Adjust Translation Formality

MAITO lets you control whether translations sound formal or informal - perfect for adapting content to your audience.

What Is Formality?

Formality controls the tone of translated text:

Formal (Respectful, professional)

• Business documents
• Official letters
• Professional emails
• Academic papers
• Legal documents

Informal (Casual, friendly)

• Personal messages
• Social media posts
• Friendly emails
• Blog posts
• Creative writing

Default (Contextual)

• MAITO decides based on source text
• Usually the best choice
• Balances natural-sounding output

Formality Examples

Formal vs Informal

Source (English): “Can you send me the report?”

Formal (German): “Können Sie mir den Bericht senden?” Informal (German): “Kannst du mir den Bericht schicken?”

Source (English): “Thanks for your help!”

Formal (Japanese): “ご協力ありがとうございます。” Informal (Japanese): “手伝ってくれてありがとう!”

Setting Formality

For Text Translation

1. Open MAITO → Text Translation tab
2. Select DeepL as your active engine
3. Choose your target language
4. Look for the Formality dropdown (below target language)
5. Select your preference:
   • Default (recommended)
   • Formal
   • Informal
6. Translate as normal

For Document Translation

1. Open MAITO → Documents tab
2. Select your source and target languages
3. Upload your document
4. Before clicking Translate Document, find Formality dropdown
5. Choose your preference
6. Click Translate Document

The entire document will use your selected formality level.

When to Use Each Level

Use “Default” When:

✅ You’re unsure which to choose

✅ Translating mixed content (formal and informal)

✅ The source text has natural formality cues

✅ Translating technical documentation

✅ General-purpose translation

Most Common Choice: Default works well in 80% of cases.

Use “Formal” When:

✅ Business correspondence

✅ Professional emails to clients/partners

✅ Legal documents

✅ Official letters

✅ Academic papers

✅ Corporate communications

✅ Addressing superiors or strangers

✅ Professional presentations

Example Scenarios:

• Translating a business proposal for Japanese clients
• Converting English contract to formal German
• Professional email to a French business partner

Use “Informal” When:

✅ Personal messages

✅ Social media posts

✅ Friendly emails to colleagues

✅ Blog posts or articles with casual tone

✅ Creative writing

✅ Chat messages

✅ Addressing friends or family

✅ Marketing content aimed at younger audiences

Example Scenarios:

• Translating a friendly email to a Spanish colleague
• Social media post for Italian audience
• Personal blog in French

Language-Specific Formality

Languages with Strong Formality Distinction

These languages have clear formal/informal differences:

• German: Sie (formal) vs du (informal)
• French: vous (formal) vs tu (informal)
• Spanish: usted (formal) vs tú (informal)
• Italian: Lei (formal) vs tu (informal)
• Japanese: Polite forms vs casual forms
• Portuguese: você/senhor (formal) vs tu (informal)
• Polish: Pan/Pani (formal) vs ty (informal)
• Dutch: u (formal) vs jij/je (informal)

Languages with Limited Formality

Some languages have less distinction:

• English: Limited formal/informal differences
• Chinese: Context-dependent more than grammatical

For these languages, the formality setting may have minimal effect.

Formality with Global Hotkey

When using the Ctrl+C, C hotkey:

1. MAITO uses your last-selected formality for that language pair
2. To change formality for hotkey translations:
   • Open MAITO window
   • Change formality dropdown
   • Next hotkey translation uses new setting
   • Setting persists for future hotkey use

No need to change formality before each hotkey translation - it remembers!

Troubleshooting

Formality Dropdown Missing

Possible Causes:

1. Using Local AI: Formality only works with DeepL
2. Language doesn’t support formality: Not all languages have formal/informal distinction
3. Wrong target language: Check you’ve selected a formality-supporting language

Solution:

• Switch to DeepL engine
• Verify target language supports formality
• Contact support if option should appear but doesn’t

Formality Doesn’t Seem to Work

Check:

1. Ensure you’re using DeepL (not Local AI)
2. Verify API key is valid
3. Check target language supports formality
4. Try obvious example (e.g., “Can you help?” to German)

If Still Not Working:

• Clear cache (Settings → Advanced)
• Restart MAITO
• Contact support with example text

Wrong Formality in Output

Possible Causes:

• Source text has strong formality cues that override setting
• Language ambiguity in detection
• DeepL’s interpretation differs from expectation

Solutions:

• Try more explicit source phrasing
• Use “Formal” or “Informal” instead of “Default”
• Add context to source text
• Consider manual adjustment of translation

Best Practices

Business Translation Workflow

1. Default for drafts: Use Default to get natural translations
2. Review audience: Consider who will read the translation
3. Adjust formality: Change to Formal for clients/executives
4. Review output: Ensure tone matches expectations
5. Save favorites: MAITO remembers per language pair

Personal Use Workflow

1. Set once: Choose Informal for casual languages (friends, social media)
2. Leave Default: For most other use cases
3. Switch rarely: Only change when context clearly requires it

Professional Translator Workflow

1. Analyze source: Determine source text formality
2. Match appropriately: Formal → Formal, Informal → Informal
3. Use Default sparingly: When source formality is ambiguous
4. Human review: Always review machine translation output
5. Client preference: Ask clients for formality preferences

Combining Formality with Other Features

Formality + Document Translation

• Entire document uses one formality level
• Choose based on document purpose
• Formal: Contracts, reports, professional docs
• Informal: Blog posts, casual content
• DeepL only: documents translated with Local AI always come out in a neutral tone. If tone matters for a document, translate it with DeepL

Formality + Website Translation

• Set formality before translating website
• Consider website audience
• B2B websites → Formal
• B2C, lifestyle, blogs → Informal or Default

Formality + Auto-detection

• Auto-detect source language still works
• Formality applies to target language only
• Great for multi-language environments

What’s Next?

Related articles:

• Translate Documents - Using formality with documents
• DeepL vs Local - Understanding engine differences
• Get DeepL Key - Setting up DeepL
• Use Global Hotkey - Quick translations with formality

Need Help?

For formality questions:

• Contact support: contact@pangaia.software
• Check Troubleshooting Guide
• Visit DeepL documentation