AI in Catalan: Writing, Translating, Replies

AI in Catalan is already good enough for daily writing, translation and study, and it is a language where a little guidance makes a large difference. Catalan is spoken by millions of people in Catalonia, the Valencian Community, the Balearic Islands, Andorra and other areas, and it has its own spelling rules, apostrophes, a special punctuated letter pair and regional varieties. An assistant that is told only to “write in Catalan” may drift into Spanish word order, miss a pronoun contraction or choose a variety your readers do not use. Clear prompts avoid those problems and produce text that sounds natural.

This guide explains how to use an assistant such as Ask Mio for Catalan. It covers varieties and standards, spelling and typing details, formal and informal address, the tricky small words called weak pronouns, translation to and from Catalan and Spanish, business replies, study uses and a review routine before you send anything. It is written for businesses, students, teachers, translators and families who work in Catalan.

What AI in Catalan can and cannot do

Current assistants read and write Catalan well on common topics, and they handle emails, summaries, explanations and translations. Catalan has less text on the internet than Spanish or English, so quality is more uneven on specialised vocabulary, local expressions and very formal administrative language. Mistakes often take the form of Spanish or French influence: a word borrowed directly, a calqued phrase or a preposition that does not fit.

Good uses: drafts, rewriting for tone, simplifying text, translating messages, creating vocabulary lists and practising conversation.
Use with care: official forms, legal and medical texts, contracts, names of institutions and place names.
Always review: anything that will be published, printed or sent to a customer.

Our overview of the multilingual AI assistant describes how to test quality in any language, and the same method works here.

Varieties of Catalan and standards

Catalan is a single language with regional varieties. The standard norms are set by the Institut d’Estudis Catalans, and in the Valencian Community the Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua sets the norm for Valencian, which is the name used there for the same language. Dialects are often grouped into eastern and western, and differ in pronunciation, some verb forms and some vocabulary. Islands such as Mallorca have their own features, and the variety spoken in Alghero in Sardinia is distinct again. You can read an overview in the article on the Catalan language.

For writing, tell the assistant which standard to use and who the readers are. A company in Valencia may prefer Valencian forms, while a Barcelona publisher will follow the standard of the Institut. Add a short list of preferred spellings for words that vary, and ask the assistant to keep them consistent. If a form looks unfamiliar, ask for a variant and check it in a dictionary.

Spelling, accents and the middle dot

Catalan spelling has several details that are easy to lose. Both grave and acute accents are used, as in à, è, é, í, ò, ó and ú, along with the diaeresis in ï and ü and the cedilla in ç. The letter pair l·l, with a raised middle dot, marks a geminated l, as in the word “col·legi”. The dot is a separate character in Unicode, and people often replace it with a full stop or a bullet, which is a spelling error. Apostrophes mark elision before vowels, as in l’escola and d’aigua, and many articles and prepositions combine, as in del, al and pel.

Ask the assistant to keep the middle dot in l·l and to use the correct apostrophe style consistently.
Check that your keyboard layout and font show accents and the middle dot correctly.
Test a sample in the app where it will be used, such as a word processor, website or invoice.
Ask for a spelling check, then review it with a dictionary for unusual words.

The Institut d’Estudis Catalans publishes the official spelling norms and dictionary, and it is a good reference for doubtful cases.

Formal and informal address

Catalan distinguishes between “tu”, used with friends, family, children and peers, and “vostè”, used in formal or respectful contexts, such as with strangers, older people or in official communication. Companies increasingly choose “tu” in friendly marketing, but formal letters, public administration and many customer service situations still prefer “vostè”. The choice affects verbs, pronouns and the tone of the whole text.

Situation	Suggested address	What to tell the assistant
Official letter or complaint	Vostè	Use formal address and a courteous closing
Customer email from a small shop	Tu or vostè by brand style	Use a warm but polite tone and keep address consistent
Social media post	Tu	Use natural, friendly Catalan without slang
Teaching material	Tu for pupils, vostè for parents	State who the reader is for each part
Internal message to colleagues	Tu	Keep it short and plain

Weak pronouns and other small words

Learners and automatic tools alike struggle with Catalan weak pronouns: short words such as em, et, es, li, ho, hi, en and ne that replace nouns and attach to verbs with hyphens and apostrophes. They combine in sets, and their order and form change with the sentence. For example, a request like “give it to him” involves a combination whose form is not obvious to a beginner. Errors here make text sound foreign.

Ask the assistant to explain each pronoun in a sentence you do not understand.
For important text, request a version with fewer pronoun combinations, using the full noun phrases.
Ask for correction notes when you write your own sentences, so you learn the pattern.
Ask a native speaker to check public-facing text, because small words are where models make the most subtle mistakes.

Translating between Catalan, Spanish and English

Many readers of Catalan also read Spanish, and mixing is common. For translation, work in steps: ask for a summary of the meaning in English or Spanish, then the Catalan version, then a back-translation, and compare. Check names of organisations, official titles, place names, which have standard Catalan forms, and dates and numbers. If a source uses a Spanish term, ask whether Catalan has an established equivalent. Our guide to AI translation quality explains the method in detail, and localising a website with AI covers whole-site projects where tone and layout matter as much as words.

Mio lists a translator tool among its 20 tools, which translates text into another language while keeping formatting, and a ready-made job for translating a document. They suit short, structured material such as menus, forms and instructions.

Business emails and customer replies

Businesses in Catalan-speaking areas often reply in Catalan, Spanish and English. A practical approach is to keep a short style card that you paste into the chat: formal or informal address, preferred greeting and closing, spelling choices, the standard for Valencian or Catalan, the company name and what you never promise. Then follow a short routine.

Paste the customer’s message and ask what they want, in your working language.
Give the facts of your answer: price, availability, dates and policy.
Ask for a reply in Catalan using the style card.
Ask for a back-translation and check that every fact is intact.
Have a native speaker review important or public messages.

The guide to AI for customer support shows how teams keep tone and accuracy together, and the article on AI for Spanish businesses is useful if you also write in Spanish.

Study and teaching uses

Catalan learners can use an assistant as a patient tutor. Ask for a short text at your level with a glossary, then for comprehension questions and corrections of your own sentences. Request examples that show the difference between similar words, explanations of pronoun combinations and short dialogues for situations such as a market or a doctor’s appointment. Ask for the answer in Catalan with English notes, then reduce the notes as your level grows. Teachers can generate reading passages, gap-fill exercises and vocabulary quizzes, and check them before using them with a class. The Language tutor and Teacher experts on the Mio features page are designed for this kind of practice.

Words that look alike and false friends

Catalan shares much vocabulary with Spanish, French and Italian, which helps readers but causes false friends. A word may look the same and mean something different, or it may exist in both languages with a different preferred use. Models trained on much more Spanish than Catalan can lean on the Spanish form when unsure. A practical fix is to build a short glossary for your business: the Catalan terms for your products, services, units and legal phrases, with a note on any word you want to avoid. Paste it at the start of each chat and ask the assistant to follow it. Review the output for words that feel borrowed, and ask for alternatives with an explanation. This glossary also helps colleagues keep the same terms in brochures, emails and the website.

A review routine for Catalan output

Facts: names, dates, amounts and addresses match the source.
Variety: Catalan or Valencian forms are consistent with your readers.
Spelling: accents, apostrophes and the middle dot are correct.
Tone: address and register are the same from greeting to closing.
Risk: legal, medical and tax text is checked by a qualified person who reads Catalan.

Using Mio in Catalan

You can write to Mio in Catalan, Spanish, English or a mixture, and ask for the answer in the language you need. Chat and Write modes are included in every plan, including the free plan with 600 points a month. According to the pricing page, a normal chat reply costs 1 point and a long or complex one 3, so short drafts and corrections are inexpensive. Paid plans add file uploads for documents to translate or summarise and memory for your style card. Your chats and files are yours, they are not used to train models, and you can export or delete them at any time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can AI write correct Catalan?

It writes clear, mostly correct Catalan on common topics, but it can slip into Spanish word order, borrowed words or wrong pronoun combinations. Name the variety and register, give a sample sentence and ask for a back-translation. For public or legal text, have a native reader check the final version.

Does AI know the difference between Catalan and Valencian?

It knows both names and many differences, but it may mix them if you are not specific. State which norm you want, such as the standard of the Institut d’Estudis Catalans or the Valencian norm, and give a few preferred spellings. Ask the assistant to keep them consistent in the whole text.

How do I keep the middle dot in l·l?

Tell the assistant to keep the raised middle dot in words such as col·legi, and check your keyboard layout and font. Many tools replace it with a full stop or bullet. Test the text in the final app or file, because the dot is a separate character that some systems do not handle well.

Should I use tu or vostè in a business email?

Choose by brand style and reader. Formal letters, institutions and older customers often expect vostè, while friendly shops and online brands often use tu. Decide once, put it in your style card and ask the assistant to keep it consistent from the greeting to the closing line.

Is the free plan enough to try this?

Yes. The free plan has Chat and Write modes and 600 points a month, and a normal reply costs 1 point. That covers translation tests, rewriting and short business replies. Paid plans add file uploads and memory if you work with longer documents and a saved style card.

The Bottom Line

AI in Catalan is a fast drafting and learning partner when you give it the variety, register and facts, and check spelling details such as accents, apostrophes and the middle dot. Use back-translation, keep a style card and ask a native speaker to review anything public or important. Start on the free plan and compare options on the Ask Mio pricing page.

AI in Catalan: Writing, Translating and Customer Replies