Translate what you select,
right where it is.
Select text in another app and press ⌥⇧T, or drag it onto the drop area, and the translation appears in a small window. For text you can't select, hold F1 and draw a box around it. Translation runs on your Mac with Apple's built-in translation, so you need no API key and no account.
The menus and settings are in Japanese. The download page and user guide are also in Japanese; the steps are short and described below.
- Version 0.3.1
- 5.4 MB
- Notarized by Apple
- macOS 15 or later
- Apple silicon (M1 or later)
Hi team,
Could you review the draft by Friday and let me know if anything needs to change? Thanks a lot.
› 原文英語 → 日本語
翻訳が完了しました
Select text and press ⌥⇧T. That's all it takes.
What to check before you download
Seven points: whether it runs on your Mac, what it connects to, and where data is kept.
It needs macOS 15 or later, so check your version first.
- Cost
- FreeNo account and no translation API key needed
- Requirements
- macOS 15 or later, Apple silicon (M1 or later)Not for macOS 14 or earlier, or Intel Macs
- App interface
- JapaneseLanguages you can translate are those supported by Apple's translation
- Permissions
- Accessibility, Screen RecordingAccessibility is used to read the text you select in other apps and to replace it with the translation. Screen Recording is needed only for "translate a screen area", to read the text inside the box you draw
- Network
- Official site onlyChecks k386.sub.jp for a new version once a day and installs it (can be turned off). Your text is never sent. macOS downloads language data from Apple the first time you use a language
- Where data is kept
- Only on this MacOnly settings (language pair, drop area, capture key, update settings, etc.) are saved. No translated text, history or screen images.
~/Library/Preferences/local.honyaku.desktop.plist - Latest version
- 0.3.1 (September 29, 2026)Release notes (Japanese)
Features
A small app that lives in the menu bar. It has no Dock icon and opens a window only when you translate. The window hides with Esc or ×, and new versions are swapped in automatically while you aren't translating.
Translate the selection with ⌥⇧T
Select text in another app and press Option + Shift + T. You can also use "Translate selected text" in the menu bar menu.
Just drag and drop
Drag selected text and a "Drop here to translate" area appears nearby. Drop the text on it to see the translation. The area can appear above, below, left, right or centered.
Box an area of the screen
Hold F1, draw a box with the mouse and release. Honyaku reads the text inside and translates it — handy for images, video subtitles and button labels you can't select. Press F2 while drawing to read small text magnified.
Two languages, both directions
Set a pair such as Japanese ⇄ English. Honyaku detects which of the two the source is in and translates into the other. If the direction is wrong, one click on the reverse button translates it the other way.
Copy or replace
Copy puts the translation on the clipboard — or just the part you selected in it. Replace swaps the original selection for the translation. The clipboard is used only when you press Copy.
Translates on your Mac
It uses Apple's translation and text recognition built into macOS. Once the language data is downloaded, you can translate without an internet connection.
What it can't do
When you use Replace in an important document, check the text after it is replaced. Text read from the screen may contain recognition errors; open 原文 (Source) in the translation window to check it.
- macOS 14 or earlier and Intel Macs are not supported.
- Some apps don't expose the selected text (some browsers, PDF viewers and custom editors). Dragging the text onto the drop area may still work.
- Replace works only in editable text fields. Read-only text such as web pages can be translated and copied. Whether formatting and Undo are kept depends on the app.
- There is no field to type text into the translation window, and whole PDF or image files can't be translated (you can box the part shown on screen).
- Screen-area translation works best with horizontal text. Multi-column layouts, vertical text and very small text may be misread. The box must stay on the display where the pointer was when you started, and a translation read from the screen can't be used with Replace (Copy works).
- If F1 changes the screen brightness on your keyboard, turn on "Use F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys" in keyboard settings. Honyaku never changes macOS settings.
- The shortcut for selected text is fixed to ⌥⇧T (the screen-area key can be F1–F8). It won't work if another app uses the same keys.
- No translation history, and no built-in "open at login" setting (you can add it to Login Items in macOS yourself).
- Translation quality and supported languages depend on Apple's translation.
Getting started
-
Download and move to Applications
Open the DMG and drag "Honyaku" to "Applications".
-
Allow Accessibility
When you open the app, a speech-bubble icon appears in the menu bar. Choose 設定… (Settings) → アクセス許可をリクエスト (Request access) and turn Honyaku on. To translate screen areas, also press 画面収録の許可をリクエスト (Request Screen Recording) in the same window.
-
Press ⌥⇧T, or box an area with F1
Select text in another app and press ⌥⇧T to see the translation. For text you can't select, hold F1 and draw a box around it. For a new language, macOS may ask to download its language data.
Network and data
The only connections Honyaku makes are update checks and update downloads from the official site, k386.sub.jp (0.2.0 or later). It never sends your text, translations, screen images, usage statistics or error reports. The app handles only these six kinds of data.
KotohaTranslating and reading the screen both happen on your Mac. Nothing is sent anywhere.
| Data | Used for | Saved? | Sent out? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Selected text | Translating it. To place the drop area near the selection, it also checks the selection's position when you release the mouse button | No (kept in memory only while shown in the translation window) | No. macOS's translation runs on your Mac |
| Screen image (the box you draw) | Reading the text inside the box for "translate a screen area". Captured once, when you release the mouse | No. Discarded as soon as the text is read. The recognized text is handled like selected text | No. Text recognition runs on your Mac using macOS |
| Translated text | Showing, copying and replacing | No. Put on the clipboard only when you press Copy | No |
| Settings | Language pair, drop area on/off and position, whether the source opens expanded, the capture key, whether to move the pointer to Copy | In the app's settings on this Mac | No |
| Update check | Finding a new version and installing it automatically | Only the last check time and whether to check and install automatically, on this Mac | Only fetches version info and the installer from the official site (k386.sub.jp). No settings or text are sent |
| Translation language data | Translating | Managed by macOS (System Settings → General → Language & Region → Translation Languages) | macOS downloads it from Apple the first time you use a language |
- The Accessibility permission is used only to read the selected text and its position, and to rewrite it when you press Replace. Honyaku doesn't record keystrokes.
- The Screen Recording permission is used only to capture the box you draw, once, when you confirm it. Honyaku doesn't record the screen or capture anything outside that box. If you don't use this feature, you can skip this permission.
- To show the drop area, it receives mouse button presses and releases and the text being dragged. None of this is saved.
- Automatic checking and automatic installing can each be turned off in the アップデート (Update) section of Settings. With checking off, it connects only when you press 今すぐ確認 (Check now).
FAQ
Why is it free?
I made it for my own work and want other Mac users to use it too. There are no ads and no paid version. It uses Apple's translation built into macOS, so there are no translation service fees either.
Which languages can it translate?
The languages supported by Apple's translation (Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean, French, German, Spanish and more). Available languages appear in the language lists in the app. For a new language, macOS asks to download its data.
Does it work offline?
Yes, once the data for the languages you use has been downloaded. You can check it in System Settings → General → Language & Region → Translation Languages.
Nothing happens when I press ⌥⇧T.
Check that the Honyaku icon is in the menu bar, and that Accessibility shows 許可済み (Allowed) in Settings. If another app uses ⌥⇧T, the shortcut won't reach Honyaku.
Can it translate text in images or videos?
Yes, if it's on screen. Hold F1, draw a box around the text and release (or choose 画面の範囲を翻訳 in the menu bar). The first time, allow Screen Recording from the 画面を囲んで翻訳 section in Settings. If F1 changes the brightness, turn on "Use F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys" in keyboard settings or hold fn, or pick another key from F1–F8 in Settings.
Can I use it on an Intel Mac or macOS 14?
No. It needs an Apple silicon (M1 or later) Mac and macOS 15 or later.
How do I update?
From 0.2.0, the app checks for a new version once a day and, when it finds one, swaps it in and relaunches. Before replacing itself it verifies the file's SHA-256, the Developer ID signature and Apple notarization, and changes nothing if any check fails. To check right away, choose アップデートを確認… (Check for Updates…) in the menu bar. Version 0.1.0 has no updater, so replace it once by hand with the DMG from the download page. New versions are also announced on Updates (also via RSS).
How do I uninstall it?
Choose 終了 (Quit) from the menu bar icon and delete "Honyaku" from Applications. If you don't need the settings, also delete ~/Library/Preferences/local.honyaku.desktop.plist, and remove Honyaku from System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility (and Screen & System Audio Recording, if you allowed it).
Download Honyaku
Version 0.3.1, released September 29, 2026. The download page (in Japanese) lists the SHA-256 checksum and how to verify the file.
Trademarks
- Apple, Mac, macOS and Apple silicon are trademarks or registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the United States and other countries and regions.
- Intel is a trademark of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries.
- Other company, product and service names on this site are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. ™ and ® are omitted in the text.
- K386 and Honyaku are not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the companies and organizations above.