Type in your language. Send in theirs. Instantly.
The world's simplest input-focused translation tool — one action, no window switching, no workflow interruption.
ClipTrans introduces a new category: input-focused translation for real-time communication. It is not designed for reading translations, but for sending messages instantly.
Why ClipTrans? | Key Features | Quick Start | AI Tutor Mode | Settings
Most translation apps are designed for reading translated text.
ClipTrans is designed for something different:
Sending messages to people who speak another language - without changing how you type.
Whether you are chatting on Slack, Discord, Teams, in online games, or on social platforms, ClipTrans turns translation into an input operation, not an output destination.
| Traditional Translation Apps | ClipTrans |
|---|---|
| Read translated text | Type in your native language |
| Copy & paste manually | Press a hotkey |
| Switch windows | Paste and send immediately |
| Break conversation flow | Stay in the conversation |
Translation is not the goal. Communication is.
ClipTrans is optimized for situations where speed matters:
- Chatting with overseas teammates
- Responding to international customers
- Talking with players in global game servers
- Participating in foreign-language communities
The translated text is automatically placed in your clipboard, ready to paste and send instantly. Translation completes in ~2 seconds on average.
- No extra windows.
- No thinking in a foreign language.
- No disruption to your workflow.
ClipTrans supports multilingual input and UI localization, enabling conversations across regions.
| Language | Code |
|---|---|
| English | EN |
| Japanese (日本語) | JA |
| Chinese (中文) | ZH |
| Korean (한국어) | KO |
| Spanish (Espanol) | ES |
| French (Francais) | FR |
| German (Deutsch) | DE |
| Portuguese (Portugues) | PT-BR |
| Russian (Русский) | RU |
You can type in any supported language and communicate instantly with users of another.
- One hotkey to translate your input text (default:
Ctrl+Alt+Don Windows,Cmd+Option+Don macOS) - Translation optimized for sending, not reading
- Clipboard is automatically replaced with translated text
- Paste and send immediately in any app
- Works system-wide with global hotkeys
- No need to switch windows
- Visual confirmation near the cursor when translation completes
- Smart caching - Previously translated text is retrieved instantly without API calls
- Context-aware word explanations powered by Claude AI
- Etymology, prefixes, suffixes, synonyms, and antonyms
- Designed to improve future input quality
- One-touch pronunciation check with native speakers
- Perfect for language learning and listening practice
- Personalized learning assistant
- Remembers your past translations
- Uses BM25 + recency weighting to recall relevant history
- Helps you communicate better over time, not just translate
ClipTrans is fast — but speed alone is not the goal.
In everyday use, ClipTrans acts as a personal tutor and dictionary:
- Learn words and expressions in context
- Understand meanings, usage, and structure
- Check pronunciation instantly with text-to-speech
- Build long-term language intuition while working
Because AI is built into the system, ClipTrans adapts beyond fixed dictionaries:
- Professional and technical domains
- Emerging industries
- New terminology and evolving language use
- Multiple language pairs without redesign
And when it matters most, ClipTrans becomes something else entirely:
An input-focused translation tool that is simply fast.
Type, translate, paste, send — without friction.
Learning when you have time. Instant communication when you do not.
That balance is what defines ClipTrans.
ClipTrans treats translation as an invisible infrastructure, not a destination.
You should not need to:
- Think about grammar while chatting
- Switch tools mid-conversation
- Copy text back and forth
Translation should disappear into the workflow — that is the core design principle of ClipTrans.
- Python 3.8 or higher
- DeepL API key (Get your free API key here)
- Claude API key (Get your API key here) - optional, for AI Tutor mode
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/unhaya/ClipboardTranslator.git
cd ClipboardTranslator
# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt
# Run
python main.py- Open settings after launching the app
- Enter your DeepL API key
- (Optional) Enter your Claude API key
- Save settings and you're done!
Windows:
| Function | Hotkey | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Translate | Ctrl+Alt+D |
Translate clipboard text |
| Dictionary | Ctrl+Alt+J |
Show detailed word explanation |
| Speech | Ctrl+Alt+T |
Read text aloud |
| Font Size | Ctrl+Wheel |
Adjust text size in the window |
macOS:
| Function | Hotkey | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Translate | Cmd+Option+D |
Translate clipboard text |
| Dictionary | Cmd+Option+J |
Show detailed word explanation |
| Speech | Cmd+Option+T |
Read text aloud |
| Font Size | Cmd+Wheel |
Adjust text size in the window |
Windows:
1. Type your message in your native language
2. Select the text and press Ctrl+C
3. Press Ctrl+Alt+D to translate!
-> Translation is automatically copied to clipboard
4. Press Ctrl+V to paste and send!
macOS:
1. Type your message in your native language
2. Select the text and press Cmd+C
3. Press Cmd+Option+D to translate!
-> Translation is automatically copied to clipboard
4. Press Cmd+V to paste and send!
The key advantage: Your clipboard now contains the translated text, not the original. You can immediately paste it into any application - chat, documents, emails - without any extra steps.
Looking up "alleviate":
[Meaning]
To reduce or relieve (pain, problems, etc.)
[Etymology Breakdown]
al- (intensifier) + levi- (light) + -ate (verb suffix)
-> "to make lighter" = to alleviate
[Synonyms]
relieve, ease, mitigate
[Antonyms]
aggravate, worsen
AI Tutor mode is not just an AI chatbot. It's a dedicated tutor that remembers your learning history and provides guidance based on what you've learned before.
- Learning History Utilization: Remembers words you've translated and looked up
- Personalization: Provides advice based on your weak points
- High-Precision Search: Auto-detects related history using BM25 + morphological analysis
- Temporal Weighting: Prioritizes recently learned content
AI Tutor uses a two-layer memory system:
| Layer | Purpose | Storage |
|---|---|---|
| Conversation History | Recent chat context | In-memory (configurable) |
| Translation Database | All past lookups | SQLite (permanent) |
BM25 Search Algorithm:
- When you ask a question, the tutor searches your entire translation history using BM25
- BM25 ranks results by relevance (word frequency, document frequency, text length)
- Recent entries are weighted higher (exponential decay over 30 days)
- Japanese text is analyzed with morphological analysis (Janome) for accurate matching
This means even if your conversation history is short, the tutor can recall any word you've ever looked up.
You: "Do you remember 'alleviate' that I looked up before?"
AI Tutor: "Of course I remember! That's the word you looked up on 12/27.
al- (intensifier) + levi- (light) + -ate (verb suffix) = 'to alleviate', right?
It's effective to memorize it together with the synonym 'relieve'!"
| Model | Characteristics | Recommended For |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Sonnet 4.5 | Balanced | Daily use |
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | Fast, Low cost | Quick queries |
| Claude Opus 4.5 | Highest performance | Deep learning |
| Category | Item | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Translation | DeepL Enable/Disable | Use DeepL API |
| Translation | Character Limit | Max characters for translation |
| API | DeepL API Key | DeepL authentication key |
| API | Claude API Key | Claude AI authentication key |
| Speech | Speech Enable/Disable | Use TTS feature |
| Speech | Volume | Playback volume (0.0-1.0) |
| Tutor | Model Selection | Claude model to use |
| Tutor | History Retention | Number of conversation history to reference |
| Shortcuts | Hotkeys for each function | Customizable |
- Windows:
%APPDATA%\ClipboardTranslator\config.ini
ClipTrans/
├── main.py # Entry point
├── config/ # Configuration management
├── core/ # Core features
│ ├── translation.py # DeepL/Claude translation
│ ├── dictionary.py # Dictionary feature
│ ├── text_to_speech.py # Text-to-speech
│ ├── history.py # History management
│ └── tutor/ # AI Tutor mode
│ ├── chat_handler.py # Chat processing
│ └── search.py # BM25 search
├── ui/ # User interface
│ ├── main_window.py # Main window
│ ├── settings_dialog.py # Settings screen
│ └── history_dialog.py # History screen
└── data/ # Data storage
└── dictionary.db # SQLite database
- GUI: tkinter
- Translation API: DeepL API
- AI: Claude API (Anthropic)
- Text-to-Speech: pygame + gTTS
- Database: SQLite
- Search: BM25 algorithm + morphological analysis
- Python 3.8 or higher
- Internet connection
requests
pynput
pyperclip
pygame
googletrans==4.0.0-rc1
janome # Improves morphological analysis accuracy
Bug reports and feature requests are welcome on Issues.
Copyright (c) 2025 unhaya. All rights reserved.
This software is open source but copyright is not waived.
| Usage | Permission |
|---|---|
| Personal use | Allowed freely |
| Educational use | Allowed freely |
| Modification/Fork | Allowed (maintain copyright notice) |
| Commercial use | Contact required |
For commercial use, please contact us via Issues.
If this project helped you, please give it a Star!
Made with love for language learners