AI Translation Assistant

Understand words in context, translate passages and keep bilingual notes inside Obsidian. Work with Markdown and selectable PDF text without copying everything into a separate chat app.

English · 简体中文 · 日本語 · 한국어 · Español · Français · Deutsch

See it in action

One complete walkthrough covers all 13 features, including Web Viewer translation. Individual instructions and recordings are in the feature directory.

Full video guide · Feature directory

What you can do

• Translate selected words and passages in Markdown, selectable PDF text or Web Viewer webpages.
• Get vocabulary explanations that use the surrounding context.
• Keep the original text and insert a translation underneath.
• Translate one Markdown note or multiple notes, appended or interleaved.
• Collect excerpts with translations in a note of your choice.
• Listen to selected text with adjustable language and reading speed.

Install

Desktop Obsidian 1.13.7 or later is required. Mobile is not supported.

1. Open Settings → Community plugins in Obsidian and enable community plugins if prompted.
2. Click Browse and search for AI Translation Assistant.
3. Click Install, then Enable.
4. Open the plugin’s settings to choose your language and AI service.

Translate your first passage

1. Configure AI below and choose Learning / target language.
2. Select text in a note, then run Translate selected text from the command palette.
3. For a popup while reading, keep Auto translate selection enabled and hold Command on macOS or Ctrl on Windows/Linux while selecting. You can change this requirement in settings.
4. Select a word to see its meaning and request an AI explanation in context. PDF text must be selectable; scanned pages need OCR first.

Set up AI

Open this plugin’s settings and choose AI backend. For OpenAI or Anthropic, enter your own API key. API usage is billed by that provider. For local Codex or Claude Code, install and sign in to that application first; set Codex command or Claude command if it is not found automatically. Local CLI use can still send your content to its AI provider.

Start with Automatic · Economy for supported lightweight models. It caches selections for one hour and never automatically upgrades to a flagship model. Use Manual to choose a specific model; custom API base URLs require Manual mode. If using an API, run Test API connection.

Keep a useful note

Use Insert translation below selected text to retain the original passage. For a whole Markdown note, choose the command that appends a translation or interleaves it with the original. Batch commands work with multiple Markdown files. These commands modify your notes, so try them on a copy first.

Use Save selected text to excerpt note to collect passages. Choose Excerpt file, whether to include the translation, and whether to open it after saving. Read selected text aloud uses the configured speech language and rate.

Privacy and common questions

Translation and AI explanations send the selected text and relevant context—or document chunks for full-file translation—to your chosen provider. Basic online dictionary/translation lookup can contact Google independently of the AI backend. Automatic selection translation runs when its configured gesture is triggered; disable Auto translate selection to use commands only.

If a selection does nothing, check the modifier-key setting or use the command palette. If PDF text cannot be selected, apply OCR first. For large documents, allow more time or adjust Batch chunk size and Timeout.

API keys are saved in this plugin’s settings in your vault. Keep those settings private, including when sharing or syncing your vault. If AI fails, check the selected backend, login/API key and model; quota or network errors do not cause an automatic model switch.

For YouTube/local playback, subtitles and screenshot notes, use Video Player (AI integrated).

Help

Report a problem on GitHub Issues; include the plugin version and error message, but never an API key or private notes.

Local AI integrations also read the CLI’s model catalog and use its existing login in your user directory. The plugin does not install these tools for you.

MIT License · © 2026 Taoye