How to translate WhatsApp messages

WhatsApp translates some messages itself in a handful of languages. Mate covers 200+ and works on every platform WhatsApp runs on.

iPhone and iPad

Fastest, iOS 18.4 and later: press and hold a message, tap Select or select the text, then tap Translate. With Mate as the default translator, Mate opens with the translation.

Any iOS version: press and hold the message, tap Copy, then press and hold Mate's icon on the Home Screen and tap Paste and Translate.

To reply, write in Mate and copy the translation into WhatsApp. On iOS 18.4+, type in WhatsApp, select the text, tap Translate, and choose Replace selected text.

Mac

In the WhatsApp app, select the message text, right-click and choose Services › Translate with Mate Translate. If the Services item isn't there, copy the message and press Option+Shift+T with Auto-translate clipboard enabled in Mate's Settings › General. See Translate selected text in any Mac app.

WhatsApp Web

In Chrome, Firefox, Edge or Opera with the Mate extension, select the message text and click the floating Mate button, or press Shift+T. In Safari on Mac, the same floating button comes from the Mac app's Safari extension.

Voice messages

Mate translates text, not audio. WhatsApp's own transcription (press and hold a voice message › Transcribe) turns it into text you can then select and translate.

Tone

WhatsApp chats are informal. Set Mate's tone to Informal so replies come out with "tu" and "du" rather than "vous" and "Sie". See Formal or informal: setting the tone.