Features

Five layers tried in order: cache, dictionary, translation memory, offline model, AI. 72 lookup directions, ten interface languages, a switch per layer.

Five layers, tried in order

It starts at the local cache and hands off only when a layer can't answer. AI is last. Every result is labelled with the layer that produced it.

Local cacheSentences you've translated return instantly

Offline dictionary72 directions, Cantonese and the regional variants included

Translation memoryYour corrections are reused automatically

Offline modelFull sentences translated on your machine

AI translationLong sentences and difficult context

Works with no connection

Everything except the AI layer sits on your own disk. Pull the network cable out and it all carries on. What you install is what you carry: each language pack is a separate download, so a machine that only ever needs English and Japanese never has the rest of the directions sitting on it.

Download what you needInstall the languages you use, one pack at a time

Concept-based dictionariesInstall N languages and you get N×(N−1) directions

Multilingual modelOne package covering every direction

Whole documents

txt, Markdown, subtitles, Word, PDF. Code blocks and timecodes come through untouched. So do URLs. When a job finishes you can export a bilingual PDF.

Formatting holdsCode blocks and timecodes are left alone

ResumableAn interrupted job doesn't start over

Bilingual PDFSource and translation set alternately

What a lookup actually gives you

Type a word and you get a proper dictionary card: pronunciation, part of speech, multiple senses, examples. Because the entries are stored by concept rather than by language pair, you can pivot from that word to the same idea in every other language you have installed, which is why installing N languages gets you N×(N−1) directions.

Word listSave, review, export

One concept, many languagesHow the same idea is said elsewhere

AttributionEvery dictionary's licence and source, listed

Make it follow your rules

A glossary makes product names and model numbers follow the table exactly, or stay untranslated. Choose a literal, natural, formal or conversational style.

GlossarySupports “leave untranslated”

Translation memoryFix it once, it stays fixed

Regional variantsMainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong wording

The convenient bits

A hotkey translates whatever you've selected. There's a floating button too, plus screenshot capture and clipboard watching. You never have to switch to the app window first.

Global hotkeySelect text in any app and translate it

Screenshot OCRText inside images works too

HistoryStored locally, searchable

The document translation view in JoesanTrans: the source Markdown file on the left, the translated text alongside it paragraph by paragraph on the right, with headings and lists intact, code blocks included. A progress counter at the top reads 32 of 58 paragraphs. — Whole documents

The settings view in JoesanTrans: the translation chain is listed as five layers (cache, dictionary, translation memory, offline model, AI), each with its own switch. The right-hand column lists the language packs already downloaded and how much disk they use. — Make it follow your rules

Install it before you need it.

The free tier needs no account. Dictionaries and translation memory work the minute the installer finishes, and you can download offline models in the directions you pick.

Download free Compare the two tiers