A dictionary with translations on your Mac
Select a word in any app and press ⌃⌥T: Kalila shows a dictionary card with its translations by part of speech, meanings and examples in both languages, and the pronunciation. The dictionary covers 32 languages and is stored on your Mac, so a lookup is instant and works offline.
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Look up a word with what's built into macOS
macOS has its own Dictionary app with several bilingual dictionaries you can turn on in Dictionary › Settings. To look a word up from any app, select it, Control-click and choose Look Up “…”, or force click it on a Force Touch trackpad. It is a good dictionary, but it doesn't translate sentences or keep the words you looked up.
Look up and translate in one step
- Select a word, or two words that go together, in any app.
- Press ⌃⌥T. Kalila opens with the dictionary card.
- Click a translation to look it up the other way, or the speaker to hear it.
- Click ☆ to save the word to your phrasebook.
What a card shows
- Translations grouped by part of speech: so the noun, the verb and the adjective each get their own translations.
- Meanings and examples, each definition with a translation into your language under it.
- Word forms: “ran” opens “run”, and the card tells you which form you selected.
- Pronunciation in phonetic symbols, and read aloud by your Mac's own voice for that language.
- Look Up in Dictionary, to open the same word in the macOS Dictionary app.
Version 0.2.3 · macOS 26.4 or later · Apple Silicon
Save words and actually learn them
Every word you star goes into your phrasebook, which you can search, listen to and export to a CSV file. Flashcards bring the words back when you are about to forget them: the next day, in three days, in a week, then at longer intervals. Press Space to turn a card, then mark whether you knew it.
The phrasebook and the cards are stored on your Mac. There is no account to sync them to and nothing to sign up for.
Questions
Is there a bilingual dictionary on Mac?
Yes, the Dictionary app includes several, which you turn on in its settings. Kalila adds translations by part of speech, examples translated into your language, and saved words, for 32 languages.
Which languages have dictionary cards?
32 languages, including English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Hindi, Arabic, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Italian, Polish, Russian and Ukrainian. Each pack is about 1 to 9 MB and downloads by itself the first time you need it.
Does the dictionary work offline?
Yes. The packs are stored on your Mac, so cards open instantly, with or without the internet.
Can I hear how a word is pronounced?
Yes. Kalila reads words and sentences with the voices installed on your Mac, each language with its own voice. More voices can be added in System Settings › Accessibility › Spoken Content.
Can I export my saved words?
Yes, the phrasebook exports to CSV, which opens in Numbers or any spreadsheet and imports into most flashcard apps.
Related
- A free translator app for Mac that works offline
- Translate selected text with a keyboard shortcut
- How to translate on a Mac