Text you can't select
AALookup doesn't need selectable text. It recognises what's on the screen, in games, video players and screenshots.
Games and subtitles
Dialogue boxes, item descriptions and subtitles can't be selected or copied. Point at the word, tap or press your shortcut, and AALookup reads it from the screen and explains it where it is.
No account needed. Your dictionaries stay on your computer.

AALookup doesn't need selectable text. It recognises what's on the screen, in games, video players and screenshots.
The panel appears next to the word and goes away when you get back to playing. Nothing stays on top of the game.
Words you look up while playing are saved with the sentence they came from, and come back for review later.
Free, no sign-up
macOS or Windows, under 20 MB, no account needed.
On a Mac, allow Accessibility so it can read the word under your pointer, and Screen Recording for text in games and images. Windows asks for nothing.
Three-finger tap on a Mac, or press your shortcut on Windows. The meaning appears next to the word.
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.
Borderless and windowed modes work. A game in exclusive fullscreen may need to be switched to borderless.
No. AALookup reads the screen only when you ask for a word. Nothing runs while you play.
Any language your dictionaries cover. You can pick the recognition language in Settings.
Get AALookup
Local dictionaries work offline and without limits. AI explanations come with a free trial.
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