Apple's translator app on Mac is simply called 'Translate' — built into macOS since Monterey. Free, supports ~20 languages, works offline for some pairs, and uses Apple's own neural translation.
Where to find it
Applications folder → Translate. Or Spotlight (Cmd+Space) → type "Translate".
What it does
- Standalone translation app (type or paste text)
- System-wide right-click → Services → Translate
- Safari built-in whole-page translation
- Live Text (image OCR) + Translate
- Translate Live conversation mode (with Apple Intelligence)
- Offline mode for ~10 language pairs (downloadable)
Supported languages (~20)
English, Chinese (Simplified + Traditional), Japanese, Korean, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic, Indonesian, Dutch, Polish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, Hindi.
Quality vs LLM translators
Apple Translate is decent for short text in major language pairs but lags Claude / GPT-4 on idiom, technical jargon, and surrounding-context-sensitive content. For higher-quality AI translation on Mac, install Lazie (free + BYOK).
When to use which
- Apple Translate: short text, offline, casual translation, languages in Apple's 20
- Lazie + Claude/GPT: technical/academic/business content, languages beyond 20, context-aware, AI rewrite
They don't conflict. Many users keep both.
Originally published at lazie.ai — the AI translator for Mac.
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