Translator confusion

Question

Hi Kwizik
I am a Premium member and really enjoy the Kwizik model of learning, but I also use a number of other apps, books and websites to study French.  I also use 2 or 3 Translators to verify my study before committing “pen to paper” but I am getting a bit frustrated with being marked down in Kwizik, when I have picked different phrases from the recognized and popular translators (Reverso, Google, sometimes DeepL).     The latest exercise is  “a day in my cat Max’s Life.   
EG.  donner un câlin or faire un câlin?  I chose donner - Kwizik said wrong, should be faire.
EG.  Nourriture sèche pour chats or aliments secs pour chats - Kwizik said wrong, should be croquettes.  
These are just a couple of examples, but I have many more.
My question is therefore, can Kwizik please suggest the best translator app to use, one Kwizik recommends, which will give us the best information so we get things right.  Everyone uses translators so it would be handy to have that information.
I look forward to hearing back from you.  Thanks - Jo

Accepted Answer

Bonjour Jo,
I would be interested (if you remember) to know where you actually found 'donner un câlin' as it is a definite anglicism. 
Faire un câlin is to give someone a hug or a cuddle. 
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english-french/to-give-sb-a-cuddle
 
As for dry cat food, it is known as 'croquettes pour chats' in French. This is the word for 'kibbles' which is the name of the dry food we give to our cats and dogs. When I am stuck on a word like that I sometimes look at some French websites which feature the item in question, in this case, I would look at a French supermarket or Amazon.fr.
You will understand that we cannot recommend or discourage anyone from using certain free online translation services but personally, I still favour using dictionaries.
There is no quick fix in finding 'the right word'.
Before the days of the internet, the only reliable translation tool I used to trust was my Collins-Robert (bilingual) dictionary. Sometimes I had to use my Robert dictionary (French monolingual) to ensure the correct meaning was achieved.
This exists as an online version nowadays ( for professionals) but it is not free I am afraid which doesn't surprise me.
I have only just dabbled with Chat GPT but found it impressive so far.
Kwiziq tells me to transmit that " translation technology is improving all the time, and that Kwiziq will be releasing some new tools and features that can help here. We can't give exact dates, but if you'd like to be part of a beta tester for experimental features, there will be a sign-up page for these."
Hope this answers your question.

Answer

I feel Kwizik uses phrases such as a French speaking person would use. Croquettes is much shorter than a long phrase for instance. My French mother would say, "Yes, that is correct, but not how we say it in French." So I would go with Kwizik.

Answer

Hi Jo,

I have lived in France for 6 years, I am currently using Kwizik as a study tool to pass the written portion of a French language test for my Nationality. I can confirm that the phrases I am seeing used here on Kwizik match far more often what I hear as spoken French than any of the translators I have previously used.

If you want to learn correct and current French, I would recommend following and memorizing the things you learn here. As for translators, I have yet to find one that actually works well because they translate words directly and do not take into consideration the phrase as a whole.

Hope this gives you more confidence in learning here on Kwizik.

Maria