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AI Bilingual Translation

What This Solves

When you study foreign-language content, the most natural support is a side-by-side translation in your native language. But the traditional options are either pre-made bilingual subtitles (which may not exist) or switching over to a translation app (which breaks your rhythm). Aelano translates every subtitle line in your library into your native language with AI, aligned sentence by sentence. You can read it as bilingual subtitles, or read the original only and tap for the translation when something is unclear — far more flexible than pre-made bilingual subtitles.

Situations where this fits:

  • You are just starting a language and cannot follow anything without a translation
  • You are further along and want to guess first, then check the translation to confirm
  • You want to read bilingually and understand how the original expresses things
  • The content has no native-language translation at all (foreign-language videos you uploaded yourself, niche podcasts, and so on)

Translation Happens Automatically

Whenever you open a piece of content, Aelano will:

  • For sentences already translated: pull them down from the cloud in batches
  • For sentences not yet translated: translate them in real time as you reach them

So while you work through a piece of content, the large majority of sentences are already prepared, and a few may show “Translating…” for a second or two before appearing.

The translation target language is your native language. Change it under Settings → Language → Native Language. After you change it, newly opened content is translated into the new native language; older translations are not overwritten automatically.

Three Display Modes: Original / Translation / Bilingual

The translation button at the bottom of the player switches display modes quickly:

  • Original: shows only the foreign-language subtitles (good for listening practice, or content you already know well)
  • Translation: shows only the translated text (good for when your attention drifts and you just want the gist)
  • Bilingual: both, one above the other (the most common choice, recommended when you are new to a language)

Going Further: Three Translation States (Hidden / Shown / Tap to Show)

Beyond the three main modes, translation has its own separate switch that controls how each line’s translation is presented by default:

  • Shown: every line’s translation is displayed
  • Tap to show: each translation is hidden by default, and only the line you tap reveals its translation
  • Hidden: translations never appear at all

“Tap to show” is the setting Aelano most recommends for more advanced users:

  1. You listen to a line in the foreign language
  2. You work out the meaning in your head first
  3. Not sure? Tap once to bring up the translation and compare
  4. Sure? Move straight on to the next line without spending time on the translation

This trains you far better than keeping bilingual subtitles on all the time — your brain is forced to understand first, then check the answer.

A Few Practical Tips

  • Just starting out: turn bilingual all the way on. There is no need to tough it out; the translation is what lets you keep going.
  • Once you have some footing: switch translations to “tap to show”. Guess first, then tap to check, which forces your brain to work.
  • Listening practice: translations off, subtitles set to tap to show (see Study Player Basics). Rely on your ears, and tap for the subtitle only when you cannot follow.
  • Passive listening / review: turn it all off and just let the original audio work on your ears.
  • You can re-translate a line that came out badly: occasionally a sentence is poorly translated. You can trigger translation again (usually from that sentence’s menu) and the AI will have another go.

Common Questions

Can I change the translation target language?

Yes. Change it under Settings → Language → Native Language. After that, newly opened content is translated into the new language.

What model does the translation use?

Aelano uses a large language model, which reads more fluently and fits the context better than traditional machine translation (Google Translate and the like). But AI translation is not 100% accurate, especially with specialized terminology, wordplay, and cultural references.

Do I need a membership for translation?

Regular users have a certain translation allowance, and members have a more generous one. Heavy learners should consider upgrading, so that a long piece of content does not run out of translation halfway through.

The translation quality is poor — can I change it?

You have two options:

  1. Have the AI translate again: some sentences simply went wrong on the first pass, and a second attempt is often enough
  2. Edit the translation by hand: you can change the translation text directly, and your change is saved. See Subtitle Editing.

Does it sync across devices?

Yes. A translated sentence is shared across all your devices.

Can I choose a different translation “style” (literal / free / colloquial)?

Right now there is a single balanced default style — as natural as possible, not stiff. If you have a specific need around style, send feedback.

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