When one translation isn't enough: building konid for real language

Source: Dev.to

Problem

When drafting a work email in French, I relied on Google Translate for a single sentence. The tool gave me one translation with no indication of formality, so I unintentionally set a tone that was “overly professional stranger.”
The issue isn’t that translation tools are wrong; it’s that they provide only one answer while natural language spans a spectrum of registers. For example, “I missed you today” in Japanese can be expressed in several ways, each suited to a different relationship. A tool should present those choices instead of deciding for you.

Solution: konid

konid returns three options per query, ordered from casual to formal, with each register labeled and explained.

Register examples (Mandarin)

• 我今天想你了 – warm, everyday
• 今天一直在想你 – intimate, carries more weight
• 今天甚是想念你 – formal‑literary, the kind of phrasing you’d read, not speak

A cultural note explains why the third option reads as archaic in conversation. All three options can be heard through built‑in audio, which uses node-edge-tts directly through your speakers (no API key required).

Features

• Three‑option output per query, clearly labeled by register
• Audio playback for each option
• Cultural notes that explain register nuances
• 13 languages supported: Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, Arabic, Hindi, and more
• MIT licensed and open source

Installation & Usage

Run konid as an MCP server, which works inside Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code Copilot, Windsurf, Zed, JetBrains, and Claude Cowork.

claude mcp add konid-ai -- npx -y konid-ai

You can also install it as a ChatGPT app via Developer mode using the endpoint:

https://konid.fly.dev/mcp

License

MIT licensed. Source code: