Write in Japanese. Send English. Without leaving the message.
Copying a sentence into a translator, fixing the stiff result and pasting it back takes a minute every time. WriteNative does it in place: press ⌥ twice, write in Japanese, and natural English goes in at your cursor.
How it works
One shortcut, in any app where you write.
- Put the cursor where the English should go: a Slack reply, an email, a Notion page.
- Press ⌥ twice. A small panel opens next to the cursor.
- Write in Japanese. The English appears as you type.
- Press Return. The English is inserted; your clipboard is left as it was.
English a colleague would write, not a word-for-word translation
Translators are made for documents. Work messages need something else: the polite opening a native speaker would use, the right level of formality for an email versus a chat, a product name left as it is. WriteNative writes the English for the app you are in, and keeps your team's terms when you are on a team plan.
Japanese email phrases such as お世話になっております have no word-for-word English; you get what an English email would say instead.
Already wrote it in English and not sure it sounds right? Select it, press ⌥ twice and choose Improve, Formal or Friendly instead.
Compared with a translator
The translation itself is only half the work; the other half is getting it into your message.
| WriteNative | Translator website or app | |
|---|---|---|
| Where you write | In the app you are already in | In a separate window |
| Steps | ⌥⌥, write, Return | Copy, switch, paste, copy, switch back, paste |
| Tone | Matches the app: formal in Mail, casual in Slack | One style for everything |
| Your clipboard | Left as it was | Overwritten |
| Private mode | Runs on your Mac with On-device | Usually cloud only |
Then check the rest
The English you type yourself is checked too: mistakes underlined, the reason explained in Japanese, and the meaning and pronunciation of each suggested word, so you need the translator less over time.
Questions
- Is it free?
- A free account includes 5 translations or rewrites a day. Pro is unlimited and starts with a 7-day free trial; the On-device plan translates on your Mac with no daily limit.
- Does it work for languages other than Japanese?
- Yes. Japanese and about 30 other languages.
- Which apps does it work in?
- Slack, Mail, Notion, Messages, Notes and text boxes in Chrome, among others. Pages, Keynote and terminals work through the shortcut; Google Docs is not supported.
- Is what I write stored?
- No. The text is translated and discarded, never kept or used for training. With the On-device plan nothing leaves your Mac.
Your next English email, written in Japanese.
Free to download. Press ⌥ twice and start writing.