Kaguya Support

What Kaguya does

Kaguya turns spoken words into text and translates them on the spot. Use it in meetings, at a front desk, or in face-to-face discussions, in Japanese, English and Chinese.

No language picker. It recognises who speaks which language and translates into the language you read. Mixed Japanese and English in one sentence stays as one utterance.
Picks up your computer's meeting audio. Place the device next to a PC running Teams or Zoom.
Listen back later. Text and audio stay on your device. On each line, “Original” plays the recorded voice and “Translation” reads the translation aloud. Tap again to stop.
Study mode. Follow news or TV in the language you are learning, such as English, with the original text, a translation and key phrases. Study mode listens for only two languages: the one you read and the one you study.

Getting started

Open the app, read the first screen and tap "同意して始める" (Agree and start). No account or sign-in is required.
Pick what you will use it for. You can change this later in Settings.
Open the sample meeting (Japanese/English/Chinese) in the list to see transcription and translation right away. Tap "Record your own conversation" at the bottom to start recording. You can delete the sample.
Tap "新しい録音" (New recording) and choose 通訳 (Interpret) or 学習 (Study).
Tap the microphone button and speak. Text and translation appear in one or two seconds.
Tap the button again to stop. The recording is kept in the list.

Frequently asked questions

The microphone does not work

Permission. Check Settings → Kaguya → Microphone is on. Without it, no text can be produced.
Another app is using it. Recording may fail during a phone call or while another recording app is running.
"In use on another device". Another device is recording under the same account. Stop it first. If the message persists, wait a few minutes and try again.

Nothing is transcribed

The sound is too quiet. Very quiet audio is not treated as speech. Move the device closer to the speaker. When picking up a computer's audio, place the device near the speaker and raise the volume.
Network. Transcription needs a connection. Where reception is weak, text takes longer to appear.
Language settings. In Settings → "Languages in use" (会議で使う言語), make sure the languages actually spoken are included. In Automatic, Kaguya listens for Japanese, English and Chinese, plus the languages for your use and the language you read. To add another language or remove ones you do not use, set the top of Settings to "Manual" (手動).
Microphone mode. With Settings set to "Manual" (手動), "Microphone" (マイク) lets you choose between a person in front of you and audio from a distance. Choose the distant option when picking up a computer's speaker.
Languages switch mid-sentence: when Kaguya suspects it heard the wrong language (for example Japanese switching to Chinese), it listens to that part again and rewrites it. This can take a few seconds.

No translation appears, or it stays on "translating"

The target language is not settled yet. Kaguya decides what to translate into by looking at the language you read and the languages in the room. When only one language has been heard so far, it may wait for the other party to speak.
Your reading language. Check Settings → "The language you read" (あなたが読む言語). If it is the same as the language being spoken, there is nothing to translate into.
Network. Translation is produced over the network. Where reception is weak it takes longer, and a dropped connection can leave it waiting. Stop the recording and try again where reception is better.
Mis-detected language. Very short utterances or noisy audio can be assigned to the wrong language. Set the top of Settings to "Manual" (手動) and remove languages you do not use from "Languages in use" (会議で使う言語) to reduce this.

Subscriptions

30 minutes per month are free, with no account required. For more than that, monthly plans are available.

Standard — 300 min/month (about ten 30-minute meetings)
Pro — 600 min/month (about twenty 30-minute meetings), accuracy-first mode, up to 2 devices at once
Business — 900 min/month (about fifteen 1-hour meetings), accuracy-first mode, up to 3 devices at once

The current price and your remaining minutes are shown in the app, under Settings → the plan card at the top. Payment is charged to your Apple ID and renews automatically unless cancelled before the end of the period. You can cancel in iPhone Settings → your name → Subscriptions.

Restoring a purchase

After changing devices or reinstalling the app:

Open Settings and tap the plan card at the top.
Tap "購入を復元する" (Restore purchases) at the bottom of that screen.

You must be signed in with the same Apple ID used for the purchase. If the purchase still does not return, please contact us by email below.

Deleting recordings

Use the "⋮" menu on each row in the list. You can also delete the audio alone and keep the text. Removing the app deletes everything stored on the device.

Contact

For questions, requests or problem reports, please write to us.

Operator: Kaguya-talk Operations
Email: info@kaguya-talk.com

When reporting a problem, it helps to include your device (iPhone or iPad model), the app version, and when and on which screen it happened.