SayLens: Language Camera
Learn to say what you see
Only for iPhone
Free
iPhone
Point your camera at a Chinese menu or sign and see how to say every line: tone-coloured Pinyin or Cantonese Jyutping, a translation, and a voice to hear it.
Point your camera at Chinese text and SayLens shows you how to say it. Tone-coloured Pinyin for Mandarin, or Jyutping or Yale for Cantonese, appears over every line of a menu, sign or brochure, live in the camera and on the photo you take. Tap a line for its meaning, hear it spoken, or show it full screen to the person you're talking to.
SayLens is a language camera for saying things out loud, not just understanding them. It reads Chinese text in Simplified and Traditional characters, with Mandarin and Cantonese readings.
SEE HOW TO SAY IT
• Readings appear over each line as you point the camera, sized to the printed text
• Mandarin: Pinyin with tone marks (gōng bǎo jī dīng)
• Cantonese: Jyutping (gung1 bou2 gai1 ding1) or Yale (gūng bóu gāi dīng)
• Switch between Mandarin and Cantonese at the top of the screen
• Tap the shutter to keep the photo: the readings stay on it, and you can pinch to zoom
• Or choose a photo from your library
TAP A LINE
• A small card opens with the original, its reading and its meaning
• Hear it in a Mandarin or Cantonese voice, at a slow or natural speed
• Show it full screen for a waiter or shopkeeper: big characters with the reading underneath, swipe between lines, and the screen stays on
• Copy it, or step through every line of the photo
• Tap any word for its dictionary entry, with Mandarin and Cantonese readings and its meanings
MADE FOR BUSY MENUS
• Turn readings off with the button at the bottom right to see just a box around each line, then tap a box for its reading
• All lines shows every line of a photo as a card, stacked or with each syllable above its character
• Copy or share all the lines at once
TRANSLATION
• Lines are translated on your iPhone by Apple's on-device Translation, into English or another language it supports
• The first time, iOS may ask to download a language; dictionary meanings are shown until then
LEARN THE TONES
• Tone colours give each tone its own colour, and the tone marks or numbers are always there too
• Show tone changes to see Mandarin as it's spoken: 你好 is written nǐ hǎo but said ní hǎo
• The tone guide explains the Mandarin and Cantonese tones
HISTORY
• Photos you scan and samples you try are kept in History on your iPhone
• Swipe to delete one, or clear them all
PRIVATE BY DESIGN
• No account and no sign-in
• No data collected: no analytics, no ads, no tracking
• The camera is used only to read text, and the text is read on your iPhone
• Photos, scans and translations stay on your iPhone
• Reading, romanization and the dictionary work offline; translations work offline too once the languages are downloaded
No Chinese text nearby? Tap the Photos button and choose Try a Sample to see SayLens on a bundled menu or sign.
SayLens is free, with no ads and no in-app purchases.
Ratings & Reviews
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The developer, Andi Yao, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
- Seller
- Andi Yao
- Size
- 27 MB
- Category
- Education
- Compatibility
Requires iOS 26.0 or later.
- iPhone
Requires iOS 26.0 or later.
- iPhone
- Languages
- English
- Age Rating
4+
- 4+
- Copyright
- © 2026 Andi Yao