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Language Settings

Configure transcription languages, multi-language support, and translation output.

Speaking Language

Typeoff supports 60+ languages for speech recognition in cloud mode. You can configure which languages you speak so the engine optimizes recognition accuracy.

Go to Settings → Recognition → Speaking Language.

Auto Detection

By default, Typeoff uses automatic language detection — it identifies the language you're speaking and transcribes accordingly. This works well for most users.

Manual Selection

For better accuracy, you can manually select one or more languages you typically speak:

  1. Open Settings → Recognition
  2. Click Speaking Language
  3. Select the languages you use

Selecting specific languages helps the engine narrow down recognition and improves accuracy, especially for languages with similar phonetics.

Supported Languages

Cloud mode supports 60+ languages including:

  • East Asian: Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Japanese, Korean, Cantonese
  • European: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Polish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish
  • South/Southeast Asian: Hindi, Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Malay, Tagalog
  • Middle Eastern: Arabic, Turkish, Hebrew, Persian
  • And many more

Target Language (Translation)

Typeoff can translate your speech into a different language as part of the transcription process.

Go to Settings → Recognition → Target Language.

SettingBehavior
Auto (default)No translation — text stays in the language you spoke
Specific languageTranslates the transcription to the selected language

For example, you can speak in Japanese and have the output automatically translated to English.

Translation Shortcut

Instead of translating every recording, you can use a dedicated translation shortcut to translate on demand — only when you need it.

PlatformDefault Shortcut
macOSCmd+J
WindowsAlt+J

How It Works

  1. Set your Target Language to the language you want to translate into (e.g., English)
  2. When you want to translate, press the translation shortcut instead of the regular recording trigger
  3. Speak normally — the recording indicator will show "Translating to [Language]"
  4. Release the key (or press again in tap-to-toggle mode) to finish
  5. Your speech is transcribed and translated to the target language, then inserted at your cursor

When you use the regular recording trigger (Fn / Right Ctrl), your speech is transcribed without translation as usual.

Customizing the Shortcut

  1. Open Settings → Recording
  2. Click Translation Shortcut
  3. Press the key or combination you want to use

The translation shortcut supports the same key types as the recording shortcut — single keys, combinations, function keys, and mouse buttons. See Trigger Key Settings for details.

The translation shortcut only works in cloud mode. In local offline mode, the translation shortcut is ignored.

Local Mode Language Limitations

When using local offline mode, only the following languages are available:

  • Chinese (Simplified)
  • English
  • Japanese
  • Korean
  • Cantonese

If you need other languages, use cloud mode. See Local Offline Mode for details.

Tips

  • If you frequently switch between languages, keep the setting on Auto
  • If you primarily speak one language, selecting it manually gives the best results
  • Translation adds a small amount of processing time but works seamlessly with both cloud and local modes

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