Live phone interpretation

Live interpretation.
Instant. No scheduling.

One interpreter line that speaks all 25 languages, interpreting both sides of the conversation in real time. No booking, no waiting on hold for an interpreter, no per-minute agency fees. Hand a caller the number and they're understood.

How it works
Purpose-built interpreter — not a translation app Nothing for the caller to install or tap Every call logged, with transcripts in your dashboard
Built for organizations that serve everyone Healthcare Legal Government Social services HR & staffing Education

Three steps to a live interpreter line

01

Get your number

Pick the languages your callers speak, and we provision your interpreter number in minutes — one line, all 25 languages, both directions. No hardware, no installs.

02

Both sides speak naturally

Each speaker talks in their own language. Houji listens, interprets, and speaks the translation aloud in a natural voice — turn by turn, in real time.

03

No scheduling, ever

The line is always on. Connect a caller the moment you need it, day or night, with no booking window and no minimum commitment.

25 languages, paired with English

Houji supports live interpretation across 25 languages. Our highest-accuracy tier covers the world's most widely-spoken languages — English, Spanish, Mandarin, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Japanese, Hindi, Russian, Korean, and Vietnamese. We're continuously expanding into additional languages such as Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Tagalog, Bengali, Tamil, and others. Accuracy in these emerging languages is strong and improving rapidly with each STT-provider update, though some variation is expected as the technology matures.

🇺🇸EnglishVerified
🇪🇸SpanishVerified
🇫🇷FrenchVerified
🇩🇪GermanVerified
🇮🇹ItalianVerified
🇵🇹PortugueseVerified
🇳🇱DutchVerified
🇷🇺RussianBeta
🇮🇳HindiVerified
🇯🇵JapaneseVerified
🇨🇳MandarinVerified
🇻🇳VietnameseVerified
🇰🇷KoreanVerified
🇸🇦ArabicBeta
🇮🇱HebrewEmerging
🇮🇷PersianEmerging
🇹🇷TurkishBeta
🇵🇱PolishBeta
🇺🇦UkrainianEmerging
🇮🇳TamilEmerging
🇧🇩BengaliEmerging
🇵🇭TagalogEmerging
🇮🇩IndonesianBeta
🇷🇴RomanianBeta
🇬🇷GreekBeta

Need a pair we don't list yet? More languages and non-English language pairs are on the roadmap — tell us what you need.

Houji vs. traditional interpretation

An honest look at where on-demand AI interpretation fits — and where a human interpreter is still the right call.

Houji Phone interpretation services In-person / scheduled human interpreter
Availability Instant, 24/7 Connect in minutes, but queues vary Must be scheduled in advance
Pricing Flat monthly rate from $49 Per-minute billing (often $1–3+/min) Hourly + travel, frequently with minimums
Setup Live in minutes, your own interpreter number Account + access codes Booking and coordination per session
Languages 25 languages, paired with English 100+ languages Depends on local availability
Nuance & cultural context Consistent on every call Strong — trained interpreters Varies by interpreter — expertise, skill, and even the day
Gets better over time Continuously — every improvement reaches every call at once Gradually, one interpreter at a time Depends on the individual
Courtroom proceedings & sworn testimony Not suitable Certified options available Certified interpreters required

Houji is built for high-volume, routine interpretation — intake calls, appointment scheduling, status updates, front-desk questions. For courtroom proceedings and sworn testimony, use a certified human interpreter — courts require one. We'd rather tell you that up front.

Flat monthly pricing. No per-minute surprises.

Interpretation as its own standalone service — no Houji Receptionist plan required.

Starter
All 25 languages on one shared line, with 200 interpretation minutes a month. For a single recurring need.
$49
per month
  • 200 interpretation minutes/mo
  • All 25 languages, unlimited pairs
  • Caller language menu (IVR)
  • Shared interpretation number
  • Live bilingual call announcement
  • Call activity log
7-day free trial
Business
All 25 languages, 2,000 interpretation minutes a month. For high-volume operations.
$159
per month
  • 2,000 interpretation minutes/mo
  • All 25 languages, unlimited pairs
  • Caller language menu (IVR)
  • Shared interpretation number
  • Live bilingual call announcement
  • Call activity log
7-day free trial

Need a separate number for one language pair? Add a dedicated interpretation line for $49/month — or $39/month for Houji Receptionist customers. A dedicated line is its own number with no caller menu; add it to any interpretation tier.

All plans include a 7-day free trial and bill at a flat monthly rate. Cancel anytime.

Already use Houji Receptionist?

Add interpretation as an add-on — every tier speaks all 25 languages, and Houji Receptionist customers get dedicated lines for $39/month. Manage your pairs, lines, and billing from the same dashboard you already use.

Add to my plan →

Good things to know

How is this different from Google Translate?
Google Translate is a translation app — someone has to hold a phone between two people, tap, and pass it back and forth. Houji is a phone interpreter: it answers the call, speaks both languages aloud, and manages the conversation's turn-taking — the caller just talks. It's built to do one job: interpret live conversations — meaning, tone, and register, not word-for-word output. And every interpreted call is logged with a transcript in your dashboard, so you have a record you can review.
Which languages are supported?
We support 25 languages, each paired with English. Highest-accuracy languages: Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Hindi, Japanese, Mandarin, Vietnamese, and Korean. Emerging languages (accuracy is strong but improving): Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Turkish, Polish, Ukrainian, Tamil, Bengali, Tagalog, Indonesian, Romanian, and Greek. Your shared line offers all your languages through a caller menu — each call interprets between English and the language the caller picks. More languages and non-English pairs are on the roadmap.
How does the interpretation actually work?
Each speaker talks in their own language. Houji transcribes what's said, translates it, and speaks the translation aloud in a natural voice — turn by turn. The call opens with a short bilingual announcement so both parties know what to expect. It's designed for clear, turn-based conversations rather than rapid cross-talk.
Is Houji HIPAA-compliant? Can I use it for protected health information?
Houji is not currently HIPAA-certified, and we do not offer a signed BAA today. Calls are processed by third-party providers — Deepgram (speech-to-text), Anthropic (translation), and ElevenLabs (voice). If you handle protected health information, you should not use Houji for PHI without independently reviewing each of those vendors' Business Associate Agreements and confirming your own compliance obligations. We'd rather be clear about this than have you assume coverage that isn't in place.
Can I use this for court hearings or sworn testimony?
No. Courts, depositions, and sworn testimony require a certified human interpreter — Houji is not a substitute there and should not be used in those settings. Houji is built for routine, high-volume interpretation: intake calls, scheduling, status updates, and front-desk conversations.
How is this different from a phone interpretation service?
Traditional services connect you to a human interpreter and bill per minute, often $1–3 or more. Houji is a flat monthly rate with an always-on interpreter number — no queue, no per-minute meter. The trade-off is that an experienced human interpreter brings deep contextual judgment to nuance, dialect, and specialized settings — though quality varies from interpreter to interpreter. For routine, repetitive calls, Houji is faster and far cheaper; for the hard cases, use a human.
Do I need a Houji Receptionist plan to use interpretation?
No. Interpretation is a fully standalone service — you get your own interpreter number that speaks all 25 languages. If you already use Houji Receptionist, you can instead add interpretation as an add-on and manage it from the same dashboard.
Can I choose a toll-free number? Does it support texting?
Yes — you can pick a toll-free number during signup or later from the dashboard. Toll-free numbers are voice-only — they cannot send or receive SMS out of the box. Twilio requires a separate verification process before any toll-free number can text, and Houji's interpreter line doesn't use SMS. If you specifically need texting from a toll-free line, contact us and we can walk through the verification process.
Can I use my own voice or a custom voice?
Yes. ElevenLabs supports both instant voice clones (from ~1 minute of audio) and professional clones (from longer training data). Go to ElevenLabs Voice Lab, create or clone your voice, copy the Voice ID, and paste it into the voice field in your dashboard. Custom voices use your ElevenLabs subscription, not ours.
Is there a free trial?
Yes — every plan includes a 7-day free trial. Your card is collected at signup but not charged until the trial ends, and you can cancel anytime before then.