Pontelingua · English
Understand a WhatsApp voice message in a language you don't speak
A voice note arrives in Spanish, Arabic, Japanese or Portuguese. You catch a few words, not the tone — and tone is where misunderstandings start. Pontelingua turns the audio into text, tells you what the person actually means, and helps you answer without sounding cold, pushy or naive.
Why a plain translation is not enough
- Word-for-word translation gives you the meaning, never the intention: politeness, distance, irony and pressure all disappear.
- A voice note is emotional. Reading it flat makes friendly people sound rude and worried people sound calm.
- You end up replying with a message that is grammatically correct and culturally wrong.
How it works
- 1Share the voice note with Pontelingua, or upload the audio file.
- 2It is transcribed into text automatically — you don't need to type anything.
- 3You get the literal translation plus a cultural reading: what the person means, what they expect, what would offend them.
- 4You write your answer in your own language and Pontelingua gives you the standard translation next to the culturally adapted version, ready to send.
A real example
Voice note (Spanish): "Oye, ¿te llegó lo que te mandé? Cuando puedas me dices, ¿eh?"
Literal reading: "Did you get what I sent you? Tell me when you can." — sounds relaxed, no rush.
Cultural reading: the softener "cuando puedas" plus the repeated question usually means they have already been waiting and are politely chasing you. A one-word answer will read as dismissive.
Pontelingua suggests a reply that acknowledges the delay and gives a concrete time — the thing that actually resolves the tension.
Common questions
Which languages does it handle?
Any of the main written and spoken languages, in both directions: you always read in your own language and send in theirs.
Do I need to install anything?
No. It works in the browser. On Android you can also add it to your home screen and share voice notes to it directly from WhatsApp.
Is it free?
You get free adaptations to test it before paying anything.
Try it with a message you actually received
Paste the message or share the voice note and see the cultural reading in a few seconds.