I often use google translate when writing, since it's easy to access and sometimes I need to write parts in other languages. As an example, a location in my book is called the Arechihara desert. A combination of the Japanese word 'Arechi' (meaning wasteland, desert) and Sahara (because Sahara desert). However, there are times when I question the validity of such a tool. Is it a good idea to use Google Translate for writing?
Google Translate is a good first step, but I would be sure to back up any translations with other websites. When making your own words by using a combination of different languages, I think that itβs okay to pretty much just go off of Google Translate, because you are creating a word nobody will have heard of anyway. But if you are trying to have a character actually say something in, for example, Japanese, then I would be sure to check with another source.
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If you're using google translate, only use it to get single words- although, if you're using it for that purpose, and online dictionary will certainly suit you better, as will actually learning some basic grammar rules of the language (word order, conjugations as needed, etc.). Never ever use Google translate to translate whole sentences at a time, because it is guaranteed to mess something up.
But as @TurtleOfFreedom said, using it to combine words to make a fake word/place/name, it's okay, because you're making up words- just go and make sure that whatever word you use is not actually a word for something else afterwards. Again, online dictionaries are considerably better than translate, though, so I do recommend trying that too. You'll probably get a little more out of them, and it's bound to be more accurate.
I don't have a lot of specific online dictionaries, so you might want to ask around, but here's one for Latin that I used for Latin class (and it was teacher-approved, which is a big deal).
http://archives.nd.edu/words.html