# DeepL API: Translate text

> Translates up to 1,500 characters with DeepL's free web translator, from a named or auto-detected source language into a named target language.

Unofficial. Not affiliated with or endorsed by DeepL.

- Page: https://fous.com/methods/deepl.com/translate-text
- Method: `deepl.com/translate_text`, version 1
- Website: deepl.com
- Returns: translated text, source and target language names and codes, whole-text alternatives when shown, page URL
- Effect: read (it gets data and changes nothing)
- Sign-in: none needed
- Cost: 1 credit per completed run (1¢ with pay as you go); failed runs are free
- Verified: Nov 2, 2026

## Inputs

| Field | Type | Required | In the run below | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| `text` | string | yes | `"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"` | Text to translate, up to 1,500 characters. Example: Please send the contract by Friday. |
| `source_language` | string | no |  | Language of the text, or auto-detect. Example: English. Default "auto-detect". |
| `target_language` | string | yes | `"German"` | Language for the translation. Example: German. |

## Output

From a run on Oct 31, 2026. Its input:

```json
{
  "text": "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA",
  "target_language": "German"
}
```

Its output:

```json
{
  "page_url": "https://www.deepl.com/en/translator",
  "source_language": "Wolof",
  "target_language": "German",
  "translated_text": "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA",
  "source_language_code": "wo",
  "target_language_code": "de-de",
  "alternative_translations": []
}
```

## Run it

From code, with a Fous API key in `FOUS_API_KEY`; the answer's `data` holds the output:

```bash
curl https://api.fous.com/v1/runs \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $FOUS_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"method":"deepl.com/translate_text","input":{"text":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA","target_language":"German"}}'
```

From an AI agent connected to the Fous MCP server: its `run` with the same method and input. To connect one, give it `set up https://fous.com/SKILL.md`.

## Ask your agent

- Translate "Please send the contract by Friday" into German using DeepL
- Use deepl.com to turn this French paragraph into English: "Nous avons bien reçu votre commande et elle sera expédiée demain matin."
- What does "Wo ist der nächste Bahnhof?" mean in Spanish? Give me a couple of alternative phrasings too if any show up.
- I need this customer email in Japanese: "Thank you for your patience. Your refund has been processed and should appear within 5 business days."
- Not sure what language this is, can you detect it and put it into English? "Obrigado pela reunião de ontem, vamos rever a proposta até segunda-feira."

## Input schema

```json
{
  "type": "object",
  "required": [
    "text",
    "target_language"
  ],
  "properties": {
    "text": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Text to translate, up to 1,500 characters. Example: Please send the contract by Friday."
    },
    "source_language": {
      "type": "string",
      "default": "auto-detect",
      "description": "Language of the text, or auto-detect. Example: English."
    },
    "target_language": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Language for the translation. Example: German."
    }
  }
}
```

## Output schema

```json
{
  "type": "object",
  "required": [
    "translated_text",
    "source_language",
    "target_language",
    "alternative_translations",
    "source_language_code",
    "target_language_code",
    "page_url"
  ],
  "properties": {
    "page_url": {
      "type": "string"
    },
    "source_language": {
      "type": "string"
    },
    "target_language": {
      "type": "string"
    },
    "translated_text": {
      "type": "string"
    },
    "source_language_code": {
      "type": "string",
      "x-fous-developer": true
    },
    "target_language_code": {
      "type": "string",
      "x-fous-developer": true
    },
    "alternative_translations": {
      "type": "array",
      "items": {
        "type": "string"
      }
    }
  },
  "additionalProperties": false
}
```

## See more

- [Google API: Translate text](https://fous.com/methods/translate.google.com/translate-text.md): Translates up to 5,000 characters on Google Translate, with the detected source language, Latin-letter pronunciation when shown, and dictionary alternatives for words or short phrases.
- [WordReference API: Translate word](https://fous.com/methods/wordreference.com/translate-word.md): Translates a word or phrase between languages using WordReference, including usage notes, example sentences and compound forms when shown. Only language pairs listed by WordReference are available.
- [Cambridge University Press API: Translate word](https://fous.com/methods/dictionary.cambridge.org/translate-word.md): Translates a word between English and a language Cambridge supports. Returns the meanings, the translations and any paired examples.
- [YouTube API: Get video transcript](https://fous.com/methods/youtube.com/get-video-transcript.md): Returns the spoken captions and timed segments of a YouTube video, given a video link or a title (top search match). Only captions the video has are returned.
- [Project Gutenberg API: Get book text](https://fous.com/methods/gutenberg.org/get-book-text.md): Gets the plain text of a public-domain Project Gutenberg book by title, optionally matching its author and language. Chooses the most downloaded matching edition with a plain-text file, removes the Gutenberg header and license, and can cut the text after a chosen number of words.
- [TechCrunch API: Read an article](https://fous.com/methods/techcrunch.com/read-article.md): Reads a public TechCrunch article by link or headline and returns its text, authors, dates, section, tags and image. Live blogs return their latest public updates.
- [Dictionary.com API: Get synonyms](https://fous.com/methods/dictionary.com/get-synonyms.md): Gets a word's Thesaurus.com meanings in site order, with part of speech, short meaning, synonyms and antonyms ranked strongest, strong or weak.
- [web.dev API: Check page speed](https://fous.com/methods/pagespeed.web.dev/check-page-speed.md): Tests a web page with Google PageSpeed Insights on mobile or desktop: performance, accessibility, best practices and SEO scores, lab timings, real-user Core Web Vitals when available, and the top suggested fixes.