Tap any word in Chinese YouTube subtitles for pinyin and meaning. Works offline; save words to spaced repetition with an account.
Users
32
+4 in 30 days
Rating
5.0 / 5
unchanged in 30 days
Ratings
1
0 in 30 days
Store rank
#128K
#106K among extensions
Version
1.0.0
updated 19 Jun 2026
Users
monthly, 4 months
Latest, 16 Oct 2026:32 usersMove the mouse over the chart for any month
Ratings count
monthly, 4 months
Latest, 16 Oct 2026:1 ratingsMove the mouse over the chart for any month
The Chrome Web Store rounds user counts down to the leading digit, so the user line moves in steps. The ratings count is exact and is the better signal of real adoption.
About LanguageHack: Learn Chinese on YouTube
LanguageHack turns Chinese subtitles on YouTube into a tap-to-learn dictionary.
Watch anything with Chinese subtitles — vlogs, lessons, dramas. Tap any word to
see its pinyin, meaning and HSK level, then save it to your spaced-repetition
deck with one tap.
WHAT IT DOES
• Clickable subtitles — every word in the Chinese caption becomes tappable
• Instant pinyin + English meaning + HSK level, fully offline (bundled
dictionary — the full New-HSK 1–9 set, ~11,500 entries)
• Works even when the subtitles are part of the video itself (experimental):
many Chinese videos have the words printed right onto the picture, with no
caption track you can click. LanguageHack still recognizes those characters
straight from the video image — something subtitle-based tools can't do
• One-tap save to your LanguageHack spaced-repetition account (optional)
• Traditional-script aware: 學/学, 什麼/什么 resolve to the same entry
• Two overlay themes: Glass (transparent) and Warm (LanguageHack)
PRIVATE BY DESIGN
• Lookups work offline — no account required
• When it reads words off the video image, that happens on your device — the
video frames never leave your browser
• No ads, no analytics, no data sale
HOW TO USE
1. Open a YouTube video with Chinese subtitles — the overlay appears
automatically. If the Chinese is printed onto the video (no caption track to
click), switch on "Read on-screen subtitles" in the popup.
2. Tap a word to see pinyin and meaning.
3. Connect your LanguageHack account to save words, then review them daily at
languagehack.online.
NOTES
• Dictionary covers the full New-HSK 1–9 vocabulary (~11,500 words)
• Reading subtitles off the video image is experimental and uses more power
while it's switched on
• LanguageHack is an independent project, not affiliated with or endorsed by
YouTube or Google