Translate Malay, with no signal at all.
Typed Malay translation and the camera both run on your iPhone, so a menu or a sign in Malay can be read in flight mode. Below are two real ones, printed, photographed and translated by the app, and left unedited.
Typing works with no signal
Download the Malay 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 on the phone
Your iPhone reads Malay from a photograph itself. Nothing is sent anywhere, and it works with the phone in flight mode.
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 Malay 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 Malay is known rather than guessed. What came back is below it, unedited.
Printed on it
- Stesen Pusat
- Platform 3
- Kereta api ke lapangan terbang
- Belilah tiket anda sebelum menaiki
- Pintu keluar di sebelah kanan
What the app gave back
- Central station
- Platform 3
- Train to the airport
- Buy your ticket before boarding
- The exit on 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.
Nothing to correct here. "Platform 3", "Buy your ticket before boarding" and "The exit on the right" all came through as meant.
Printed on it
- Jambatan Lama
- Jambatan ini dibina pada tahun 1580.
- Ia musnah dalam peperangan dan dibina semula dengan batu asalnya.
- Kini ia adalah monumen yang paling banyak dikunjungi di rantau ini.
- Fotografi tanpa lampu denyar dibenarkan.
What the app gave back
- Old Bridge
- The bridge was built in 1580. He was destroyed in battle and rebuilt with his original stone. Now it is the most visited monument in the region. Photography without flash lights is allowed.
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.
The text recognition ran the placard's sentences into one block, but the translation held up: the date, the rebuild and "Photography without flash lights is allowed" are all right. The only slip is "He was destroyed in battle" for the bridge.
Questions
Does Malay camera translation work offline?
Yes. Your iPhone reads Malay from a photograph itself, so a scan works in flight mode and nothing is sent anywhere.
Does typed Malay translation work offline?
Yes. Download the Malay 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 Malay 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 Malay?
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 Malay.
Take it with you
The first 15 translations are free, with ads and no card. Download the Malay pack before you go and the phone can do the rest on its own.
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