Sonelo turns your voice into natural Chinese, right where you are writing — built for everyday life in China.
iPhone app + custom keyboard · Works wherever iOS accepts a keyboard
Open the Sonelo keyboard in any app and tap the S button to start speaking. On first use, iOS opens Sonelo once to enable the microphone — then a clearly indicated, hands-free session stays active while you chat.
Say what you want to say in your own language — English, Italian, or another. Sonelo detects the language, transcribes your words, and translates them into natural Simplified Chinese.
The Chinese message is inserted directly into the text field you were writing in. Read it, edit it if you like, and send. No copy and paste, no switching between apps for every message.
Sonelo is built for expats and international professionals who live, work, and message in China — and want their words to arrive naturally.
Reply on WeChat without typing Chinese. Work chats, group threads, daily coordination — answer at the speed of speech.
Arrange a delivery, appointment, or repair. Landlords, agents, couriers, and service providers — handled in natural Chinese.
Speak Italian or English; message in Chinese. Sonelo detects your language automatically and writes the Chinese for you.
Keep the conversation flowing. No translation window, no copy and paste — your words land directly in the message box.
Translation is only useful when it stays out of your way. Sonelo lives beside the conversation, so your words arrive where you need them.
Sonelo is a keyboard, not a chat app you juggle alongside the one you're really using. It types into the conversation you already have open — and that's all it does. It doesn't read the chat, it doesn't send anything for you, and it steps aside the moment you stop speaking.
Recording starts only when you tap, with a clearly visible indicator — and stops when you tap again.
Sonelo inserts text into the field you're writing in. Reviewing and sending is always your action, never the app's.
Sonelo has no access to the surrounding chat. It only works with the words you choose to speak to it.
Sonelo is in private testing ahead of its App Store release. Write to us to join the early access list — we'd love your feedback.
Join the early access list