Does Your English Sound Translated? Free Checker
Grammatically correct English can still read as «translated». This checker scans for the patterns that give it away — passive voice, very long sentences, no contractions, and common non-native phrases — and shows you exactly where.
Why correct English can still sound translated
You can write English with no grammar mistakes and still have a reader sense, instantly, that you are not a native speaker. That gap is rarely about errors — it is about patterns: the passive voice where English prefers an active subject, sentences that run 40 words because your first language allows it, a complete absence of contractions, and word-for-word phrases that are correct but no native would choose. This checker looks for those signals and scores how «translated» your text reads. It is a heuristic guide, not a verdict — but the flags it raises are the exact things that mark writing as non-native.
What the checker looks for
- Passive voice density — «the report was written by the team» where «the team wrote the report» is stronger. A little passive is fine; a lot reads translated.
- Very long sentences — anything over 35 words. Native English breaks these up.
- No contractions — «I do not think it is ready» everywhere, instead of «I don't think it's ready». Zero contractions reads stiff and formal.
- Non-native phrase markers — fixed expressions like «according to me», «discuss about», «I am agree», or «kindly revert» that are common in ESL writing but not in native English.
From flagged to fluent
A high score does not mean your English is bad — it means it carries the fingerprints of translation. Fixing it is mechanical once you can see it: turn the strongest passive sentences active, split the longest ones, allow a few contractions, and replace the flagged phrases. That is exactly the kind of rewrite Diglot's paraphrasing tool is built for — it keeps your meaning and your voice while making the phrasing land like a native wrote it.
Take it further with Diglot
This free tool runs in your browser. When you want to act on what it shows — fix the grammar, tighten the phrasing, or make your English read like a native wrote it — that is what Diglot is built for. The free tier is meaningful for daily writing, no card required.
Frequently asked questions
- What does the «translated-ness» score mean?
- It is a heuristic 0–100 estimate of how strongly your text shows patterns common in non-native English — passive voice, very long sentences, no contractions, and certain fixed phrases. Higher means more «translated»-sounding. It is a guide to revise by, not a judgment of correctness.
- Is this checking my grammar?
- No. Your English can be perfectly grammatical and still score high here. The checker looks at style and phrasing patterns, not grammar errors. For grammar, use a dedicated grammar checker alongside it.
- Why does it flag passive voice and long sentences?
- Both are correct English, but native writers use them sparingly. Heavy passive voice and 35-plus-word sentences are two of the most reliable signals that text was written by a non-native speaker or translated, so the checker surfaces them for you to weigh.
- Does my text get uploaded anywhere?
- No. The analysis runs entirely in your browser — your text is never sent to a server or stored. You can paste anything, including unpublished or confidential writing.
