Kindle translation languages,
and the ones missing.

What the Translation tool does

The tool translates the text you highlight, nothing more. The oldest write-up found, a TeleRead article from 17 April 2012 about the Kindle Touch, gives the path as: tap and hold a word, or drag across a sentence, tap More, choose Translation, then pick the destination language. It says the translations were powered by Bing Translator.

That was a 2012 device and a 2012 article, so treat the menu as a guide, not a manual. Newer Kindles and apps may word things differently. No Kindle was available, so the current screens have not been seen first-hand.

Which languages, as of early 2026

The Amazon help pages that could be opened did not list the languages for this tool, so the best current evidence is a MobileRead thread started on 8 February 2026 by a Kindle Scribe (2024) owner. They describe "a small handful" of languages to translate to and from. The 2012 article's list was 16 languages: Chinese Simplified and Traditional, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. Whatever your device offers now, it may differ, and it can differ between devices.

The quickest way to know is to try it. Highlight a word, choose Translation, and look at the languages offered. No source states whether it needs a connection, so check yours.

Greek and Hebrew

The same 2026 thread was started by someone who specifically wanted Greek and Hebrew. Another member, on 10 February 2026, wrote that Greek exists as a translation option on Kindle for Android, and that they use a Paperwhite 11 Colorsoft, where it does not appear. No one was found reporting Hebrew as available. That is two forum posts, not a statement from Amazon, so a firmware update may have changed it since.

If Greek or Hebrew is what you are reading, test your own device before buying around it, and consider the app or the Mac route below.

Can you add a language?

In that thread, the original poster reports that Amazon support suggested it could be done "using USB and developer options", and that a support agent said the lookup uses bing.com/translate. A reply guessed this meant jailbreaking. Another member said many languages have been added over time through firmware updates, and suggested sending feedback through the link at the bottom of Amazon's help pages. On 13 March 2026 the poster wrote that contacting Amazon had been useless. So: no official method that anyone in the thread could confirm. No jailbreak steps are given here, since a mistake there can brick a device.

Do not confuse it with Kindle Translate

Kindle Translate is a different thing. It is Amazon's AI service for authors to translate their own books, and per Amazon's KDP help it is an invite-only beta for eligible KDP books, with source books in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese or Spanish. It does nothing for a book you bought and are reading.

Whether translations made with the reader tool land in the Vocabulary Builder was also checked, and no source says either way. Translate a word, then open the Vocabulary Builder and see. If they are not there, the Kindle did not keep them.

Translating on a Mac instead

If your Kindle will not do your language, or does not keep anything, the Mac route is simple. LeafyApp works over whatever is on screen: press ⌥A, drag a box over the text, and click Translate in the popup. macOS text recognition reads that patch of screen, so it works on a PDF, a scanned page, an image or an app that blocks selecting text. Greek and Hebrew are both on the list of languages it supports, along with Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Arabic and all the major European ones.

The line is saved automatically with its source and date, so you end up with the sentence and its translation in one library you can search, export to Anki, CSV or Excel, or review as fill-in-the-blank cards. More on the idea in a screen translator for text you cannot select.

It is not a Kindle tool and does not talk to your Kindle. It reads what appears on the Mac, which means it helps when you read on a Mac, in a PDF or in a window, and not when you have the e-reader in your hand. Only the word or line and its sentence go out, with nothing attached that says who you are. See the privacy page.

Questions people ask

Does Kindle have translation?
Yes. On many Kindles you highlight a word or passage and choose More, then Translation. It translates only what you highlight, not a whole book. The menu wording may vary by device and software version.

Which languages does the Kindle translation tool support?
No official current list could be opened. A 2026 MobileRead thread from a Kindle Scribe owner describes only a small handful of languages. A 2012 article about the Kindle Touch listed 16. Try the tool on your own device to see the list.

Is there Kindle Greek translation or Kindle Hebrew translation?
A forum post in February 2026 says Greek exists on Kindle for Android but not on a Paperwhite 11 Colorsoft. No report of Hebrew was found. Check your device, since firmware updates can change this.

Why is Kindle translation not working?
No official troubleshooting page was found. The most common cause in the sources read is that your language is not on the short list. One user reported in 2026 that Amazon support told them the tool uses Bing Translate. That is the user's report, not an Amazon statement.

Translate the line, keep the line.

Free while LeafyApp is in beta. One download, macOS 14 and up.

Download for Mac

Also worth a look: a screen translator for the text you cannot select, Kindle Word Wise languages, translating selected text on a Mac, or exporting Kindle Vocabulary Builder.