Translate Users

Commands

TranslateMate allows you to automatically translate all messages from specific users. This is perfect for multilingual servers where certain members speak different languages.

Enable Auto-Translation for a User

Setup the bot to automatically translate messages from a specific user to a specific language.

If the target user is not specified, the command will use the message author as the target user.

/config auto-on [target] [optional:target-user]

Parameters:

  • target: The language to translate to (required)
  • target-user: The user whose messages should be translated (optional, defaults to command author)

Disable Auto-Translation for a User

Disable the automatic translation of messages from a specific user.

If the target user is not specified, the command will use the message author as the target user.

/config auto-off [target] [optional:target-user]

Parameters:

  • target: The language to stop translating to
  • target-user: The user to stop translating (optional, defaults to command author)

List Auto-Translations

List all automatic translations for a specific user.

If the target user is not specified, the command will use the message author as the target user.

/config auto-list [optional:target-user]

Parameters:

  • target-user: The user to list translations for (optional, defaults to command author)

Examples

Example 1: Translate Your Own Messages

Setup the bot to automatically translate messages to German from the message author.

/config auto-on target:German

Every message you send will now be automatically translated to German and posted by the bot.

Example 2: Translate Another User’s Messages

Setup the bot to automatically translate messages to German from the user @Xrayf.

/config auto-on target:German target-user:@Xrayf

All messages from @Xrayf will be automatically translated to German.

Example 3: Disable Auto-Translation

Disable the automatic translation of messages to German from the message author.

/config auto-off

Your messages will no longer be automatically translated.

Example 4: List Active Translations

List all automatic translations for the message author.

/config auto-list

This shows all languages your messages are being translated to.

How It Works

  1. User sends a message in any channel the bot can see
  2. Bot detects that this user has auto-translation enabled
  3. Message is translated to the configured target language(s)
  4. Bot posts translation as a reply or separate message
  5. Original message remains unchanged

Use Cases

Multilingual Team Communication

Set up auto-translation for team members who speak different languages:

  • Developer speaks German → Auto-translate to English
  • Designer speaks Japanese → Auto-translate to English
  • Manager speaks French → Auto-translate to English

Learning Languages

Enable auto-translation for yourself to see how native speakers would say your messages:

  • You speak English → Auto-translate to Spanish to learn

Accessibility

Help users who aren’t fluent in the server’s main language:

  • Server is primarily English
  • User speaks Portuguese → Auto-translate their messages to English
  • Other users can understand without language barriers

Multiple Languages

You can set up auto-translation to multiple languages for the same user:

/config auto-on target:German target-user:@John
/config auto-on target:French target-user:@John
/config auto-on target:Spanish target-user:@John

Now @John’s messages will be translated to German, French, AND Spanish!

Permissions Required

To manage user auto-translations, you need:

  • Server Administrator or Manage Server permission
  • Bot must have Send Messages and Read Message History permissions

Regular users can only configure auto-translation for their own messages.

Performance Considerations

  • Auto-translation happens in real-time (typically < 2 seconds)
  • Each translation counts toward your server’s character quota
  • Bot will skip empty messages, commands, and bot messages (unless configured otherwise)

Managing Translation Settings

View All Server Auto-Translations

Administrators can view all configured auto-translations:

/config auto-list

Remove Specific Auto-Translation

To remove a specific language while keeping others:

/config auto-off target:German target-user:@John

This removes only the German translation, leaving other languages active.

Clear All User Translations

To disable all auto-translations for a user:

/config auto-off target-user:@John

Best Practices

  1. Communicate with users before enabling auto-translation for them
  2. Monitor quota usage to avoid hitting translation limits
  3. Use sparingly for high-volume channels to reduce spam
  4. Combine with channel translations for organized multilingual communication
  5. Test translations before enabling for important communications

Limitations

  • Maximum of 10 target languages per user
  • Auto-translation doesn’t work for:
    • Embeds (rich messages)
    • File attachments
    • Voice messages
    • Ephemeral messages (slash command responses visible only to the user)

Related Features

Need Help?

If you have questions about user auto-translation, join our [Discord Server]({{ .Site.Params.discord.supportServerUrl }}) or use the /help command.