🧠 How it works
This workflow automatically translates messages between Japanese and English inside Slack — perfect for mixed-language teams.
In our real-world use case, our 8-person team includes Arif , an English-speaking teammate from Indonesia, while the rest mainly speak Japanese.
Before using this workflow, our daily chat often included:
- “Can someone translate this for Arif?”
- “I don’t understand what Arif wrote — can someone summarize it in Japanese?”
- “I need to post this announcement in both languages, but I don’t know the English phrasing.”
This workflow fixes that communication gap without forcing anyone to change how they talk.
Built with n8n and Google Gemini 2.5 Flash , it automatically detects the input language, translates to the opposite one, and posts the result in the same thread , keeping every channel clear and contextual.
⚙️ Features
- Unified translation system with three Slack triggers :
1️⃣ Slash Command/trans – bilingual posts for announcements.
2️⃣ Mention Trigger@trans – real-time thread translation for team discussions.
3️⃣ Reaction 🇯🇵 / 🇺🇸 – personal translation view for readers.
- Automatic JA ↔ EN detection and translation via Gemini 2.5 Flash
- 3-second instant ACK to satisfy Slack’s response timeout
- Shared Gemini translation core across all three modes
- Clean thread replies using
chat.postMessage
💼 Use Cases
- Global teams – Keep Japanese and English speakers in sync without switching tools.
- Project coordination – Use mentions for mixed-language stand-ups and updates.
- Announcements – Auto-generate bilingual company posts with
/trans.
- Cross-cultural communication – Help one-language teammates follow along instantly.
💡 Perfect for
- Global companies with bilingual or multilingual teams
- Startups collaborating across Japan and Southeast Asia
- Developers exploring Slack + Gemini + n8n automation patterns
🧩 Notes
- You can force a specific translation direction (JA→EN or EN→JA) inside the Code node.
- Adjust the system prompt to match tone (“business-polite”, “casual”, etc.).
- Add glossary replacements for consistent terminology.
- If the bot doesn’t respond, ensure your app includes the following scopes:
app_mentions:read, chat:write, reactions:read, channels:history, and groups:history.
- Always export your workflow with credentials OFF before sharing or publishing.
✨ Powered by
Google Gemini 2.5 Flash × n8n × Slack API
A complete multilingual layer for your workspace — all in one workflow. 🌍
