How to write in English on Slack when you think in another language
Do not translate in your head. Write the message the way you think it, then let BetterSend rewrite it in natural English before you send it. In the Slack app on Mac or Windows, click the BetterSend icon in the message box; in Slack on the web, press Improve. Pick a tone, read the result and replace your draft. Messages from your colleagues get Translate and Explain, in 44 languages, so you can read them in your language too.
By Rubens Jr
Write your message
500 characters left
We never store what you paste. The text is used for this one rewrite and then discarded.
In the Slack app on Mac or Windows
For the Slack desktop app, where most teams spend the day.
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Download the BetterSend desktop app for macOS or Windows and sign in with your email and the code we send you.
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On a Mac, allow Accessibility access when the app asks. It is how BetterSend reads the message box. Windows needs no permission.
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In Slack, write your draft in your own language, click the BetterSend icon in the message box, pick a tone and replace the draft with the English result.
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To understand a message from a colleague, double-click it and choose Translate or Explain.
In Slack on the web, with the Chrome extension
For Slack in the browser, on any computer that runs Chrome.
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Add BetterSend to Chrome and sign in with your email. The free plan needs no card.
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Open Slack in Chrome. The message box gets an Improve button, and each message gets Translate and Explain.
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Write in your own language, press Improve, choose a tone and replace your draft with the result.
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Keep the output language on English for colleagues abroad, or pick another language when the channel speaks it.
Why this works better than translating in your head
It picks the register for you
13 tones, from Friendly for the team channel to Diplomatic when you need to push back or say no. 3 are free, the rest come with Pro.
It explains what you read
Explain says what an idiom like "circle back" or "ship it" means, and the tone behind a short reply, so you answer the message your colleague actually sent.
Your thinking stays whole
You write the full idea in the language you think in, so nothing gets lost while you hunt for words, and the English that comes back says all of it.
Never stores your messages
Only the message you act on is sent, it is used to produce the result and then discarded. BetterSend does not store message text or use it to train models.
What it costs
Free plan: 50 AI actions a month and 3 tones, no card. Each improve, translate or explain is one action.
Pro: $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year, with unlimited actions and all 13 tones.
BetterSend and the alternatives
Each of these is the right choice for someone. This is where each one is better.
| Tool | What it does in Slack | Better when |
|---|---|---|
| Translating in your head, or in a translator | You think the sentence in your language, translate it word by word, or paste it into a translator and copy the result back into Slack. | The message is short and literal, like a time, a link or a yes. |
| ChatGPT | You paste your draft into a chat, ask for a rewrite in English and copy the answer back into Slack, one message at a time. | You are writing something long, like a proposal or a document, and want to work on it in a separate window. |
| Grammarly | It checks spelling, grammar and tone as you type in English, in the browser and in its desktop app, and its paid plan rewrites full sentences. | You already write in English and want corrections as you type. |
| BetterSend | Improve on your draft in 13 tones from any language, and Translate and Explain on the messages you receive in 44 languages, in the Slack app on Mac and Windows and in Slack on the web. | English is not your first language and you write Slack messages all day, without leaving the conversation. |