playtranslate
A real-time game translation Android app, built for both language learners and people who just want to play. Currently only supports Japanese → English, but more languages coming soon!
To report issues, receive support, or make requests, please join the Discord server
PlayTranslate with Persona 3 Reload and Breath of Fire 3
Features
- One-tap Translation — Capture the game screen and translate Japanese text with one tap
- Auto Translation Mode — Automatically translates as dialogue changes, no tapping required
- Furigana Mode — Show hiragana readings above kanji in real time for reading practice
- Hotkey hold-to-preview — Configure a physical key to hold-to-preview translations or furigana, great for handhelds with dedicated buttons
- Word lookup — Hover the floating lens over any word for immediate dictionary definitions
- Dual Screen & Split Screen — Works across both screens on dual-display devices like the Ayn Thor, or in Android split-screen alongside windowed games
- Capture regions — Crop to just the dialogue box, subtitles, or any custom area
- Anki export — Save sentences to AnkiDroid with the original text, translation, word list, target words, and a screenshot
- Offline — OCR and translation work without an internet connection
How to Use
- Download the latest release by clicking here
- On your Android, enable Settings → Security → Install unknown apps for your file manager or browser
- Open the APK and tap Install
- On first launch, follow the onboarding steps to grant the necessary permissions
Support
To report issues, receive support, or make requests, please join the Discord server
You can support PlayTranslate on Ko-fi at https://ko-fi.com/playtranslate
Optional: DeepL API Key
By default, translation uses Lingva with ML Kit as an offline fallback. For higher quality translations, get a free DeepL API key at deepl.com/en/pro#developer and enter it in Settings → DeepL API Key.
Optional: Anki Flashcards
Install AnkiDroid and grant PlayTranslate access in Settings to export cards directly to your decks.
Credits
- ML Kit — on-device OCR and translation
- JMdict — Japanese dictionary data (EDRDG licence)
- Kuromoji — Japanese morphological analysis
- Lingva — online translation
- AnkiDroid — flashcard integration
