Illustrative scene: two travellers seated opposite each other using the two ends of a phone on a pub table

Free beta · Android & Web

One phone.
26 languages.

We are building TapSay to make travelling a little easier.
Find the phrases you need, save your own and talk face to face.

Try TapSay free See how it works

26 languages · No account · No ads

Why I made TapSay

It started with a trip to China

When we landed in China, we couldn't get the airport Wi-Fi to work. There was an internet booth that was supposed to give us access after scanning our passports and boarding passes, but that didn't work either. We tried the shops, but there were no SIM cards to buy. We ended up stuck at the airport for hours without internet.

We hadn't expected to have so much trouble getting connected. It was a frustrating start and affected our experience of the trip.

As we travelled around China, we had to use phone translators almost all the time. They helped us communicate, but using them so much wasn't an enjoyable part of the trip. I wanted an easier way to talk to people.

I started making TapSay for myself. I wanted useful phrases ready before a trip, somewhere to save my own phrases, and a simpler way to have a conversation using one phone. Then I decided to share it, because I thought other travellers might find it useful too.

I'm still working on it. There are bugs to fix and more things I'd like to add. If you try it, I'd really appreciate hearing what you think. Your feedback helps me make it better.

Paweł

What's inside

What you can do with TapSay

614 phrases · 24 situation decks · 9 home layouts

We've brought together phrases and tools for the things you often need while travelling.

Offline first

The phrasebook works offline. In the Android app, download translation models and available local voices. Offline microphone support depends on your phone and language.

Face-to-face Talk

Each person has their own half of the screen and microphone button. Sit opposite each other and put the phone between you.

Emergency & allergy cards

Save your blood type, medication and contacts. Allergy cards show crossed-out food symbols with translated labels. Always confirm important details with a person.

Menu decoder

Look up 150 food words, including allergens, in English or the local language. You can also hear them spoken.

Numbers & prices

Enter an amount to see it written in the language you choose and hear how to say it.

Easy to read and use

Tap a phrase to hear it, or show it in large text. You can adjust the text size, and you do not need an account.

Talking to someone

Choose a language for each person

Talk splits the screen into two halves. One faces you and the other is turned around for the person opposite. You each have your own microphone button and can scroll through the conversation in your own language.

  • Sit opposite each other. Place the phone lengthwise between you
  • Each person taps the microphone at their own end; the translation appears on the other half
  • Both histories scroll independently during the conversation
  • Choose any pair of the 26 languages, including English
See it in the web app
TapSay Talk showing an example English and Spanish conversation on both halves of the screen
Split-screen conversation in TapSay Talk

Using TapSay

For conversations while travelling

You can use Talk over a coffee or during a journey. Sit opposite each other, choose your languages and take turns using the microphone at your end.

Illustrative café scene: two travellers opposite each other using their respective ends of the phone
Over a coffeeUse the microphone at your end of the phone.
Illustrative travel scene: two travellers seated opposite each other using a phone at a train table with an alpine view
During a journeyEach person reads the half facing them.

We used AI-generated scenes to show how TapSay is used. The phone displays use the actual Talk screenshot, and the app screenshots below are from the beta.

Your own phrases

Add the phrases you use most

You can add a café order, a question you often ask or anything else you want to keep. Save your own phrases and organise them into topics.

Actual TapSay custom phrase editor with a Spanish terrace request, English meaning and optional pronunciation
01 · Your words

Add your own phrases

Choose a language, enter the phrase and its English meaning, and add pronunciation if you want. You can also save a translation from Translate.

Actual TapSay Categories screen showing the user-created topic My café stops with one saved phrase
02 · Your topics

Organise them your way

Create and name your own topics in Categories. Give each one an icon, then add your custom phrases or phrases from the built-in collection.

Actual TapSay home screen showing a custom Spanish phrase saved to Favourites
03 · Your favourites

Keep favourites on home

Tap the star to save a phrase to Favourites, or pin it to the top. Pick a home layout with a Favourites section and keep your most useful words easy to reach.

Your custom content stays on your device. Use Backup & restore to move it to another phone. Check translations before saving important phrases.

Before you travel

What works without internet?

The phrasebook, spoken playback and live Talk have different requirements. We recommend checking your chosen languages before you leave.

  1. Install & enable

    Open the website once to cache the phrasebook, or install the Android beta. Ready-made phrase translations do not need live translation.

  2. Download once, over Wi-Fi or mobile data

    For free-text translation in the Android app, enable on-device translation and download models for your languages. For speech playback, install local voices through your phone's speech engine.

  3. Check before you leave

    Test in airplane mode. Fully offline Talk also needs on-device speech recognition for both languages; this is not available for every phone or language.

Website and Android app: the website's free-text translation and voice conversations need internet. Installing it on your Home Screen does not change that. The Android app can translate free text offline after setup; fully offline Talk additionally needs supported offline recognition and local voices.

A quick look

A look inside the app

Main screen: pinned phrases, essentials and favourites in Spanish on the light home layout
Phrases on the main screen
Face-to-face Talk: a full back-and-forth English-Spanish conversation shown on both halves of the split screen
An example Talk conversation
Settings layout picker listing nine home layout options and six themes
Nine home layouts
Translate screen: typing "Where is the toilet?" and getting Spanish with pronunciation, marked offline from the phrasebook
A translation from the offline phrasebook
Menu decoder showing Spanish food and allergen words with English translations
Food and allergen words
Emergency card showing selected allergies as large crossed-out symbols with Spanish and English labels
Allergy symbols on the emergency card
Sentence builder combining the pattern "Where is…?" with the word "the pharmacy" into the Spanish sentence ¿Dónde está la farmacia?
The sentence builder
Show mode: a phrase shown in very large Spanish text, with flip, speak and reply buttons
Large text to show someone
Dietary requirements card written in the local language for restaurant staff
Dietary card for restaurants
Situations screen with tiles for Airport, Taxi, Hotel, Restaurant and more
24 situation decks

Who it's for

Set it up the way you prefer

Larger text and buttons

Increase the text size up to 130%. Use the playback buttons or show a phrase in large text if that is easier to read.

Try it in your browser

Open the web app, choose a language and try a few phrases. There is no sign-up and no need to install the Android app first.

Keep useful phrases nearby

Save phrases to Favourites or pin them to the top of your home screen so you can find them quickly.

Make it yours

Choose your layout and theme

There are nine home layouts and six themes. You can change the text size and spacing, hide or reorder topics, and choose which phrases to keep on your home screen.

Get TapSay

Join the free beta

You can try TapSay for free while we develop it. We will post new Android builds here as they are ready.

Android · beta APK

Install the Android beta

Try the latest Android prototype. Pre-release beta for testing. Android 7 or newer. Version 2.1.0-beta.7 · 40.6 MB.

Download Android beta
How to install the beta

Download on your Android phone and open the APK. Android may ask you to allow installation from this browser. Only allow it for this install, and keep your existing app data backed up. Future builds will be posted here.

This is a debug beta, not a Google Play release. Bugs and incorrect translations are possible. Verify important information independently, especially allergies and medical instructions. TapSay must not be your only safety check.

Web · works today, even on iPhone

Open the web app

Nothing to install. Add it to your Home Screen and it behaves like an app. Phrases and browsing work offline once cached; free-text translation needs internet in the browser.

Open tapsay-eka.pages.dev

Best on Chrome and Safari. Microphone support depends on your browser.

iOS · planned

App Store version

We plan to work on the iOS app after the Android beta. For now, iPhone users can try the web app and add it to their Home Screen.

If you use an iPhone, we would like to hear how it works for you. You can send feedback below.

TapSay is still a beta and translations can be wrong. Please verify important information, especially allergies and medical instructions.

Questions

Frequently asked

Does it really work offline?

The ready-made phrasebook works offline: bundled in the Android app and cached after a first visit to the website. Local voice playback needs installed offline voices. The Android app can translate free text with downloaded language models. Fully offline Talk also needs supported on-device recognition for both languages. Test your chosen languages in airplane mode before relying on them. Website free-text translation and Talk need internet.

Which languages are included?

English, Polish, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, Russian, Italian, Thai, Vietnamese, Filipino, Japanese, Chinese, Hindi, Arabic, Ukrainian, Turkish, Korean, Indonesian, Greek, Swedish, Dutch, Norwegian, Czech, Romanian and Malay. You can choose any of these 26 languages for either side of Talk.

How much does it cost?

Nothing while in beta. The app has no ads and no account.

Is my data private?

Saved favourites, custom phrases and emergency cards stay on your device. Online translation sends the text to the selected provider; browser speech recognition may use the browser maker's service. Feedback is optional and sends your message through the feedback service. This marketing website uses no analytics or cookies.

Can I trust the translations?

Translations can contain mistakes, including serious ones. Built-in translations and recent corrections are machine-drafted and still need native-speaker review. Verify allergies, medical information and other important details with a qualified person. Symbols reinforce the message but do not guarantee safe food or care.

When is the iOS app coming?

We plan to work on it after the Android beta. We do not have a release date yet. In the meantime, you can use the web app on an iPhone.