Any player, any site
YouTube, Netflix, Bilibili, VLC, IINA, a lecture recording. If you can see the words, you can look them up.
For video and subtitles
Pause. Point at the subtitle. Keep watching.
Subtitles are drawn onto the picture, so no dictionary can select them. AALookup reads what's on the screen. Pause, point at the word, and the meaning of that line appears next to it. Any player, any streaming site, in a browser or an app.
No account needed. Your dictionaries stay on your computer.
What you can do
The whole line, not the word alone
The explanation takes the whole subtitle line into account, so slang and idioms come out right.
Hold the frame
Press the shortcut and the screen holds still while you point, so a fast subtitle can't run away.
Free, no sign-up
How to start
- Download and open AALookup
macOS or Windows, under 20 MB, no account needed.
- Let it see your screen
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.
- Point at a word
Three-finger tap on a Mac, or press your shortcut on Windows. The meaning appears next to the word.
What users say
I used to chain two apps together, one for grabbing words off the screen and GoldenDict-ng for the dictionaries. AALookup does all of that on its own, and the UI is done really well.
Common questions
Does it work with Netflix or YouTube in a browser?
Yes. Pause and point at the subtitle, and AALookup reads it from the screen. On macOS, allow Screen Recording once. Windows needs nothing extra.
What about burned-in subtitles?
Same thing. They're read from the picture like any other on-screen text.
Which languages?
English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and the other languages your dictionaries cover are recognised on screen. The explanation comes in the language you choose.
Is it free?
Yes. Dictionary lookups are free, offline and unlimited. AI explanations come with a free trial.
Get AALookup
Free download
Local dictionaries work offline and without limits. AI explanations come with a free trial.
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