Maybe you moved to Israel two years ago and can order coffee and follow most conversations, but typing a proper reply still takes real effort. Maybe you're studying Hebrew and can read slowly with a dictionary open, but texting in real time is a different skill entirely. Either way, the gap between what you can say out loud and what you can type quickly is real, and it shows up constantly: family group chats, a work thread that switches to Hebrew, a friend's birthday message you want to get right.
The usual fallback is to default to English and let everyone else adjust, or to write something short and safe in Hebrew because a longer sentence risks a mistake. Neither is how you'd actually talk if the words came easily.
Bridgi is an Android keyboard. Once it's installed, it sits in your keyboard row next to your regular one, ready in any app: WhatsApp, Messages, Instagram, Gmail, whatever you're already using. Type what you want to say in English, the way you'd naturally phrase it, tap Translate, and it's replaced with Hebrew, right there in the text field, ready to send.
Hebrew changes its verbs and adjectives depending on who's speaking and who's being spoken to. It's one of the first things that trips people up, and most translation tools just guess, defaulting to masculine and getting it wrong close to half the time. Bridgi asks you to set your own gender once, during setup, and every first-person translation after that is built to get it right, not to guess. Texting a man and texting a woman aren't the same sentence in Hebrew either; a tap switches who the message is written to. For the grammar behind why this trips people up, this article walks through it.
Olim finding their footing, Hebrew learners who understand more than they can produce, travelers who want to text like more than a tourist, and anyone else who thinks in English but needs the Hebrew to actually land right.
Bridgi doesn't keep what you type. It's sent securely to translate, then it's gone. No ads, no accounts.
An Android keyboard. English to Hebrew, gender-correct, set once. Reads Hebrew messages back into English too, when you flip the direction. Needs an internet connection to translate. Bridgi subscription: $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year, with a 7-day free trial to start, no card required. More language pairs are planned.
Q: Do I need to already know Hebrew to use Bridgi?
A: No. Bridgi is built for people who think in English and want to send Hebrew, whether you know a little or none at all.
Q: Which apps does Bridgi work in?
A: Any Android app with a text field: WhatsApp, Messages, Instagram, Gmail, Telegram, Signal, and others.
Q: Does Bridgi teach me Hebrew?
A: No, it's a translation keyboard, not a lesson app. Some people pick up words over time from seeing the Hebrew next to what they typed, but that's a side effect, not the point.
Q: What if I only know a little Hebrew?
A: Bridgi works the same either way. Type in English and it comes out in Hebrew, gender-correct, whether you're a beginner or nearly fluent.
Q: Is Bridgi available on iPhone?
A: Not yet. Android first, with an iPhone version on the way.