Watashi
Your Japan
travel companion
Translate, read menus, talk and learn. All offline.
No account creation required
No data collection
Works offline
Coming soon to the App Store
Live conversation, both ways
Say it. They tap a reply.
Type or tap the mic, and the Japanese appears with its romaji and is spoken. Show card turns any line into a large card for the counter. Flip it, and the other person taps their answer; it joins your conversation in English.
- Hold the mic for Live: each of you is spoken in the other's language
- Price: pass the phone back and forth to agree an amount, in yen, in Japanese and in your currency
- The whole conversation stays on screen in both languages
Menus, explained
Your allergens flagged.
Point the camera at a Japanese menu. Watashi lists the dishes it knows (about 430) in English with a one-line description and marks the allergens on your card; a dish it does not know is marked as not in its list. Share the list with the people you are eating with.
It says what a dish usually contains, not what this kitchen puts in it, so ask the staff before you order.
Your allergies in Japanese
One tap to show. Read aloud.
Pick your allergies, diet and medical needs once. One tap shows them in large Japanese, black on white, to hand across a counter, and Read aloud speaks it for you.
The card carries what you tell it; talk to the staff before you order.
Phrases for every place
Station to pharmacy, the phone says it.
Ten places, from the station, a taxi and the konbini to the hotel desk, a temple and the pharmacy. Tap a phrase and the phone says it in Japanese; the answers you are likely to hear are on the same screen, so the other person can point.
Common sentences come from a phrasebook of about 1,100 lines and are instant.
Learn as you go
Practise what you said.
Learn turns what you translated and the phrases you need into cards, one at a time. Read the Japanese, say it, turn it over, and pick it up again tomorrow.
How it works
Type or speak
Type in English, or tap the mic and talk. Common sentences come from the phrasebook at once; the rest runs on the translator in the app.
Show it
The Japanese appears with its romaji and is spoken. Tap Show card for a large card to hand across the counter.
Get the answer
They tap a reply on the card, or speak when you tap the reply orb. You read it in English.
Free to start. A pass for the trip.
Weekly pass
US$4.99
15-day pass
US$7.99
30-day pass
US$12.99
A pass never renews: you pay once, and nothing charges you after your trip. It starts on your first translation after you buy, not on the day you buy, so buy at home and use it when you land.
Coming soon to the App Store
Requirements. iPhone 14 or later (also 12 Pro and 13 Pro) on iOS 17 or later. Runs on iPad as an iPhone app. Older iPhones get the phrasebook. Every model
Questions about Watashi
- Does Watashi work without internet?
- Yes. Watashi uses an AI translation model and a phrasebook, all on your iPhone, with speech recognition and the voices, from the first launch. It works in Airplane Mode, in a station basement or on a mountain. It connects only for Sync with iCloud, to your own iCloud, and for buying a pass through the App Store.
- Do I need a translator app in Japan?
- You can get by with a few phrases in many places. A translator helps where a phrase is not enough: telling staff about an allergy, reading a menu, asking which platform, agreeing a price. Watashi has a phrase ready for most of those and translates the rest.
- Which iPhones does Watashi work on?
- The translator needs about 6 GB of memory: an iPhone 14 or later, or an iPhone 12 Pro or 13 Pro, on iOS 17 or later. Older iPhones install it and get the phrasebook, the places, the Allergy card, Price, Learn and History. It runs on iPad as an iPhone app. Every model
- How do I tell restaurant staff about my food allergy in Japanese?
- Pick your allergies, diet and medical needs once in the Allergy card. One tap shows them in large Japanese to hand across the counter, and Read aloud speaks it. The card carries what you tell it; talk to the staff before you order.
- Can Watashi read a Japanese menu?
- Point the camera at the menu. Watashi lists the dishes it knows (about 430) in English with a one-line description and marks the allergens on your card; a dish it does not know is marked as not in its list. It tells you what a dish usually contains, not what this kitchen puts in it, so ask the staff.
- Can the other person answer me?
- Yes. Hand them the Show card and tap Flip: they tap one of the likely answers in Japanese, and it joins your conversation in English. Or tap the reply orb and let them speak. Hold the mic for Live, and each side is spoken in the other's language.
- Does Watashi show romaji?
- Yes. Every Japanese line shows its romaji underneath, so you can read it aloud yourself. You can turn it off in Settings.
- What does Watashi cost?
- It is free to download. The places, the Allergy card, Price, Learn and the phrasebook are free, with 3 free translations a day for anything else. For more, pick a 7-day, 15-day or 30-day pass. A pass never renews. Pricing
- Does Watashi collect my data?
- No data collection: no account creation required, no analytics, no ads and no server of ours. What you type, say or scan is read on your iPhone. History, favourites, Learn progress and your Allergy card go only to your own iCloud, while Sync with iCloud is on. Privacy policy
- Which languages does Watashi translate?
- English and Japanese, both ways. Only that pair, so the phrasebook, the places and the translator are all about Japan.