ConveyUnderstanding Cultural Phrases, Norms, and Traditions
A dictionary tells you what a word means. It doesn't tell you when saying it would be too formal, too casual, or accidentally rude — and that gap is exactly where most cross-cultural conversations go sideways.
The problem with definitions alone
Phrasebooks and basic translation give you literal meaning without context: is this word a compliment or backhanded, is this greeting appropriate for someone older than you, does this phrase carry an assumption that doesn't apply where you're using it. A literal-correct phrase can still land wrong.
What Convey's Lookup tool does
Look up a word or phrase and get more than a definition — the cultural context behind it: honorifics, phrases that don't translate literally, and what a phrase actually signals in the culture you're speaking to, not just the dictionary sense of the words. Paired with pronunciation (spoken aloud, slowed down on request), it's built for actually using a phrase correctly, not just recognizing it.
Who this helps
Anyone navigating a culture that isn't their own on an ongoing basis — not just tourists needing a phrase once, but people building real relationships, working with international teams, or living somewhere new, where getting norms right matters more the longer you're there.
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