You want to translate a word you've only ever heard spoken and have no idea how to spell it. No worries - Google Translate has added voice input so all you need is speech.

At the moment it only works in English and to try it you'll need to use a version of Chrome that includes the HTML Speech API (i.e Chrome 11 or later). But even then you might not be able to make it work as it has only been introduced in some regions.

It is only operable if you see the microphone icon turn blue when you hover over it and the Speak Now speech bubble appear - but it's a start and no doubt more of us will be able to use the facility soon.

More Information

Talk to Chrome

Inside Google Translate