Tipword
A screen translator reads text straight off your screen, so it works where you can’t select or copy anything: a game, a photo, a scanned PDF, a video, a shared screen in a call. On a Mac there are two kinds. Here’s how they differ, and where Tipword fits.
Two kinds of screen translator
Most screen translators for Mac work like a screenshot. You press a shortcut, drag a box around some text, and read a translation of everything inside the box in a panel. ScreenTranslate, TranslateWindow and Translo work this way. They’re good when a whole menu or page of dialogue is in a language you can’t read.
Tipword works on one word at a time. Hold ⌥ Option and point at a word. That word’s meaning appears right beside it, with the meaning of the whole sentence underneath, idioms included. Let go and it’s gone. There’s no box to drag and no panel to close.
| Feature | Drag a box | Point at a word (Tipword) |
|---|---|---|
| How you start | A shortcut, then drag over the text | Hold ⌥ and point |
| What you get | A translation of everything in the box | The word’s meaning, plus its sentence |
| Where it shows | A separate panel or overlay | Right beside the word |
| Best for | A screen full of text you can’t read | Reading on, with the odd word you don’t know |
If you can’t read the language at all, a box translator is the better fit. If you can mostly follow along and only get stuck on some words, pointing is faster, because your eyes never leave the line you’re reading.
Text you can’t select
This is what a screen translator is for. Tipword reads the word under your pointer in:
- Photos and screenshots: a sign, a menu, a meme someone sent you.
- Scanned PDFs, and slides in a shared screen.
- Subtitles in your browser and most video players.
- Games and apps that draw their own text.
- Websites where the words are part of an image.
When text can be selected, Tipword reads it directly through macOS Accessibility, which is quick and exact. For everything else, turn on Screen Recording and Tipword reads the word with Apple’s text recognition, on your Mac. More on that in translating text in a screenshot or photo.
On your Mac, not in the cloud
Reading the word happens on your Mac with Apple’s Vision framework. On macOS 15 or later, 20 languages are also translated on your Mac by Apple’s Translation framework, so nothing you point at leaves it. That makes Tipword an offline translator for Mac too.
For 34 more languages, you can add your own Google Cloud key. Then only the word you point at goes to Google, and Google’s first 500,000 characters a month are free.
How to set it up
- Download Tipword and drag it to Applications. It lives in your menu bar.
- Allow Accessibility when it asks, so it can read the word under your pointer.
- Turn on Screen Recording too if you want words in images, videos and scans.
- Pick your language, then hold ⌥ Option and point at any word.
Prefer another key? In Settings, “Translate when” lets you hold ⌘ Command, ⌃ Control or ⇧ Shift instead, or translate whenever you point, with no key at all.
Permissions, explained
- Accessibility lets Tipword read selectable text under the pointer and show its tooltip.
- Screen Recording lets Tipword read words in images, videos and scans. It’s optional; without it, those words are skipped.
- Nothing Tipword reads is saved, except the translations it keeps so the same word shows instantly next time. There’s no account and no analytics in the app.
Where it won’t work
- Apple’s TV app and QuickTime Player. They play protected video, so Tipword leaves them alone.
- Very small or heavily styled text can be misread. Zoom in and point again.
- A whole page at once. For that, use a box translator or Safari’s page translation.
Free ways to translate your screen
macOS can already translate some text on screen for free. In Preview and Photos, Live Text lets you select words in an image; Control-click them and choose Translate. In Safari, you can translate a whole web page from the address bar. Both are fine for the occasional word.
Tipword is for when you read in another language every day and don’t want to select, click and close a window each time. See Tipword vs the built-in macOS Translate for a side-by-side.
Questions
Is there a free screen translator for Mac?
Yes, partly. Live Text in Preview and Photos lets you select text in an image and choose Translate. Tipword costs $12 once and saves the selecting and clicking; you have 14 days to get a full refund.
Does it translate in real time?
It reads the word the moment you point at it, so you can keep reading or watching. It doesn’t translate moving text continuously; pause a video first.
Does it need the internet?
Not for the 20 languages Apple translates on your Mac, on macOS 15 or later. The other 34 use your Google key and need a connection.
Which Macs does it run on?
macOS 14 or later. Translating on your Mac, without the internet, needs macOS 15.