Journal · Amsterdam · 2026-05-14
When the App Changed the Word Balance
A reply was read through a translation app, and the word balance came out as something about steadiness. The figure beside it was right. The word had lost its meaning.
Translation apps are a real help for visitors. They let a guest write in their own language and read a reply in it too. Most of the time, they work well for short, plain messages. But some words have several meanings in English, and an app has to choose one. Sometimes it chooses the wrong one.
The message
A guest asked a clear question in the thread, after reading a reply through an app. The reply had said: the balance of 90 euros is paid when she arrives. In the guest's language, the app had translated balance as a word that means steadiness, the kind of balance you keep when you stand on one leg. The sentence now said something like: the steadiness of 90 euros is paid when she arrives.
The guest understood that something was wrong, and asked. That was exactly the right thing to do.
Balance has several meanings
In English, balance can mean:
- steadiness, not falling over;
- the money in a bank account;
- the part of a price still to be paid.
In a booking, it always means the third one: what is left to pay. If there was a deposit, the balance is the second half of the price. If there was no deposit, it is the whole price. The app chose the first meaning because it is the one met far more often in everyday English. It had no way to know that the sentence was about money.
Other words that confuse apps
Balance is not alone. A few other words in a booking reply have more than one meaning:
- Window, as in arrival window, can come out as a glass window. Here it means a stretch of time.
- Notice can come out as a sign on a wall. Here it means warning time before the booked hour.
- Block, as in a block of eight hours, can come out as a building or an obstacle. Here it means a fixed length of time at one price.
- Kept can come out as stored or saved. Here it means not paid back.
The page on the words in the reply explains each of these in one short sentence, in English simple enough to translate well.
Numbers survive, words do not always
The good news is that the figure came through correctly. 90 euros was 90 euros in the translation. Apps are usually very good with digits. The trouble is with the words around the digits. So when you read a reply through an app, trust the numbers, then check any word that seems strange next to them.
One way to check is to translate the single word on its own, and then ask the app for other meanings. Another way is simpler: copy the word into the thread with a question mark. Balance? The answer comes back in plain words: the part of the price you pay when she arrives.
Writing so the app does well
Apps translate short sentences far better than long ones. The same is true in both directions. This site writes its replies in short, plain sentences for that reason. You can help the app on your side by writing one fact per line, using digits for every number and never letting it translate a street name. The page on booking with a translation app gives the full method.
Words that go missing
The opposite can happen as well. An app sometimes drops a short word it thinks is unimportant, and the short word was the point. Not is a common victim. A sentence that said the deposit is not returned after she has left can lose its not, and say the opposite. If a rule in the translation sounds too generous, or too strict, read the English sentence once. The booking terms are written in short English sentences so that this check is quick. The booking terms page gives every rule with an example in euros.
What the guest did
After the answer, the guest wrote: ok, I pay 90 when she comes. That was exactly right. And they added one more line that made everyone smile a little: steadiness also good. The booking went ahead that evening, and the balance, in both of its meanings, was fine.