The introduction of the three new features to Google Translate should help users distinguish among different possible translations of a given word.

In September we reported that Google had added Lao as its 65th language to its Translate service. Now the search engine giant is in the news once again with the launch of an update to Google Translate, bringing three new features to the tool that will make it easier to decide which language translation of a given word is the one you require.

The update will allow Google Translate to rank possible translations by frequency. Every possible translation will now marked as common, uncommon or rare and according to Google this ranking is based on “the vast number of translations we use to train our system.” Very rare translations will actually be hidden by default, but can easily be brought back with a single click.

Google Translate will now also group synonymous translations together when their meaning is closely related. This feature is only available in English for the time being. But Google intends to support more languages soon.

Another new feature is reverse translations. “Our users often tell us that they check our translations by translating them back into their original language. Reverse translations can distinguish translations of different meanings and reveal subtle differences among similar words. Each translation is now annotated with its most frequent reverse translations,” says Google in a recent blog post.

So what do you think about Google Translate and the introduction of these new features? Will you be more inclined to use the service given the new update?