hey everyone,
i moved to thailand a while back, and one thing hit me hard: i don't speak thai that well. and that's a problem when you're trying to build a life, not just pass through for a week.
ordering food, talking to my landlord, having a real conversation with someone at a coffee shop. all of it felt like i was stuck behind glass. i'd smile and nod a lot. sometimes it worked. most times it didn't. i went home feeling small, like i was living on mute.
so i started using tools. chatgpt was one of them. and sure, it can translate. but the workflow is painful. you open the app, type out "hey translate this to thai", wait, then ask it to translate back what the other person said. by the time you're done, the moment is gone. there is no flow. no connection. just awkward pauses and polite smiles.
then there's google translate. the conversation mode exists, but it sounds like a robot. flat. emotionless. you say something heartfelt and it comes out sounding like a gps giving directions. it's hard to connect with someone when your words sound like they're coming from a machine.
i wanted something different. i wanted to open an app, pick a language, and just start talking. no setup. no prompts. no copy paste nonsense. just instant, natural conversation that still sounded like me.
so i built it. it's called saphan.
the idea is simple: speak in your language, and the other person hears it in theirs. but it does not sound robotic. it keeps your tone, your emotion, your personality. when you are excited, it sounds excited. when you are being polite, it comes across that way. it feels like your voice made it across the bridge.
this is my first app to hit testflight. my first saas that came from a problem i actually had. not something i thought might be cool, but something i needed in my own life. it is personal in a way i did not expect, because it is tied to everyday moments i used to dread.
i am also working on a keyboard that lets you translate text from any app. no more switching between apps, copying text, pasting it somewhere else, getting the translation, then going back. that loop is exhausting. the keyboard just handles it right there.
building saphan has been a reminder that the best products come from real frustration. i did not set out to build a translation app. i just wanted to talk to people around me without feeling lost, without feeling like i was asking the world to slow down for me.
if you are curious, you can check it out at saphan.app. it is live on testflight now.
thanks for reading.
anirudh