Getting started
Which languages can I learn?
40: English, Korean, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Russian, Vietnamese, Thai, Indonesian, Turkish, Arabic, Hindi, Polish, Dutch, Ukrainian, Hebrew, Persian, Urdu, Greek, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Czech, Slovak, Romanian, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Bengali, Tamil, Malay, Filipino, Swahili and Catalan.
Base-form grouping, the offline dictionary and on-device translation vary by language. Settings shows what applies as soon as you pick one.
Do I need an account?
No. Every study feature works without one. Sign in with an emailed code only if you want the same words and cards on several computers. There’s no password.
How is this different from just turning on subtitles?
You see the original and the translation on one screen and click any word to look it up. Lines you want to remember become cards with their audio and scene, reviewed with quizzes and spaced repetition. You can also replay a single line, say it after the speaker, or write it down. It turns watching into studying.
Is it free?
Installing and every study feature are free. Server translation, server dictionary lookups and AI sentence explanations have a daily allowance, which is larger when you’re signed in. A Pro plan for heavier use is in the works. It has no price yet; we’ll post it here first.
Does it work on phones or tablets?
No. It’s an extension for Chrome on desktop (Windows, macOS, Linux). Chrome on mobile doesn’t support extensions.
Which browsers work?
Chrome is the main target. It has also been checked in Firefox, without the features that use tab audio (audio cards and live subtitles). Safari has only been built, not tested.
Subtitles and translation
Subtitles don’t show up.
First check that the video has a subtitle track. If the track can’t be loaded, Cuebird tries a subtitle file you attached, the YouTube transcript and the on-screen captions. You can also attach an SRT, VTT, SMI or TTML file with Open subtitle file in the study panel, or start live subtitles from tab audio with Alt+Shift+L (Chrome).
The translation is odd or missing.
Human-made translations are the most accurate. Without them, auto or machine translation is used and can read awkwardly. If you’ve used up today’s free server translation, it resets the next day. You can hide the translation line with C.
How do AI sentence explanations work?
Press Explain in the study panel or on a flashcard. The text of that sentence goes through the Cuebird server to an AI provider, which returns an explanation in your native language: a natural translation, a phrase breakdown, grammar, key expressions and tone. There’s a daily limit, and AI explanations can be wrong.
Can I study web articles too?
Yes. Turn on Reading mode from the popup on an article and it opens in a clean view. Click words, translate sentences and save cards. It only runs on tabs where you turn it on.
Does it work on Netflix and the Korean services?
Subtitle loading is implemented, but checking it on real playback with a subscription is still to do. Please report problems. YouTube and your own files are checked on real playback.
Does it download or record videos?
No. It reads subtitles only and never downloads or alters the video stream or touches DRM. An audio card (Alt+Q) stores a few seconds of the current line’s audio and one frame on your device.
Your data
Where is my study history stored?
Words, cards, card audio and frames, shadowing recordings, practice history, card lists, quiz results, your daily goal, your files and imported dictionaries are all stored in this browser. When you sign in, only word statuses and card text sync with our server.
Do card lists and the daily goal sync?
Not yet. Only word statuses and cards (sentence, translation, note, review schedule) sync. Card lists, quiz results, your daily goal and streak stay on this device.
Where does my voice go when I shadow?
Recordings stay on your device. Turning speech into text uses the browser’s speech recognition, so in Chrome your voice may be sent to Google’s speech service. The same applies to the Say it quiz. Cuebird never receives that audio. A notice appears on first use, and you can turn speech recognition off under Settings → Speech recognition to record and grade yourself instead.
How do I delete my account and data?
In Settings → Account you can download your server data as JSON or delete your account immediately. Deleting the account leaves the study history in this browser; uninstalling the extension removes it.
Cards and Anki
What do I need to send cards to Anki?
Anki desktop with the AnkiConnect add-on, installed and running on your computer. Each card list becomes one Anki deck, and cards with audio and a frame bring them along.
How are reviews scheduled?
FSRS, a modern spaced-repetition algorithm, picks the next review date for each card. Rate how well you remembered with 1–4 and the interval adjusts.