free, with ads and no card. Download the Irish pack before you go and the phone can do the rest on its own.
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