Chrome Extensions for Chinese Language Learners
These Chrome extensions can boost your Chinese learning! From dictionaries and dual subtitles to OCR, these tools are designed to make studying easier and more efficient. Each extension is carefully selected for its usefulness, ease of use, and potential to accelerate your language learning.
Annotate
★ Separates Chinese text into words and adds customizable Pinyin or Zhuyin directly to webpages. CWS: Chinese Dictionary + Pinyin Annotator is a free Chrome extension that combines Chinese-English and English-Chinese dictionary lookups, word segmentation, Pinyin and Zhuyin annotations, text-to-speech, vocabulary tracking, sentence mining, and tone or HSK color-coding while you browse. See the full features on their website or install it from the Chrome Web Store. A paid Safari version is available for iPhone, iPad, and Mac through the US App Store.
Free
★ Adds pronunciation guides directly above Chinese characters as you browse. Hanzi Annotator is a free browser extension that annotates Chinese text on webpages with Pinyin, Zhuyin, IPA, Wade-Giles and several other pronunciation systems. Click a character to view its pronunciation, dictionary definition and HSK level, or use optional tone colors to make tones easier to spot. It works offline after installation and does not require an account. Available for Chrome and Firefox.
Free
★ Add Pinyin or Zhuyin directly above Chinese characters on webpages and video subtitles. Pinyin Annotator is a free, ad-free, open-source browser extension that adds Hanyu Pinyin or Zhuyin annotations to Simplified and Traditional Chinese text. It can annotate entire webpages or selected text and works with Chinese subtitles on sites such as YouTube, Netflix, Disney+, and Bilibili. You can also click words for dictionary lookup and optionally have pages annotated automatically. View the project on GitHub. Available for Chrome and Firefox, with support for Firefox on Android.
FreeDual Subtitles
You may also find our Dual Subtitles resource page helpful.
★ Watch Chinese videos with dual subtitles on popular streaming platforms including Viki and iQIYI. Glot Extension, also known as GlotDojo, is a free Chrome extension that adds dual subtitles and language-learning tools to supported video sites, making it especially useful for learners who watch Chinese dramas and other native content on Viki and iQIYI. It also offers subtitle translation, auto-pause, playback controls, quick word lookups, pinyin, example sentences, and other Chinese dictionary features. An optional premium Chinese add-on provides additional dictionary tools. Get the extension from the Chrome Web Store or learn more on their website. Note: Although GlotDojo supports pinyin through its Chinese lookup tools, it does not display pinyin with video subtitles in the same way Language Reactor does.
Free / Paid
★ Interactive dual subtitles turn streaming videos into clickable language-learning material. Language Player is a Chrome extension that adds time-synced transcripts and dual subtitles to Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu, and Max, letting you click words for instant dictionary definitions and save vocabulary for later review. It supports more than 110 languages, including Chinese, and offers a free account with optional Pro features such as full translated transcripts and AI-powered word explanations. Get the Chrome extension or use their website. Available on Android and iOS.
Free / Paid
★ Dual subtitles and clickable definitions make native video content much easier to study. Language Reactor is a Chrome extension that adds dual-language subtitles, a popup dictionary, precise playback controls, and auto-pause tools to Netflix and YouTube. You can also import webpages and books, save vocabulary, use text-to-speech, and export flashcards to Anki. Many features are free, with optional Pro features available. Install it from the Chrome Web Store or learn more on their website.
Free / Paid
★ Turns native videos and webpages into interactive Mandarin study material with instant word lookups and one-click flashcards. Migaku: Really Learn Languages is a Chrome extension for learning from native content on sites including YouTube, Netflix, Disney+, and Rakuten Viki. It makes subtitles and webpage text interactive, provides dictionary and AI explanations, tracks vocabulary, and creates media-rich spaced-repetition flashcards from what you watch or read. Migaku supports Mandarin and offers a 10-day free trial followed by paid plans. Available as a Chrome extension, on Android and iOS. Learn more on their website.
Free Trial / Paid
★ Turn videos and webpages into interactive language-learning material with bilingual translation and study tools. Trancy is a language-learning browser extension and app that adds bilingual subtitles to videos on sites such as YouTube and Netflix, translates webpages, and provides tools for looking up and saving words, analyzing sentences, practicing listening and speaking, and reviewing vocabulary. A free plan includes its core translation and subtitle features, while paid plans add advanced AI tools, expanded vocabulary features, pronunciation evaluation, PDF translation, and more. Available on the web, as a Chrome or Firefox extenion, Android and iOS.
See our Trancy tutorial on YouTube to learn how to use it. We get a small commission if you buy a Trancy subscription through our links, at no extra cost to you.
OCR
★ Extract and translate text that is trapped inside images, PDFs, and video subtitles. Copyfish Free OCR Software is a free, open-source browser extension that uses OCR to turn text in images, screenshots, PDFs, and videos into editable text you can copy, search, or translate. It is especially useful for language learners because it can capture text from subtitles on sites such as YouTube and Youku, including text that ordinary translation extensions cannot access, and its repeat OCR feature makes it easier to capture changing subtitles.
Not sure how to use it? Watch our Copyfish tutorial.
★ Makes Chinese text in images, subtitles, and other unselectable browser content usable with pop-up dictionary tools. ZhongLens is a Chinese OCR Chrome extension that scans the current browser tab and places selectable Chinese text over visual content such as video subtitles, images, screenshots, comics, and games. You can then hover over recognized text with a compatible pop-up dictionary such as Zhongwen for quick lookups. The free plan includes unlimited local OCR scans and 50 cloud OCR scans, while the paid Supporter plan includes unlimited cloud OCR. Local OCR runs directly in your browser, and crop mode lets you scan only a selected subtitle or text area.
Note: ZhongLens does not replace your dictionary. It makes otherwise unselectable Chinese text accessible to the popup dictionary you already use.
Popup Dictionaries
★ Adds instant Chinese word lookups, Pinyin or Zhuyin, and interactive subtitles while browsing and watching videos. Inkah is a free browser extension for learning Mandarin and Korean from webpages, Netflix, and YouTube. For Mandarin, hover over words to see definitions with Pinyin or Zhuyin, Simplified or Traditional characters, and Pleco-style tone colors; select sentences to break them into individual words, save vocabulary, and hear words and sentences with text-to-speech. Its Netflix tools add multiple subtitle layers, clickable vocabulary, auto-pause, and subtitle navigation for studying while you watch. Learn more on their website. Available for Firefox and Chrome.
Free
★ Look up Chinese words while reading webpages or watching videos without leaving the content. Langtern is a free Chrome extension with a pop-up dictionary that works with text on websites and videos, including YouTube, making it useful for learning from authentic Chinese content. It currently supports Chinese and English as target languages. The companion mobile apps also include an integrated dictionary, flashcards, an offline media player, and ebook and PDF reading tools. Visit their website or get the Chrome extension. Available on Android and iOS.
Free
★ Hover over Chinese text for instant Mandarin or Cantonese dictionary lookups without leaving the page. LiuChan Chinese Popup Dictionary is a free Chrome extension that works with Simplified and Traditional Chinese, providing Mandarin definitions with Pinyin or Zhuyin and Cantonese definitions with Jyutping. It also includes text-to-speech, text highlighting, clipboard export, customizable themes, synced settings, and an offline dictionary that can be updated from within the extension. Get it from the Chrome Web Store or visit their website.
Free
★ Hover over Chinese text for instant definitions, pronunciation audio, and easy Anki card creation. Yomitan Popup Dictionary is a free, open-source browser extension that supports Mandarin through downloadable dictionaries such as CC-CEDICT. Hold a modifier key and hover over selectable Chinese text to open dictionary definitions, hear pronunciation audio, and send vocabulary directly to Anki. Multiple dictionaries can be installed and customized, and lookups work offline once the dictionaries are downloaded. Learn more on their website or download it from the Chrome Web Store.
Free
★ Hover over Chinese text to instantly see definitions, Pinyin, and pronunciation information. Zhongwen: Chinese-English Dictionary is a free popup dictionary extension that works with both Simplified and Traditional Chinese, using CC-CEDICT to provide English definitions and color-coded Pinyin while you read Chinese webpages. It also supports Zhuyin, links to grammar notes and example sentences, lets you save vocabulary to a built-in word list, export words for Anki, and add words to Skritter. Available for Chrome and Firefox.
Free
★ Hover over Chinese text for instant pronunciation, definitions, audio, and character details. Zhongzhong: An Improved Chinese Dictionary is a free Chrome popup dictionary that shows meanings and pronunciation as you hover over Chinese words. It supports simplified and traditional characters, optional Pinyin and Zhuyin, Mainland and Taiwan read-aloud audio, Hanzi information, stroke-order animations, and customizable display options.
FreeVocabulary Tracker
★ Turn almost any webpage into a vocabulary-tracking reading tool. Vocab Tracker is a free language-learning tool inspired by LingQ, Readlang, and LWT (Learning with Texts). The Chrome extension tracks vocabulary as you read, color-coding words based on familiarity and supporting Chinese text segmentation, custom dictionaries, phrases, flashcards with spaced repetition, and CSV exports for use with Anki and other tools. You can also import your own texts through their website. A free account is required because vocabulary data is stored on Vocab Tracker’s servers. Get the Chrome extension.
FreeGeneral Tools
★ Adds customizable shortcuts and seek buttons for quickly replaying or skipping parts of YouTube videos. Controls for Youtube is a free Chrome extension that lets you jump forward or backward by configurable amounts, add optional seek buttons to the player, and use keyboard controls even with embedded YouTube videos. Learn more on their website. Available free from the Chrome Web Store.
Free
★ Translate Chinese text, webpages, and even text in images without leaving your browser. DeepL: translate and write with AI is a Chrome extension that lets you translate selected text while browsing, translate text as you write, and improve writing with grammar, style, and tone suggestions. Free users can translate selected text, while DeepL Pro unlocks features such as full-page translation and unlimited characters. Available on the web, Android and iOS.
Free / Paid
★ Shows original and translated text side by side across webpages, PDFs, subtitles, and more. Immersive Translate is a Chrome extension that adds bilingual translation to webpages and also supports PDFs, video subtitles, images, and multiple translation engines and AI models. The extension is free to install, with additional paid Pro features and higher usage limits. Get the Chrome extension or visit their website. Also available on Android and iOS.
Free / Paid
★ Turns captioned YouTube videos into Mandarin listening practice with AI voiceover, tone-colored pinyin, and interactive transcript tools. Mandarin Lens - AI Chinese YouTube Voiceover is a Chrome extension for beginner and intermediate learners that adds an AI-generated Mandarin voiceover to YouTube videos while keeping the original audio quietly in the background. Features include tone-colored pinyin subtitles, karaoke-style highlighting, a synchronized Chinese transcript, clickable dictionary definitions, pronunciation audio, phrase replay, timestamped navigation, and separate controls for the Mandarin and original audio. The extension is free to install and requires a free Google account.
Free / Paid
★ Type numbered pinyin and automatically convert it to correctly placed tone marks across most websites. Pinyin Type is a free Chrome extension that converts syllables followed by tone numbers into tone-marked pinyin as you type (for example: ni3hao3 → nǐhǎo), including correct placement for ü. You can replace an incorrect tone by pressing a different number, use Smart Backspace to remove only the tone mark, and use the built-in input window on sites where direct conversion is not supported. Processing happens locally in your browser, so your typed text does not leave your device.
★ Converts webpages and clipboard text between Simplified and Traditional Chinese, with both automatic and manual options. New TongWenTang is a free browser extension that converts Chinese text between Simplified and Traditional characters. It can automatically convert webpages as they load, handle dynamically changing page content, convert text manually from the browser menu, and convert clipboard text. Users can also create URL-based conversion rules and custom word mappings. View the project on GitHub. Available for Chrome and Firefox.
Free
★ Quickly slow down or speed up videos with customizable keyboard shortcuts. YouTube Playback Speed Control is a free Chrome extension that lets you adjust playback speed on YouTube and other HTML5 videos using the + and - keys or an on-screen control. You can customize the keyboard shortcuts, change the amount the speed increases or decreases with each press, reset playback to 1x, and use it with embedded YouTube videos, making it especially useful for slowing down fast Mandarin dialogue or speeding through easier material.
Free
★ Download videos and save audio directly from YouTube pages. Tubly Downloader is a browser extension for Chrome, Edge, and Firefox that saves YouTube videos, Shorts, and MP3 audio for offline listening and viewing. The free version includes unlimited video downloads up to 480p, with daily limits on MP3 conversions, 1080p videos, and Shorts. A paid Pro plan removes these limits and supports video downloads up to 8K when available. Chrome requires manual installation. Find installation instructions and plan details on their website.
Limited Free / Paid
★ Control HTML5 video speed and quickly replay or skip sections with customizable keyboard shortcuts. Video Speed Controller is a free, open-source browser extension that adds an on-screen speed indicator and controls for speeding up, slowing down, resetting, rewinding, and advancing HTML5 video. Users can customize shortcut keys and speed increments and choose whether the extension remembers their playback speed, making it especially useful for slowing down dialogue or replaying short sections while studying. View the project on GitHub. Available for Firefox and Chrome.
Free