Chat in English with someone who speaks Ukrainian

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

How it works between English and Ukrainian

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 contact reads Ukrainian, and nobody has to change how 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 Ukrainian form a direct pair on the web.

Translated messages carry the label Translated; tap Show original to see exactly what was written. 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.

The 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: chats, groups, voice messages, photos, video and calls. Messages simply appear 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

Claire is hosting Oksana and her teenage son. Here is roughly what each of them sees:

• Oksana writes: “Доброго ранку! Підкажіть, будь ласка, в який день виносять сміття? І чи можна ввечері запустити пральну машину?” → Claire reads: “Good morning! Could you please tell me which day the trash goes out? And is it okay to run the washing machine this evening?”
• Claire replies: “Bins go out Thursday night. Laundry's fine anytime, just not after 10, the machine's loud.” → Oksana may read something closer to: “Баки виходять у четвер уночі. Білизна гарна будь-коли, тільки не після 10, машина гучна.”

The translation stumbled on Claire's shorthand: “bins go out” and “laundry's fine” came out word for word. A plainer version works much better: “Please put the trash out on Thursday evening. You can do laundry anytime before 10 pm.”

Tips for chatting with Ukrainian speakers

• Write in full, plain sentences. Idioms and clipped phrases like “pop round”, “cheers” or “no worries” are the first things to come out wrong. Short, complete sentences translate best.
• Mind the formal “you”. Ukrainian has a formal “ви” that many people use with adults they've just met. Teachers and older people are often addressed by first name and patronymic, such as Olena Mykolaivna.
• Respect each person's language choice. Many Ukrainians speak Ukrainian, Russian or both, and some switch depending on who they're talking to. Piou detects each message's language, so there's nothing to set and nothing to comment on.
• Use voice messages freely. Many people find them easier than typing. With Premium, they're transcribed and translated, and the original recording stays playable.
• Read dates day first. 03.04 means April 3, times are usually written in 24-hour format, and decimals use a comma.
• Let people share at their own pace. Practical questions are easy to translate; personal stories are theirs to tell when they choose.

Where translation can stumble

• Gender. Ukrainian verbs change with the speaker's gender: “я втомився” for a man, “я втомилася” for a woman. English “I'm tired” gives no clue, so the translation guesses.
• Formal or informal “you”. The translation picks “ти” or “ви” on your behalf and may switch between messages.
• Names that are words. Nadiia means “hope”, Vira “faith”, Liubov “love”, and a translation can treat them as words.
• Mixed or Latin-letter text. Messages that blend Ukrainian and Russian in one sentence, or Ukrainian typed in Latin letters, may be misread or left untranslated.
• Humor, irony, typos and abbreviations can also come out wrong.

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. Choose English as your language and let the languages download, ideally over Wi-Fi.
3. Invite your contact with a link, a QR code or from your address book.
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. Use Gift Piou to someone if you want your guest to read you in Ukrainian, and manage the gift later in Settings → Premium.