How to translate a PDF on a Mac without uploading it
Open the PDF in Preview, select the text you need and translate it right there: with the built-in Translate command, or with ⌃⌥T in Kalila. The file is never uploaded anywhere, which matters for contracts, bank statements, medical reports and anything else you wouldn't hand to a stranger.
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Why not upload the PDF to a website?
Online PDF translators work by receiving your whole file: it travels to the service's servers, is read and translated there, and you download the result. That is convenient, but the document has now been copied to a computer you don't control, under a privacy policy you probably haven't read. For a menu or a manual, that's fine. For a lease, a diagnosis or a letter from a court, translating on your own Mac is the safer habit.
Translate a PDF in Preview with what's built into macOS
- Open the PDF in Preview (double-click it, or Control-click › Open With › Preview).
- Select the text you need: drag across a paragraph or a whole page.
- Control-click the selection and choose Translate “…”.
- Copy the translation from the panel and paste it into a note or a document.
To be sure the text is translated on the Mac and not sent to Apple, download the languages and turn on On-Device Mode in System Settings › General › Language & Region › Translation Languages.
Faster with Kalila: select and press ⌃⌥T
- Select the text in Preview, or in any other PDF reader.
- Press ⌃⌥T. Kalila opens in the menu bar with the translation.
- Need the next paragraph? Select it and press ⌃⌥T again. Kalila keeps recent translations in its history on your Mac, so you can find them later.
For a single unfamiliar term, Kalila shows a dictionary card with its meanings and examples — handy when a single term holds up the sentence. Kalila translates with Apple's on-device engine: the PDF and the text you select stay on your computer, even when you are online.
Version 0.2.3 · macOS 26.4 or later · Apple Silicon
No Mac app? Paste the text into your browser
Copy the text out of the PDF and paste it into kalila.app/translate. The translation runs inside the browser tab: the text is not sent to any server, and the page lists every request it makes so you can check. Each language downloads once (about 40 MB for a pair with English) and then works offline in that tab.
What to expect
| Translating on your Mac | Uploading to a PDF site | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the file goes | Nowhere | To the service's servers |
| Layout of the original | Not kept: you get the text | Often kept |
| Scanned pages | Only if the text can be selected | Often recognized |
| Works offline | Yes, once the languages are downloaded | No |
If you need a translated copy that looks like the original, an upload service does that and Kalila doesn't. If you need to understand or quote what the document says without giving it away, translate it on your Mac.
Questions
Can Kalila open a PDF file?
No. Kalila translates text, not files: select the text in Preview or another PDF reader and press ⌃⌥T, or paste it into the Kalila window.
Why can't I select the text in my PDF?
The PDF is probably a scan without a text layer. macOS Live Text can often pick out text in images: try selecting it in Preview, then press ⌃⌥T. If that doesn't work, ask for the original file instead of a scan.
How do I translate a long PDF?
Section by section: select a page or a few paragraphs, translate, then move on. Kalila keeps recent translations in its history, so you can go back to earlier pieces.
Is it safe to translate a confidential PDF this way?
Translating with Kalila, or with On-Device Mode turned on, means no one else receives the document. Kalila has no account, no analytics and no server that sees your text; it uses the internet only to download languages and updates.
Which languages work?
Kalila for Mac uses Apple's on-device translation: 26 languages, including English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Chinese, Japanese and Russian. The online translator covers 58.
Related
- Is online translation safe for confidential documents?
- Machine translation for lawyers: keep client documents confidential
- Translate selected text on a Mac with a keyboard shortcut