Understand words in context
YouTube subtitles.
Words you can come back to.
Turn YouTube into a learning routine: listen closely, look up and save words, revisit the original clip, then practise speaking. Use expressions from what you watch in a real-time conversation with your personal coach about your own life.
Desktop Chrome extension · Use a computer for learning
Try the path from captions to your collection
我想找一份能有所作为的工作。
I wanted a job where I could make a difference.
Why I changed jobs · An expression for your own story
Stay with the video. Subtitles, saved items and drafts are on the right. Click a timestamp to switch the sample sentence on the left.
VilaChinese → EnglishSentence listening: pause, loop and hidden captions
Open a YouTube video with captions in your learning language. Pause automatically at each sentence, loop it and set playback to 0.5x–1.5x. Hide the original and translation independently; click a line to reveal it temporarily and click again to hide it.
Shortcuts work on the YouTube page and in the sidebar: A / D previous / next sentence, S replay, Q loop, P pause after each sentence, E reveal or continue, Z / X hide original / translation.
Saved words highlighted across videos
Words you save are highlighted in other videos, including supported forms such as assume and assumed. Saved-word and difficulty highlights have different styles. Records stay local by default and are organised by learning language.
Review words in their original YouTube sentences
Save more than an isolated word: return to the original sentence where you first met it. Review cards can play the saved clip, replay it or slow it to 0.75x. If the video cannot be embedded, review continues with an ordinary card.
Playing the source clip requires access to YouTube. Vila uses the original video and timestamp, without retaining raw microphone audio; source-clip review is not fully offline.
Use word density to help choose a video
Set your vocabulary level to estimate unfamiliar words per minute in the English Discovery catalogue. This helps you compare the difficulty of different videos. Before a chapter, see up to eight potentially unfamiliar words. The same “My vocabulary level” also decides which subtitle words are framed: only words harder than it. With “Not sure” every level is framed, and you can also pick the levels yourself.
Estimates count word occurrences, not distinct words, and are not listening-test scores. Bands: easy ≥ 99%; suitable ≥ 98% and < 99%; demanding ≥ 95% and < 98%; too hard < 95%. Other language catalogues lack complete frequency counts, so estimates are not available for every language or video.
Look up words and hear their pronunciation
Basic lookup uses available offline definitions first. Choose US or UK English, hear French and Korean words, or switch between Mandarin and Cantonese. Basic lookup and pronunciation are available directly; some voices need internet access, and dictionary coverage varies by language and entry.
Which languages can you learn?
| Learning language | Vocabulary levels |
|---|---|
| English | Five difficulty bands |
| French | A1–C2 |
| Korean | Beginner, intermediate and advanced |
| Simplified Chinese | HSK levels and additional common words |
Each language can be translated into the other three. All four learning languages also support speaking practice with your personal coach. See speaking support before choosing a plan.
Before you install
Is Vila a mobile app?
Vila is an extension for desktop Chrome. There is currently no standalone iOS or Android app. You can read this site on your phone; use a computer for the learning features.
Are subtitles and saved vocabulary free?
Basic subtitles, the local dictionary, vocabulary levels, saving and local review are free and work without an account. Contextual explanations and enhanced translation are provided through Vila and use credits. See plans and limits.
What if captions are missing or incorrect?
Check that YouTube offers subtitles in your learning language. Errors in source captions affect the learning material. Try a video with clearer captions, refresh the video page and reopen Vila. For persistent issues, visit support.
Why is AI subtitle analysis still processing?
If the panel says an AI request is running, it waits 30 seconds before retrying subtitle analysis. Its result appears when the request finishes; basic subtitles remain available. If no result appears after repeated retries, refresh the video page and reopen Vila.
Use what you understand
After watching an English clip, retell it in your own words and practise a conversation about the same topic.
Try the speaking walkthroughTurn saved sentences into your own draft
Choose a topic and outline in Drafts, then organise saved sentences from the same learning language into sections. Ask the writing assistant to generate or polish a reference draft, edit it, and save under Saved → Texts. Hide the text to practise retelling. Local organisation and editing are free; generation and polishing use credits.
Explore the drafting workflow and demo →