Copy Chinese (Simplified) text from your screen on Mac
Press ⌘ ⇧ 2 and drag over Chinese text anywhere on your screen, in a photo, a video, a PDF, an app or a web page, and Copyable copies it the moment you let go. It reads Simplified Chinese characters as used in mainland China and Singapore, and detects them by itself. It works on macOS 14 Sonoma and later, offline, and detects the language by itself.
How to do it with Copyable
Show the text on screen
Open the image, video, PDF or app with the text. Characters with many strokes need more pixels, so zoom in until they are clearly larger than normal reading size.
Press ⌘ ⇧ 2 and drag over the text
You don’t pick a language first: Copyable detects that the text is Chinese (Simplified). Select a line, a paragraph or a whole sign.
Paste it, or translate it
The text is in your clipboard the moment you let go. On macOS 15 and later, switch to Translate to see it in your language next to the original.
What you get
Capture a sign like this one and the panel shows its text, ready to paste or search. On macOS 15 and later, Translate shows the English next to the original.
营业时间：周一至周五 9:00–18:00
EnglishOpening hours: Monday to Friday 9:00–18:00
Without Copyable
The free ways, and where they stop working. If one of them covers what you need, you don’t need an app.
Live Text in Preview, Photos and Safari
For an image you can open in Preview or Photos, or one on a web page in Safari, Live Text may already let you select the text. It’s free and on your Mac.
Where it stops: Only in Apple’s apps, and the languages it reads depend on your macOS version and language settings. If the text won’t select, it isn’t available there.
Google Lens in Chrome
In Chrome, right-click the page, choose Search with Google Lens and drag over the text. Lens can select and copy the text it finds.
Where it stops: Only inside Chrome, and the selected area is sent to Google.
Tips for Chinese (Simplified) text
- Copyable copies characters as they are. It doesn’t convert between Simplified and Traditional Chinese.
- Vertical text, as on some signs and book covers, is harder than horizontal text. Select one column at a time and check the result.
- Text that mixes scripts, such as a product name in Latin letters inside the sentence, is harder. If one part comes out wrong, capture it separately.
Questions
Does it convert Simplified to Traditional?
No. It copies the characters as they appear on screen. Use a converter or your input method if you need the other script.
Does it read pinyin?
Pinyin is written in Latin letters with tone marks. Copyable reads the letters; check the tone marks, which are small.
Do I need to set my Mac to Chinese (Simplified)?
No. Copyable reads Chinese (Simplified) whatever language your Mac and keyboard are set to.
Can it translate Chinese (Simplified)?
On macOS 15 Sequoia and later, yes. Switch to Translate before you drag, and the panel shows the translation next to the original. Which language pairs are available depends on your macOS version; the first time, macOS may ask to download them.
Is Chinese (Simplified) text sent anywhere to be recognized?
No. Recognition happens on your Mac with Apple’s Vision framework. Copyable makes no network requests and has no account.
Copy text from anything on your screen
Copyable reads the text in any area you select with ⌘ ⇧ 2, on your Mac, without uploading anything. $4.99 once, plus tax where it applies. Requires macOS 14 Sonoma or later, Apple silicon or Intel.
Buy for $4.99