Allergy translation card app for iPhone: what to use abroad

The best way to handle a food allergy abroad is an allergy translation card app on your iPhone: it shows your allergies full-screen in the kitchen’s language, gives the staff a way to answer, and exports a PDF you can print as a backup. Flunqero builds that card inside its offline travel translator, with one card language free forever and 16 with Pro; Equal Eats is the dedicated alternative with professionally translated cards. Whichever you use, read the card back before you travel and confirm out loud at the table.

That’s the short version. The rest of this guide covers what a card has to say to be useful, how the main options differ (app, dedicated card service, laminated paper, a sentence typed into a translator), and the routine that turns a card into a real conversation with the kitchen instead of a hopeful nod.

In this guide11 sections

What an allergy translation card app has to do

A card is not a translation of “I am allergic to peanuts.” That sentence is where most travelers start and where most misunderstandings live, because a kitchen hears it as a preference rather than a medical fact. A useful card covers six things:

1. The exact allergens, named precisely. “Tree nuts” is vague in any language; “almonds, cashews, walnuts, hazelnuts, pistachios” is not. Same for shellfish (crustaceans vs molluscs) and “dairy” (milk, butter, cream, cheese, whey).
2. How serious it is. A server treats “I don’t eat” and “I can have a severe reaction” very differently. Say which one you mean.
3. Traces and shared equipment. Cross-contact — the same fryer, wok, grill or cutting board — is where cards that only list ingredients fall short.
4. The hidden forms. Fish sauce in a Thai curry, anchovy dissolved into an Italian sauce, cashew paste thickening a korma. A card that names the local hiding places gets a better answer than one that names the allergen alone.
5. A way for the staff to answer. A card that asks a yes-or-no question and lets them tap or point to the answer beats one that ends in a statement and a shrug.
6. A way for you to check it. You can’t read the Thai or Japanese on your own card. You need to see, in English, what it actually says before you rely on it.

Add two practical requirements: a backup that doesn’t depend on signal or battery (a printed PDF), and more than one language if your trip crosses borders.

Method 1: Flunqero’s allergy card on iPhone

Flunqero is an offline travel translator for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, and the allergy card is one of its core tools rather than an add-on. It covers most of the list above in one screen.

What the card does

• Full-screen, in the kitchen’s language. The card shows your allergies and your diet on one full screen, big enough to hand over or hold up.
• Hidden-ingredient warnings. The card carries warnings about ingredients that commonly hide allergens in many cuisines, so the kitchen is prompted to think past the obvious item on the plate.
• Yes/No buttons. Staff answer your card with a tap instead of trying to explain in a language you don’t share.
• “What this says.” One tap reads your own card back in English, so you know exactly what you’re handing over.
• PDF sharing. Share the card as a PDF to Files, email or print — your paper backup for a dead battery.
• On your wrist. If you wear an Apple Watch, your allergy card is there even when your phone isn’t, once it has synced from the iPhone. More on the Watch side in the Apple Watch translator guide.

How to set it up (do this at home)

1. Install Flunqero and pick your destination in the Trip tab. It sets the language and currency for you.
2. Open the allergy card and enter your allergies and diet. Be specific: list individual nuts, name the shellfish, say whether traces matter.
3. Choose the card language — the language of the country you’re visiting.
4. Tap What this says and read the English back line by line. If anything reads wrong, fix your entries now, not at the table.
5. Share the card as a PDF, print two copies, and keep the PDF in Files as well.
6. While you’re on Wi-Fi, download the language pack for your destination and open Talk and Listen once so each language fetches its speech model. That’s what makes follow-up questions work with no signal later.

The honest caveat. Outside English, the card’s wording is AI-drafted, and every translated card says so plainly. That’s why “What this says” exists, and why the routine further down ends with confirming out loud. For a severe allergy, treat the card as your opening line and the conversation that follows as the part that matters.

What it costs. One allergy-card language is free, forever — enough for a single-country trip. Flunqero Pro unlocks allergy cards in 16 languages, plus unlimited saved phrases and natural premium voices, for $24.99 a year after a 7-day free trial, or $39.99 once for Lifetime. If you’ve already used your trial, a $3.99 Trip Pass covers one 30-day trip with no subscription. Translation itself — Type, Talk, Listen, Menu and Camera — is free, as are emergency cards and offline language packs.

The reason to keep the card inside a translator rather than a standalone card app is what happens after the server reads it. They answer “yes, there’s peanut in the sauce,” and your next question — “can they make it without, and use a clean pan?” — needs a translator. In Flunqero you type it, see the translation and its back-translation into English, and show it big or play it aloud. The menu itself goes through Menu mode, which photographs every page and lines up sections, dishes and prices in your language; the camera menu translator guide covers that workflow.

Method 2: Equal Eats, the dedicated card app

Equal Eats is a free iPhone app built around nothing but allergy and diet cards. Its strengths are real:

• Professional translations. Equal Eats describes a three-step process — professional translation, expert proofreading and native-speaker review — for its translated terms.
• Breadth. Its site lists cards in 58 languages, and its allergen database covers 700+ allergens and ingredients.
• Offline saved cards, plus free emergency cards in every language it supports.
• Paper options. It also sells printed plastic cards and PDF downloads.

The trade-offs: unlocking all languages takes a subscription, and it’s a card app, not a translator — when the server answers with a question, you need a second app. If your allergy is life-threatening and your destination language is outside Flunqero’s 16, or you want human-reviewed wording above everything else, Equal Eats is the stronger card. Many travelers with serious allergies sensibly carry a card from one and a translator from the other.

Method 3: Printed cards and free printables

SelectWisely sells wallet-sized laminated translation cards, sold in pairs (one for the wallet, one for the suitcase), with professionally sourced translations in more than 65 languages and custom orders for anything not listed. Paper has advantages no app can match: it never runs out of battery, it can be handed to a chef who’s gone back into the kitchen, and it doesn’t need unlocking.

Free printable cards, offered by allergy organizations and some card sellers, are a reasonable last resort. They are generic by design — one allergen, a fixed sentence — so they rarely name your full list or the local hiding places.

Whatever else you use, a printed backup is worth the two minutes. Flunqero’s PDF export or Equal Eats’ downloads give you one for free.

Why a sentence in Google Translate or Apple Translate isn’t a card

You can type “I have a severe peanut allergy” into Apple Translate or Google Translate and show the result full-screen. For a mild intolerance in a big-city restaurant, that may be enough. For anything serious, it falls short in predictable ways:

• It’s one sentence. No hidden-ingredient list, no cross-contact line, no severity framing — unless you type all of that under pressure at the table.
• The staff can’t answer it. They read a statement; you get a nod. You don’t know if the nod meant “understood” or “I’ll ask.”
• It’s easy to get wrong in the moment. A typo or a word the engine reads differently changes the meaning, and you can’t read the output to notice.

Both apps translate text offline once you’ve downloaded the language, so they’re good for follow-up questions. They just aren’t a substitute for a card you prepared, checked and saved at home.

How the options compare

The pattern: dedicated card services win on translation review and language count; Flunqero wins on everything around the card — the read-back, the Yes/No answers, the Watch copy, and a full offline translator for the conversation that follows.

Using the card at the table

A card only works if the routine around it does. This is the sequence that gets a real answer:

1. Show the card before you order, not after. Hand it over, or hold it up, while the server still has time to take it to the kitchen.
2. Ask them to check with the kitchen. The server doesn’t make the food. If the card has Yes/No buttons, wait for an answer that came from someone who does.
3. Point to the dish on the menu. Menu mode’s structured result makes it easy to point at one row instead of waving at a page.
4. Ask the follow-up. Type “Is it cooked in the same oil as the shrimp?” or “Can you use a clean pan?”, check the English back-translation, then show or play it.
5. Confirm out loud. Repeat the key word in the local language if you can. Flunqero’s Type mode says any line aloud for you.
6. Read the hesitation. A pause, a shrug or “maybe” is an answer. Choose something simpler or eat elsewhere.
7. Carry what your doctor prescribed. A card doesn’t replace your medication or your emergency plan; keep both on you, and keep an emergency card ready — Flunqero’s emergency cards are always free and work offline once you’ve downloaded the language.

Where allergens commonly hide, by cuisine

Your card is more useful when you know what to ask about. These are common patterns, not rules — recipes vary by region and by cook, which is exactly why you ask:

• Thailand and Vietnam: fish sauce and shrimp paste in curries, dressings and dipping sauces; peanuts crushed over noodles and salads. The English to Thai guide covers the language side of a Thai trip.
• Japan: dashi stock (usually fish) in soups and sauces; soy sauce, which normally contains wheat; sesame across dressings. See the English to Japanese guide.
• China: peanut oil for frying, sesame paste and oil, and shared woks.
• Korea: fermented seafood in many kimchis and stews; sesame oil nearly everywhere.
• India: cashew and almond pastes thickening curries; ghee (clarified butter) in cooking.
• Italy: pine nuts in pesto, anchovies in sauces, almonds across the dessert counter.
• France: butter and cream as structure rather than garnish; almond flour in pastries such as frangipane and financiers.
• Mexico: lard in beans and tamales; crema and cheese in sauces.

Put the relevant items in your card’s allergy entries so the kitchen is asked about the hiding places, not just the headline allergen.

Before you fly: the allergy checklist

• Build the card in your destination’s language and read it back with “What this says.”
• Share it as a PDF; print two copies (wallet and bag).
• Download your destination’s language pack and open Talk and Listen once on Wi-Fi, so follow-up questions work offline.
• Translate and save your three most likely follow-ups: “Does this contain [allergen]?”, “Can you use a clean pan?”, “Is it fried in the same oil?” The travel phrases guide covers building and practicing that list.
• If you wear an Apple Watch, open Flunqero once on the Watch so your card has synced before you leave.
• The night before you fly, turn on airplane mode and run through it all once: the card, the saved follow-ups, a Type translation.

The bottom line

An allergy translation card app earns its place when it says exactly what you’re allergic to, how serious it is and where it hides, lets the staff answer, and lets you check the wording in English before you rely on it. Flunqero does that inside a full offline translator — one card language free, 16 with Pro, a PDF backup and a copy on your Apple Watch — so the conversation after the card doesn’t stall. If you want professionally reviewed wording or a language outside Flunqero’s list, Equal Eats or a laminated SelectWisely card is the better card to carry alongside it.

Either way: build it at home, print the backup, show it before you order, and confirm out loud. Get Flunqero on the App Store and make your card tonight, while you still have Wi-Fi and time to read it back.

FAQ

Is there a free allergy translation card app?

Yes. Flunqero gives you one allergy-card language free, forever, which covers a single-country trip; Pro unlocks all 16 languages. Equal Eats is free to download with a subscription for its full language list. Free printable cards also exist, but they are generic and can’t list your exact allergies.

Are AI-translated allergy cards reliable?

Treat any translated card as the start of a conversation, not the end of one. Flunqero’s cards say plainly that they were AI-drafted and let you read the card back in English before you hand it over; Equal Eats and SelectWisely use professional translators. Whichever you carry, confirm out loud that the kitchen understood, and walk away if they hesitate.

What should a food allergy translation card say?

Your exact allergens, how serious the reaction is, that small traces and shared equipment matter, and the ingredients that commonly hide them in local dishes. It should ask a direct question the staff can answer yes or no. Keep it short: a server reads it in seconds, standing at your table.