Mac
Three-finger tap or a shortcut on a word in any app, whether that's Safari, a PDF, a game or a video.
Learn more →The dictionary that opens where you're reading
Point at any word. The meaning appears right there.
In any app on your Mac or PC, point at a word, three-finger tap or press a shortcut, and the meaning that fits the sentence shows up next to it. Free, no account needed, and every word you look up can come back for review.
No account needed. Your dictionaries work offline, with no limits.
⌁Click the highlighted word to replay a real lookup
horizonLook up “horizon”
Wherever you read
It works in the apps you already use.
Windows
One shortcut in any window. Text in games and images is read straight from the screen.
Learn more →iPhone, iPad and Android
Look up from the share sheet, carry your dictionaries with you, and review on the go.
Learn more →Browser
Review your words and train word books without installing anything.
Learn words →Built for reading
Answers show up where the question came up.
Meaning in context
You get the sense the sentence is actually using, not a list of every definition the word has.
Works in any app
A trackpad gesture or a shortcut on the word, in whatever app you're using. No copying, no switching windows.
Your dictionaries, your call
Read your own MDict dictionaries, with online explanations added while you have lookups available. Local dictionary cards remain available offline and after your allowance runs out.
What people use it for
Papers, games, exams, and big dictionary collections.
Papers and PDFs
Point at a term in any PDF reader and get the meaning the paper is using. Scanned pages work too.
Learn more →Games and subtitles
Text you can't select is read from the screen, so a line of dialogue can be looked up without leaving the game.
Learn more →Exam prep
Words from your reading and the word book you're studying go into one review queue.
Learn more →Your dictionaries
Import a folder of MDict dictionaries. Each keeps its own layout, and there's no limit on how many.
Learn more →After the lookup
The words you look up come back to you.
Looking a word up once isn't the same as learning it. AALookup keeps the sentence you found it in, brings it back just before you'd forget it, and drills it four ways, so the next time you meet the word you remember it instead of looking it up again.
Open the word trainerLook up
A gesture or shortcut in any app gives you the sense used in that sentence.
Collect
The word goes into your list with the sentence and context it came from, never as a bare headword.
Review
Each word comes back on its own schedule. Word books drill it by copying, spelling, listening and recall.
Sign in, and lookups on your desktop and reviews in the browser stay in step.
From the FreeMdict forum
What users say
I'm a Mac user, and the trackpad gesture alone made me download it. Lookups are fast, and it combines the strengths of dictionaries and AI. The built-in three-finger Look Up often gets the range of a Chinese word wrong; AALookup is spot-on in English and nearly always right in Chinese. Genuinely smooth.
It's not just fast, it's that you can look things up anywhere. And the interface is modern; it feels like my dictionary app jumped from an antique straight into the present.
Very quick to respond, and really smooth to use.
- Look up words in your own dictionaries, offline and without limits.
- AI explanations come with a free trial.
- Word list, review and word-book training.
- Review in the browser on any device.
- A free account syncs the words you're still learning across your devices.
Compared with macOS Look Up
The built-in Look Up, without its limits.
| macOS Look Up | AALookup | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it works | Apps with selectable text | Any app, including games and video |
| Windows | No | Yes, with a shortcut |
| What you get | Every sense in the dictionary | The sense this sentence uses, with your dictionaries below |
| Afterwards | Nothing | The word is saved with its sentence and comes back for review |
What's new
Recent releases
- 1.0.11More reliable three-finger lookup and screen recognition, with faster screen freezing.
- 1.0.10This corrective release restores Android and iOS packaging for the lookup improvements introduced in 1.0.9.
- 1.0.9Lookup failures now stay visible, slow captures explain what is happening, and macOS frozen-screen lookup is more reliable.
Private by design
Local dictionaries. Clear about what goes online.
Your dictionary files and the text you read stay on your device. When you ask for an online explanation, AALookup sends the word, the sentence around it and the relevant dictionary text, and nothing else.
✓Local dictionaries stay local
✓Online explanations send text, on request
✓No account needed to look words up; sign in only for sync
Questions
Common questions
Is AALookup free?
Yes. Looking words up in your own dictionaries is free, offline and unlimited, and so are the word list, review and the browser version. AI explanations come with a free trial, and Plus adds more if you want them.
Do I need an account?
No. Sign in only if you want your words and progress to follow you to other devices.
Which systems does it run on?
macOS 13 or later, Windows 10 and 11, Android 11 or later, and iPhone and iPad. Review also works in any browser.
What permissions does it ask for?
On a Mac, Accessibility to read the word under your pointer, and Screen Recording to read text in games and images. Windows asks for nothing.
Where do the dictionaries come from?
Use your own MDict files and import a whole folder at once, or download sample dictionaries from the list in Settings.
Does it work offline?
Yes. Local dictionaries, your word list and review all work without a connection. Only AI explanations need one.
Is what I read uploaded?
No. Dictionaries and the text you read stay on your computer. When you ask for an AI explanation, that sentence and the relevant dictionary text are sent to produce it, and nothing else.
How do I install it on my phone?
Android: download the APK from this page and allow the install when your phone asks. iPhone and iPad: install through TestFlight, Apple's own app for installing outside the App Store. The link is next to the downloads.
Get AALookup
One small app. Fewer interruptions while you read.
Checking the latest release…
iPhone and iPad install through TestFlight. Open the TestFlight link