Chat in English with someone who speaks Hindi

With Piou, you write in English and your contact writes in Hindi. With Piou Premium, every Hindi message appears in English on your phone, translated on the device itself, and the original Devanagari stays one tap away. For your contact to read you in Hindi, they need Premium too, or you can gift it to them.

How it works between English and Hindi

Piou detects the language of each message on the sender's phone and stores it exactly as written. Translation happens on the recipient's device, into the recipient's language: you read English, your grandmother reads Hindi, and nobody has to change the way they type.

The engine depends on the device:

• iPhone: Apple's built-in translation, on iOS 18 or later.
• Android: ML Kit by Google, with models downloaded to the phone.
• Web app: the open source Bergamot engine with Firefox Translations models running in the browser, or Chrome's built-in translation on a computer when available. English and Hindi form a direct pair on the web.

A translated message carries the label Translated. Tap Show original to see exactly what was written, which helps with names, places and anything that reads oddly. Translations never leave your device; the messages themselves are stored on Piou's servers in their original language so they can be delivered and synced.

Language packs download once, ideally over Wi-Fi; after that, translation and Face to face mode work offline. The free plan is a complete messenger, with messages shown in their original language. Premium adds automatic translation, voice messages transcribed and translated, translated subtitles during calls and Face to face mode.

What an exchange looks like

Priya lives in New Jersey. Her nani, her mother's mother, lives in Lucknow and writes in Hindi. Here is roughly what each of them sees:

• Nani writes: “बेटा, दिवाली पर घर आ रही हो ना? मैंने तुम्हारे लिए बेसन के लड्डू बनाए हैं।” → Priya reads: “Son, you're coming home for Diwali, right? I've made besan laddoos for you.”
• Priya replies: “Yes, Nani! We land in Delhi on Friday at 6 am, then take the train to Lucknow.” → Nani reads: “हाँ, नानी! हम शुक्रवार सुबह 6 बजे दिल्ली पहुँचेंगे, फिर लखनऊ के लिए ट्रेन लेंगे।”

Many elders call a granddaughter “beta”, literally “son”, as a term of affection, and the translation took it literally. Nani's verb “आ रही हो” is feminine, so she clearly knows who she's writing to. Priya's reply came through cleanly, but notice “Nani”: English “grandma” wouldn't say which side of the family, while Hindi distinguishes nani (mother's mother) from dadi (father's mother).

Tips for chatting with Hindi speakers

• Aap, tum and ji. Hindi has a respectful “you” (aap) and a familiar one (tum). With elders, adding “ji” after a name or title, like “Nani ji” or “Sharma ji”, is a simple sign of respect.
• Kinship terms are precise. Mama is your mother's brother, chacha your father's younger brother, mausi your mother's sister, bua your father's sister. Using the right word shows care, and saves the translation from guessing.
• Don't assume. Hindi speakers come from many regions, faiths and backgrounds, and greetings vary from family to family. Follow your relatives' lead.
• Festivals move. Diwali, Holi or Raksha Bandhan follow the lunisolar Hindu calendar, so their dates change every year. A message on the day means a lot.
• Lakh and crore. One lakh is 100,000 and one crore is 10 million, written 1,00,000 and 1,00,00,000 in India. Confirm large amounts in plain figures.
• Mind the half hour. India Standard Time is UTC+5:30. In summer, India is 9 hours 30 minutes ahead of New York and 4 hours 30 minutes ahead of London; add an hour in winter.

Where translation can stumble

• Hindi in Latin letters. Messages typed in Latin script may not be recognized as Hindi, so they may stay untranslated.
• Hinglish. Sentences mixing Hindi and English, like “कल meeting cancel हो गई”, are common and often come out garbled.
• Gender. Hindi verbs change with the speaker's gender: “मैं थक गया” for a man, “मैं थक गई” for a woman. English “I'm tired” gives no clue, so a translation may make you male.
• Aap or tum. The translation picks the form for your “you”, and the choice may sound too casual with an elder.
• Blessings and idioms. “जुग जुग जियो” (may you live for ages) or “भगवान तुम्हें ख़ुश रखे” may come out stiff or overly literal.
• Names that are words. Asha means “hope”, Kiran “ray of light”, Pooja “worship”. A translation can turn a name into a noun.
• Other languages. Urdu, Punjabi, Bengali, Tamil and other languages of India aren't supported, even if relatives switch to them.

Getting started

1. Install Piou on iPhone (iOS 18 or later) or Android (8.0 or later), or use the web app at app.piou.chat.
2. In Settings → Language & translation, choose English, then download English and Hindi, ideally over Wi-Fi.
3. Invite your family with a link, a QR code or from your address book. Help your grandparents set up Piou during a visit or a video call, and add a Hindi keyboard to their phone.
4. Start the 7-day free trial to turn on translation. A card is required, nothing is charged for 7 days, and the subscription then starts automatically at the price shown unless you cancel before the trial ends.
5. Want them to read you in Hindi? Use Gift Piou to someone: each person you gift counts as one subscription, and you manage gifts in Settings → Premium.