Lemma › Latin translator
A Latin translator that explains every word
People looking for a Latin translator usually have a passage in front of them and not much time. A machine translator returns an English sentence, but it usually doesn't say why a participle is in the ablative or which verb a form comes from. And in class there is no ready-made sentence to fall back on.
Lemma works the other way round. It starts from the words, one by one: what form each is, which headword it comes from, what the dictionary says. Then it shows you how the sentence holds together. The translation is there too, with notes, once you have done the work and want to compare.
Try it on your next passage. You get 4 free questions, the full platform, and no credit card is needed.
What you see when you paste a sentence
The opening words of Caesar's Gallic War, as Lemma shows them: every word with its form, its headword, its meaning and the source beside it.
Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres, quarum unam incolunt Belgae…
Caesar, Gallic War 1.1.1
| Word | Form | Headword and meaning | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gallia | noun, feminine nominative singular | Gallia: Gaul | Lewis & Short |
| est | verb, present indicative, 3rd person singular (Morpheus also reads ĕdo, “eat”: the context decides) | sum: be, exist | Dickinson Core Vocabulary |
| omnis | adjective, feminine nominative singular (agrees with Gallia) | omnis: all, every, as a whole | Dickinson Core Vocabulary |
| divisa | perfect passive participle, feminine nominative singular | divido: divide, separate | Dickinson Core Vocabulary |
| in | preposition (here with the accusative) | in: in, on (+ abl.); into, onto (+ acc.) | Dickinson Core Vocabulary |
| partes | noun, feminine accusative plural | pars: part | Dickinson Core Vocabulary |
| tres | numeral, accusative plural | tres: three | Dickinson Core Vocabulary |
| quarum | relative pronoun, feminine genitive plural | qui, quae, quod: who, which, what | Dickinson Core Vocabulary |
| unam | numeral adjective, feminine accusative singular | unus: one | Dickinson Core Vocabulary |
| incolunt | verb, present indicative active, 3rd person plural | incolo: to dwell, abide in; to inhabit | Lewis & Short |
| Belgae | noun, masculine nominative plural | Belgae: the Belgae, a people of northern Gaul | Lewis & Short |
What Lemma would say
“est… divisa” joins the verb ‘to be’ and the perfect participle: here it describes a state, “is divided”, not the act of dividing. “omnis” agrees with “Gallia” (Gaul as a whole). “quarum” is a relative in the partitive genitive, governed by “unam”: “of which the Belgae inhabit one”.
Three ways to work on a passage
- Explain. A form or a sentence, explained step by step: analysis, function, rule.
- Translate. For when you have done the work: a translation of the passage, with notes, to compare with your own.
- Read the authors. 651 works in the original, from Homer to Tacitus. Tap a word to read its dictionary entry.
Why a machine translator isn't enough
- Ready-made translations don't teach you to translate. They won't be there in the exam, and you can't copy a method.
- General-purpose AI can be confidently wrong. It may invent a form or take a genitive for a dative, and sound entirely sure of itself.
- A dictionary gives you the word, not the construction. Why is there a subjunctive here? What does that participle depend on?
Lemma sits in between, like a good teacher: it shows you the rule, tells you where it found it, and leaves the translating to you.
Where the answers come from
For Latin, Lemma relies on these works and names them beside what they say:
- Lewis & Short, A Latin Dictionary
- Allen & Greenough, New Latin Grammar
- Morpheus, Perseus Project (Tufts University)
- Perseus Digital Library
- Dickinson College Commentaries (including the Dickinson Core Vocabulary)
All sources and their licences
Frequently asked questions
Isn't it cheating?
No. In Explain mode Lemma doesn't give you the whole translation: it shows you forms, constructions and rules, and leaves the translating to you. Translate mode is there for when you have done the work and want to compare.
What if it's wrong?
It can happen, as it can to anyone: that is why every statement carries its source, which you can open and read. Greek forms the lexicon doesn't know are flagged. And under every answer there is a “Report an error” option: every report is reviewed.