If you need to translate website text then there are plenty of services and apps available, most of which have piled on the features as they try to stand out from the crowd. But while that sounds great in theory, in practice it can mean wasting time navigating a bulky interface to get what you need.

TransOver is a Chrome extension with more of a back-to-basics approach. There’s no copying URLs, no opening new tabs or panes – you’re able to translate text by selecting, clicking or just pointing at it.
Just hover your mouse over a word, for instance, and by default a tooltip appears with appropriate definitions.

Select and point at a phrase or sentence and you’re presented with a full translation.

Just hover over a word or text selection for an instant translation

Hold down Ctrl as you point and in theory TransOver’s text-to-speech should read the translation out loud. This didn’t work well for us, though, and recent TransOver reviews suggest we’re not alone.

Extras include an option to type text in a popup and have it translated immediately, and the Options page gives you various useful settings. You can set the “Translate into” language, customise hotkeys, and choose to only show translations when you hold down the Alt key, handy if you find the translations are popping up when you don’t need them.

TransOver isn’t a good choice for translating large amounts of text, but if you just need help with an occasional few words then it works very well, delivering its translations without interrupting your reading. Worth a look.