A Neovim Translator Plugin

A Neovim plugin that wraps translate-shell so you can translate text directly from Neovim.

Screenshots

Translate Word Under Cursor

Translate Visual Selection

Prerequisites

Make sure you have translate-shell installed:

# macOS
brew install translate-shell

# Linux (Debian/Ubuntu)
sudo apt-get install translate-shell

# Or install via wget
wget git.io/trans
chmod +x ./trans

Install

Using lazy.nvim

{
    "nicholasxjy/translator.nvim",
    event = "VeryLazy",
    opts = {
        default_target_lang = "zh",  -- Default target language
        default_source_lang = nil,   -- Default source language (nil = auto-detect)
        window = {
            width = 80,              -- Popup window width
            height = 20,             -- Popup window max height
            title = " Translation ", -- Popup window title
            border = "rounded",      -- Border style: "rounded", "single", "double", "solid", "shadow", "none"
            title_pos = "center",    -- Title position: "center", "left", "right"
        },
    },
}

Using vim.pack (Neovim 0.12+)

vim.pack is Neovim's built-in plugin manager and currently requires a recent Neovim build with vim.pack support plus git on your PATH.

vim.pack.add({
    { src = "https://github.com/nicholasxjy/translator.nvim" },
}, { load = true })

require("translator").setup({
    default_target_lang = "zh",  -- Default target language
    default_source_lang = nil,   -- Default source language (nil = auto-detect)
    window = {
        width = 80,              -- Popup window width
        height = 20,             -- Popup window max height
        title = " Translation ", -- Popup window title
        border = "rounded",      -- Border style: "rounded", "single", "double", "solid", "shadow", "none"
        title_pos = "center",    -- Title position: "center", "left", "right"
    },
})

After adding the plugin, restart Neovim if needed. To update plugins managed by vim.pack, run :lua vim.pack.update().

How to use

Basic Commands

" Translate specific text to Chinese
:Trans text=hello to=zh

" Translate a sentence without quotes
:Trans hello world to=zh

" Translate a sentence with quotes
:Trans text="hello world" to=zh

" Translate visual selection to Chinese (select text first, then run command)
:'<,'>Trans to=zh

" Translate word under cursor to Chinese
:TransWord to=zh

" Translate word under cursor with source and target language
:TransWord from=en to=zh

" Translate word under cursor using default target language
:TransWord

" Translate with source and target language
:Trans text=你好 from=zh to=en

Lua API

You can also call the translation functions directly from Lua code:

-- Translate current word under cursor
require('translator').transCurWord({ to = "zh" })
require('translator').transCurWord({ from = "en", to = "zh" })

-- Translate visual selection
require('translator').transVisualSel({ to = "en" })
require('translator').transVisualSel({ from = "zh", to = "en" })

-- Example: Custom keybinding using Lua API
vim.keymap.set('n', '<leader>tw', function()
    require('translator').transCurWord({ to = "zh" })
end, { desc = "Translate word to Chinese" })

vim.keymap.set('v', '<leader>ts', function()
    require('translator').transVisualSel({ to = "zh" })
end, { desc = "Translate selection to Chinese" })

Configuration with Keybindings

{
    "nicholasxjy/translator.nvim",
    event = "VeryLazy",
    opts = {
        default_target_lang = "zh",
        window = {
            width = 80,
            height = 20,
            title = " Translation ",
            border = "rounded",
            title_pos = "center",
        },
    },
    keys = {
        -- Translate visual selection to Chinese
        { "<leader>tc", ":'<,'>Trans to=zh<cr>", mode = "v", desc = "Translate to Chinese" },
        -- Translate visual selection to English
        { "<leader>te", ":'<,'>Trans to=en<cr>", mode = "v", desc = "Translate to English" },
        -- Translate visual selection to Japanese
        { "<leader>tj", ":'<,'>Trans to=ja<cr>", mode = "v", desc = "Translate to Japanese" },
        -- Translate word under cursor to Chinese
        { "<leader>tw", "<cmd>TransWord to=zh<cr>", mode = "n", desc = "Translate word to Chinese" },
        -- Translate word under cursor using default language
        { "<leader>tt", "<cmd>TransWord<cr>", mode = "n", desc = "Translate word" },
    }
}

Features

• Popup Window: Translation results are displayed in a centered popup window with rounded borders
• Visual Selection: Select text and translate it directly
• Word Translation: Translate the word under cursor with :TransWord command
• Multi-word Command Input: :Trans supports bare text and quoted text= values
• Full Translation Results: Display complete translation information including pronunciation, definitions, and examples
• Markdown Formatting: Translation results are displayed with markdown syntax highlighting
• Flexible Parameters: Support for text=, to=, and from= parameters
• Async Execution: Translation runs asynchronously to avoid blocking Neovim
• Error Handling: Shows clear notifications when translation fails or trans is missing
• Easy Close: Press q or <Esc> to close the popup window