How Translation Works
Chapters translate as you read them, not all upfront.
What Happens When You Read
When a novel is added:
- The scraper pulls every chapter, so the chapter list is complete from day one.
- The first 50 chapters AI-translate in the background.
- The remaining chapter titles batch-translate separately, so the list is browsable before the bodies are done.
Past chapter 50:
- Translation starts the moment you open the chapter — typically 5–10 seconds, streaming in live.
- The next 3 chapters prefetch while you read, so "Next" is usually instant.
Only the first chapter you open past 50 has a noticeable wait.
Who Gets What
| Chapters 1–50 | Past chapter 50 | |
|---|---|---|
| Free / signed out | AI translation, and you can switch to machine translation | Machine translation; clicking AI prompts you to subscribe |
| Reader ($5/mo) and up | AI translation | AI translation |
Paid tiers always get AI translation — there is nothing to switch.
Machine translation (Google Translate) runs instantly in your browser and still uses the novel's entity glossary, so character names, places and pronouns stay consistent. The prose is just more mechanical. A free reader's switch to machine translation lasts for the current session only; it resets on refresh.
Retranslate on a machine-translated chapter re-runs the in-browser translation with fresh source content, rather than spending an AI retranslation.
When to Use Retranslate
On-demand translation runs once per chapter. If a chapter is already translated but reads poorly, use the chapter's Retranslate button to rerun the AI with the latest model and glossary. See Retranslate & Rescrape.
Why Demand-Based?
Most novels run 1,000–6,000 chapters, but most readers only reach 50–200. Translating everything upfront would burn LLM budget on chapters nobody opens.