How to translate on a Mac

Select the text, Control-click it and choose Translate “…”: macOS shows the translation in a small panel and can replace your text with it. To make sure the text is translated on your Mac and not on a server, download the languages and turn on On-Device Mode in System Settings.

Updated: 2 November 2026

Translate selected text with what's built into macOS

1. Select a word, a sentence or a paragraph in any app, such as Mail, Notes, Preview, Safari or Pages.
2. Control-click the selection (on a trackpad, click with two fingers) and choose Translate “…”.
3. Check the two languages at the top of the panel and change them if macOS guessed wrong.
4. Click Copy Translation, or, in text you can edit, Replace with Translation to put it in place of the original.

This works the same on a MacBook Air, a MacBook Pro or an iMac: what matters is a recent version of macOS, not the model.

Keep the translation on your Mac

By default, macOS may send what you translate to Apple's servers when you are online. You can make it translate on the Mac itself:

1. Open the Apple menu › System Settings, then General › Language & Region.
2. Click Translation Languages.
3. Click Download next to each language you need.
4. Turn on On-Device Mode and click Done.

Apple notes that offline translations can be less accurate than those processed on its servers. For everyday text the difference is usually small; for a contract or a medical letter, keeping the text on your Mac is usually worth it.

Translate a web page in Safari

When Safari can translate a page, a Translate button appears in the address field: click it and choose a language. Apple says that Siri and Safari always process translations online, even with On-Device Mode turned on. For a page you would rather keep to yourself, select the part you need and translate it with Kalila, below. More on this in how to translate a web page privately.

A faster way: a translator in the menu bar

The built-in panel is fine for a sentence now and then. If you translate every day, Kalila for Mac puts a translator one shortcut away:

• ⌃⌥T in any app. Select text and press Control-Option-T: Kalila opens with the translation. With nothing selected, it opens an empty window for you to type into.
• Translation as you type, with the language detected for you, in large, easy-to-read text.
• Translate and Replace with Kalila in the Services menu puts the translation in place, in most apps.
• A dictionary card for a single word: translations by part of speech, meanings and examples, and spoken pronunciation, with a voice for each language.
• History, phrasebook and flashcards, all kept on your Mac.

Kalila uses Apple's on-device translation and only the languages downloaded to your Mac, so your text is never sent anywhere. It is free, needs no account, and runs on macOS 26.4 or later on a Mac with Apple Silicon.

Version 0.2.3 · macOS 26.4 or later · Apple Silicon

macOS Translate and Kalila side by side

Questions

Is there a keyboard shortcut to translate on a Mac?

macOS has no default shortcut for it: the built-in Translate command lives in the Control-click menu. Kalila adds a shortcut, ⌃⌥T (Control-Option-T), and you can choose another one in its settings. To read the selected text it asks for Accessibility access once, in System Settings › Privacy & Security › Accessibility.

Does translation on a Mac work without the internet?

Yes, once the languages are downloaded in System Settings › General › Language & Region › Translation Languages. Kalila uses the same downloaded languages and works with Wi-Fi off. Translating a page in Safari needs the internet.

Is translating on a Mac private?

With On-Device Mode on, macOS translates selected text on the Mac. Safari's page translation is always processed online by Apple. Kalila never sends your text anywhere: there is no account, no analytics and no server that receives it.

Do I need a translation app on a Mac?

For a sentence now and then, no: the Control-click menu works in any app. If you translate every day, a window you can type into, a shortcut and saved words help. Kalila gives you that window in the menu bar: click its icon, type or paste, and the translation appears straight away.

Which languages can I translate?

Apple's on-device translation, which Kalila for Mac uses, covers 26 languages, including English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Chinese, Japanese and Russian. The free online translator at kalila.app/translate covers 58.

Related

• Translate selected text on a Mac with a keyboard shortcut
• How to translate a PDF on a Mac without uploading it
• A free translator app for Mac that works offline
• Translate offline

A translator in your menu bar, and nothing leaves your Mac

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