HeQihan

Before I started writing blogs, I was quite troubled by English, struggling with reading it, and had even recommended translation software on other platforms. But times have changed; first, my English proficiency has improved, and I can understand some English texts to a certain extent. Of course, that's not the main point. The main point is that LLMs have arrived—this AI, which inherently understands almost all languages, can better grasp the meaning of context. A good era is upon us!

Why is immersive translation needed?#

“I just read a couple of sentences and had to switch to the dictionary to check words; it takes half an hour to read a page of a paper…” This is the daily dilemma for many language learners and researchers. Traditional translation tools either crudely replace the original text (like Google’s full-page translation) or disrupt the reading experience (like checking words sentence by sentence), while immersive translation provides the perfect answer:

• Bilingual comparison: The translation runs parallel to the original text, allowing for understanding of content while learning the language.

• Full scene coverage: Websites, videos, comics, PDFs… a single plugin connects all scenarios. It has even been adapted for AO3, so who’s worried about running out of content to consume?

1. Core functions: What can immersive translation do?#

Imagine such a scenario.

A Lifeline for Academics#

The advisor throws 30 papers at me, all in foreign languages. My past process was: download pdf → convert pdf to word → translate the entire word document → fish for information in garbled and misaligned formatting. Now? Just drag the PDF into the browser, and in no time, I get a bilingual version.

A Celebration for Anime Fans#

The Japanese drama you want to watch hasn’t been localized yet? No worries. Open the website, click the magic button in the bottom right corner of the playback page, and watch as the plugin casts a spell: it instantly devours all the distorted Japanese fonts and then “spits out” perfectly aligned Chinese translations.

The Art of Slacking Off for Office Workers#

Is the boss pacing behind me? Did a colleague just walk by? I’m looking at a Japanese game strategy wiki! アクションコマンドをタイミングよく入力. Calmly click the floating ball, and the translation disappears in an instant, hiding my achievements and fame.

If you’re envious, you definitely need this plugin.

1. Basic Functions: Covering Everything from Academia to Entertainment#

• 📄 Bilingual webpage translation

  • Operation demonstration:
    1. After installing the plugin, open any English news website (like The New York Times).
    2. Click the browser's floating ball to translate this page.
    3. The page instantly becomes bilingual, with original paragraphs and translations side by side.
  • Applicable scenarios: Quickly browse foreign news, technical documents (like Stack Overflow).

• 📚 Translation of PDF/EPUB and other document formats
  • Case: Upload an English law paper, and the plugin automatically splits paragraphs and generates a bilingual comparison, supporting export to various file formats.
  • Advantages: Retains the original charts and formula formatting, so academics don’t need to copy and paste manually.

2. Featured Functions: Breaking the Boundaries of Traditional Tools#

• 🎬 Video subtitle translation
  • Tested Effect:
    • Watching technical tutorials on Coursera, after enabling "bilingual subtitles," the foreign original text and Chinese translation are displayed synchronously below the video.
    • Of course, this only works for cc subtitles.

• 🖼️ Comic translation
  • Showcasing cutting-edge technology:
    1. Open a comic website (like MangaDex) and find an untranslated comic.
    2. Click the floating "comic translation" button on the page, and the plugin automatically recognizes the bubble text, generating Chinese subtitles over the original image, retaining the comic's paneling and art style.
    3. Requires a professional version; I haven't used it due to financial constraints, so the effect is unknown.

• 🎓 Academic enhancement mode
  • Glossary function:
    • Users can upload a custom whitelist to skip unnecessary translations of proper nouns, making the plugin more efficient when translating academic papers.

2. Why choose immersive translation?#

1. A dimensional strike against traditional tools#

2. Advantages for developers#

• Privacy protection: Supports local deployment of large models (Ollama, LM Studio), sensitive content does not need to be uploaded to the cloud.

3. Step-by-step tutorial: From installation to mastery#

1. Quick installation in 5 minutes#

• Browser extension (Chrome/Firefox/Edge):
  1. Visit the immersive translation official website and install the plugin according to your browser type.

2. The first time you use it, you need to select a default language (like English or Chinese).

3. As for the pinned plugin, it’s an optional feature.

4. You can skip logging in and use the free features.

And that’s it!

• Mobile adaptation (I haven’t tried it):
  • Android: Edge Browser + plugin installation, perfectly replicating PC functionality.
  • iOS: Achieves translation functionality through Safari’s built-in plugin.
  • WeChat: Comes with a mini-program.

Configuring Translation Services#

For free users, the plugin indeed works out of the box, and the services are diverse, with five free translation services. Among them, the Zhiyu GLM translation uses the Zhiyu Qingyan's GLM-4-flash model, which has a good translation effect. Moreover, the large model translation recently launched by Xiaohongshu should also be Zhiyu Qingyan's model, rounding up, it’s already on par with big companies like Xiaohongshu—victory!

Enabling free services is very simple; just click where you want to enable it. Click the settings in the bottom left corner of the image above to jump to the settings interface, then click on the translation services in the image below to see many services available for free selection. As for how to use the large model's API or run translation services with your local AI, we’ll discuss that next time.

File Translation#

You can find the file translation entry in the plugin's settings interface.

It can translate files in the following formats, but scanned PDFs require a pro membership.

Lastly, there are some miscellaneous features that I won’t elaborate on, leaving some exploration fun for everyone.

Conclusion#

Once, language was a wall—

People inside the wall stared blankly at the latest research in Nature, while comic fans outside the wall longed for untranslated content.

Now, this wall has turned into a floor-to-ceiling window:

• Programmers chat and laugh with Indian colleagues in GitHub issues

• Small-town girls chase Spanish vloggers to learn illustration

• Retired professors easily understand Japanese archaeological reports

And immersive translation is like that smart coffee machine by the window that keeps refilling: quiet, efficient, always there when you need it, turning the black coffee of knowledge into a palatable latte.

Recently, I’ve been listening to the lyrics of ChiliChill, and there’s a very interesting line:

Comparison is a pirate ship that steals happiness

I lie on the beach, not wanting to go to sea

Actually, I quite like pirates; such a good tool is my pirate ship.

“Je suis un pirate des alphabets

In the islands of words

Drop the anchor”