If you’ve ever wanted to know the meaning of your Latin and K-Pop songs, here’s Apple Music with a long-awaited feature.
The new iOS 26 update brings us the Apple Music Lyrics Translation feature which lets you instantly translate foreign song lyrics.
The Apple Music Lyrics Translation Feature shows Apple’s continued focus on making music a more immersive and accessible experience for everyone, as compared to Spotify that finally got its lyrics search, two years after Apple Music.
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How to Use the Apple Lyrics Translation Feature on Apple Music with iOS 26
The Apple Music Translation update is more than just a simple translation feature. It includes a phonetic guide, and it also helps you sing along correctly. But first, let’s check out how to prepare, set up, and use the feature.
1. Update and Open the Music App
First, make sure your iPhone is running the latest iOS 26 software. Open the Apple Music app. You also need an active Apple Music subscription to access this Apple Music Lyrics iOS 26 feature.
2. Start Playing a Compatible Song
Find a song with lyrics in a foreign language. For the Apple Lyrics for the iOS 26 feature to appear, the song must have lyrics submitted by the artist or label.
If the lyrics icon is grayed out, it means no lyrics are available.
3. Go to the Full-Screen Player
Tap the mini-player bar at the bottom of the screen. This will open the Now Playing view.
4. Turn On Time-Synced Lyrics
Tap the Lyrics button with a quote mark inside located at the bottom left corner. The time-synced lyrics will appear line by line as the music plays.
- Pro Tip: If you can’t remember a song, but know the words, you can find it via Apple Music lyrics search.
5. Tap the Translation Icon
To open the translations menu, press the Translation and Pronunciation button located near the bottom left of the lyrics screen.
6. Select “Show Translation”
In the menu that appears, you will see a few options as well as Show Translation. The translated lyrics will instantly appear below the original lines. You can also tap Hide Original to hide the original language lyrics.
7. Use the Pronunciation Guide
The Apple Music Lyrics Feature also includes a pronunciation guide which is great for karaoke or for those of you who like to learn a new language.
- In the same translation menu, tap Show Pronunciation.
- A phonetic text pronunciation will appear underneath the original lyrics. For example, if the song is in Korean, you will see a Romanized spelling which shows how to pronounce the words.
The phonetic language feature also pairs well with the updated Apple Music Sing feature. If you are into karaoke, you can check out our Apple Music Sing playlists.
The translation currently supports select combinations like Korean to English, Spanish to English, and English to Japanese. Apple will likely add more languages later. The feature requires an internet connection to work properly.
The Apple Music Lyrics Translation Feature is not available for every song because the publisher must submit the translation and phonetic data to Apple. If the song is an older track, the translation might not be available yet.
Yes. The core Apple Music Lyrics Feature is available across all compatible devices. This includes the iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. The newest lyric translation and pronunciation features are available on devices running iOS 26 and compatible operating systems. It can even be used on other screens like in your car get lyrics on CarPlay iOS 26 guide.
To see just the original lyrics, simply tap the translation icon again. Then, make sure both “Show Translation” and “Show Pronunciation” are toggled off in the menu. You can always view lyrics with the standard time-synced lyrics display.
