Got a form in a language you don't read? Forward it
Snap a photo or forward the PDF of any school or government form. Mabel translates it and tells you exactly what each field is asking for.
A form shows up that you can't read. Maybe your kid's school sent home a permission slip in Spanish and yours is rusty. Maybe you've moved abroad and the residence-permit renewal arrived in bureaucratic German, which is a different language from German. Maybe you're helping your mother with a benefits form in English that might as well not be. Either way, there are blank fields, a deadline, and a strong sense that filling it out wrong means starting over.
Free translation apps get you words. What you need is meaning: what is this form, what does each field want, and which parts actually matter.
What to send
Take a photo of the form (flat, decent light, all four corners in frame) or forward the PDF to [email protected]:
"This came from my son's school in France and my French stops at the bakery. What is it, what do I write in each field, and when is it due?"
Multi-page form? Send every page in one email. Mabel reads images and PDFs directly, including the fine print at the bottom that's somehow always the important part.
What comes back
A full translation, plus a field-by-field walkthrough:
What this is: An authorization form for a class trip to the Musée d'Orsay on September 12. It needs to be returned by August 28.
Field by field: Line 1, "Nom et prénom de l'élève": your son's last name, then first name. That order matters here. Line 4, "Personne à contacter en cas d'urgence": emergency contact name and phone. The checkbox near the bottom: whether you authorize photos of your child for the school newsletter. Optional. Leave it blank to decline.
Watch out for: The second signature line is for a second parent or guardian. If you're signing alone, write "autorité parentale exclusive" beside it or the office may bounce the form back.
That "watch out for" section is the part no translation app will give you: the conventions, the field that looks optional but isn't, the box that quietly signs you up for something.
You can also go the other direction. If you have to answer in the other language, tell Mabel what you want to say and she'll draft the reply or the cover note in it, at the right level of formality, which for government offices is usually "more formal than feels natural."
Pro tip
Say what you'll use the translation for. "I just need the gist" gets you a quick summary; "I have to file this with immigration" gets careful, complete handling of every line, including the boilerplate. And if a field stumps you because you don't know the answer rather than the language, like a local ID number you've never heard of, ask. Knowing what the number is called and where people usually find it is half the battle.