Learn a language from the games you play

Press ⌘⇧Space over any game, click a word you don't know and see what it means in this exact scene. Saved words come back as reviews, and as quick quizzes the next time they show up in the game.

Download for Mac Windows beta

Free for 7 days, no card needed.

Captured from the real app over a sample scene. Choose a step to see it again.

Any game with text

RPGs, visual novels, strategy games, emulators, even videos.

26 languages

Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Spanish, German, French and 20 more.

Reads the screen locally

Text recognition runs on your computer. Screenshots are never uploaded.

Leaves the game alone

No injected code, no reading of game memory or files.

Understand the scene without leaving it

The Lens opens over a still of your game. Everything below happens right there, in a second or two.

Click any word

A dictionary that has seen the scene

The card explains the word as it's used in this line: reading, meaning in context, grammar, other forms, examples, the kanji and a way to remember it. One click adds it to your reviews.

Word card for 遺跡 (いせき), ruins, over a quest dialogue — 遺跡 in the elder's dialogue: ruins, the ones in the northern forest.

Word card for oxidada, rusty, over a shop menu — 遺跡 in the elder's dialogue: ruins, the ones in the northern forest.

↑ for the sentence, Drag for a phrase

Then the whole line

Press ↑ for a word-by-word gloss, a natural translation and the grammar points in the sentence, tagged by level. Drag across a few words and Overword translates them as one phrase. Save either like a word.

Sentence breakdown of 北の森に古い遺跡があるという with a translation and a grammar point — 北の森に古い遺跡があるという: they say there is an old ruin in the northern forest.

The phrase 古い遺跡 selected and translated as old ruins — 北の森に古い遺跡があるという: they say there is an old ruin in the northern forest.

Later, while you play

The game quizzes you back

Overword keeps reading the screen in the background. When a word you're learning shows up again, a small card asks what it means. Answer or close it and carry on. ⌘⇧E turns encounters off.

The village scene with an encounter card asking what 遺跡 means

Between sessions

Reviews with the scene attached

Every saved word becomes a flashcard that shows the dialogue where you met it. FSRS schedules each card, so it comes back right before you would forget it.

A review card for 遺跡 with the original dialogue above it and Again, Hard, Good, Easy buttons

`T` Subtitles

Every block of text on screen gets a translation underneath, for the moments you just want to keep playing.

Readings where you need them

Furigana appear above the words you don't know yet. Words you're learning stay underlined.

Anki, both ways

Import .apkg decks, send new words through AnkiConnect without duplicates, or export to CSV.

Between play sessions

Everything you saved in the Lens feeds the rest of the app.

A roleplay chat with an innkeeper in Japanese, with a correction under the user's message

Tutor and roleplay

Chat with a character from the game's world. Corrections appear under your messages.

A learning path with completed lessons and the next lesson

Paths

Short lessons built from the words you met, with eight kinds of exercises.

Decks

A deck for each game, decks on any topic, and Anki import.

Journal

What you played and learned each day, with a short quiz.

Also in Overword: a grammar notebook filled from your games, speaking practice with a score, and a translator with ranked options.

Reads 26 languages off the screen

日本語한국어简体中文繁體中文粵語EspañolDeutschFrançaisItalianoPortuguêsEnglishРусскийУкраїнськаPolskiNederlandsSvenskaNorskDanskČeštinaRomânăTürkçeالعربيةไทยTiếng ViệtBahasa IndonesiaBahasa Melayu

On Windows, add the language you study in Windows Settings so the system can read it.

What stays on your computer

ScreenshotsOverword reads the screen with the system's own text recognition. Images never leave your machine.
Your libraryWords, decks and review history live locally and keep working without a subscription.
The text on screenWhen you open the Lens, the recognized text goes to the AI to prepare explanations. Turn off “Pre-translate the screen” in Settings to send only what you click. Overword's servers pass it through and don't store it.
Your gamesOverword only looks at the screen. It doesn't read or change game memory or files.

One plan after a free week

€5.99a month

Lens lookups, sentence breakdowns and translations in every game
Lessons, journal recaps and generated decks
Tutor and roleplay chats with corrections
Encounters and reviews, with your library on your computer

Start the free week The trial starts when you sign in with your email, no card. Cancel any time from the app. Fair use applies; daily play stays far below the limit.

Questions

Which games does Overword work with?

Anything that shows text on screen: RPGs, visual novels, strategy games, emulators, even videos. Run the game in borderless or windowed mode. Exclusive full-screen games can't have overlays on top of them.

Can anti-cheat flag it?

Overword works like a screen recorder: it takes a screenshot and draws its own window over the game. It doesn't inject code into games or read their memory or files.

Do I need to be online?

Reading the screen and reviews work offline. Explanations, translations and the tutor need a connection.

Can I bring my Anki decks?

Yes. Import .apkg files, send new words to Anki through AnkiConnect without duplicates, or export to CSV.

What happens when the trial ends?

Overword asks you to subscribe to keep using the AI features. Your words, decks and review history stay on your computer either way.

Which systems are supported?

macOS 13 Ventura or later. The Windows 10 and 11 version is in a closed beta that opens in small groups: join the waitlist.

Your next play session can teach you something

Install Overword, sign in with your email and start a game. The first seven days are free.

Download for Mac Windows beta: join the waitlist

macOS 13 or later. Windows 10 and 11 in beta.