Translumo

Sibling Project

This project has a sibling called Lookupper — a screen dictionary for language learning. It is similar to Translumo but built for a different purpose. Lookupper is built to help you learn a language, not just depend on a translator forever.

Lookupper is commercial project with a free version. If you find it useful and decide to grab the Pro version, you'll also be supporting the development of both Lookupper and Translumo.

Download Translumo

Direct download link to the latest version:
Translumo_1.1.0.zip
After downloading, unzip the archive and run Translumo.exe.

Version 1.1.0 moves DeepL and Yandex onto their official APIs, so both now need an API key. Google Translate still works with no setup. The full list of changes is on the Releases page.

Main Features

• High text recognition precision
  Translumo allows combining multiple OCR engines simultaneously. It uses a machine learning model to score each OCR result and selects the best one.

• Game oriented
  Designed for real-time translation in PC games, but works anywhere on the screen with any application.

• Low latency
  Several optimizations reduce system impact and minimize latency between text appearance and translation.

• Integrated modern OCR engines: Windows OCR (recommended), EasyOCR

• Available translators: Google Translate (works out of the box), DeepL (needs a free API key), Yandex Translate (needs a Yandex Cloud API key).

• Supported recognition languages: English, Russian, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), Korean.

• Supported translation languages: English, Russian, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), Korean, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Italian, Vietnamese, Thai, Turkish, Arabic, Greek, Brazilian Portuguese, Polish, Belarusian, Persian, Indonesian, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Estonian, Finnish, Hungarian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Dutch, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Swedish, Ukrainian.

System Requirements

Minimal requirements to use Windows OCR

• Windows 10 version 2004 (build 19041) or later, or Windows 11
• DirectX 11 compatible GPU
• 2 GB RAM

Minimal requirements to use EasyOCR

• NVIDIA GPU with CUDA SDK 11.8 support (GTX 750, 8xxM, 9xx series or newer)
• 8 GB RAM
• At least 5 GB of free storage space

How to Use

1. Open the Settings (Alt+G)
2. Select languages: source language for OCR and translation language
3. Select text recognition engines (see Usage Tips for recommended modes)
4. Define the capture area: press Alt+Q and select an area on the screen
5. Run translation (press ~)

Which OCR Engine to Use

WindowsOCR is fast, and for most text it is all you need.

EasyOCR is worth turning on when the text uses an unusual font or sits on a busy background — it copes with that noticeably better. In exchange it is slower and needs an Nvidia GPU.

Select Minimum Capture Area

Reducing the capture area decreases the chance of picking up random letters from the background. Larger frames take longer to process.

Set Up the DeepL API Key

DeepL works through its official API, so it needs a key. Create one for free at deepl.com/pro-api — the free plan covers 500,000 characters per month — then paste it into Languages -> DeepL API key. The field only appears when DeepL is selected as the translator. Both free and paid keys work; Translumo picks the right endpoint automatically.

Set Up the Yandex API Key

Yandex Translate also works through its official API. Create an API key in the Yandex Cloud console for a service account with the ai.translate.user role, then paste it into Languages -> Yandex API key. The field only appears when Yandex is selected as the translator.

Use Borderless or Windowed Modes in Games (Not Fullscreen)

These modes are required for correct translation overlay display. If your game does not support them, use tools like Borderless Gaming.

FAQ

Q: I get "Failed to capture screen" or nothing happens after translation starts
A: Ensure the target window is active. Restart Translumo or reopen the target window if needed.

Q: Borderless/windowed mode is set, but the translation window is under the game
A: With the game running and focused, press the hotkey (Alt+T by default) to hide and show the translation window.

Q: EasyOCR package download failed
A: Try reinstalling while connected to a VPN.

Q: DeepL does not translate
A: Check the API key in Languages -> DeepL API key. "The API key was rejected" means the key is wrong or expired; "translation quota exceeded" means the monthly character limit for that key is used up.

Q: Yandex does not translate
A: Check the API key in Languages -> Yandex API key. "The API key was rejected" means the key is wrong; "no access to the translate service" means the service account is missing the ai.translate.user role.

Q: Hotkeys don't work
A: Other applications may be intercepting hotkeys.

Build

Visual Studio 2022 and .NET 8 SDK are required.

1. Clone the repository (the master branch always corresponds to the latest release):

   git clone https://github.com/ramjke/Translumo.git
   

Note: During the build, binaries_extract.bat will automatically download and extract models and Python binaries (~400 MB) to the target output directory.

Credits

• Material Design In XAML Toolkit
• OpenCvSharp
• Python.NET
• EasyOCR
• Silero TTS

Alternative Solutions

• Lookupper — on-screen dictionary and translator for language learning.
• ScreTran — simple screen translator.
• ScreenTranslator - screen capture, OCR and translation tool.