Choose content
Select any supported browser or Mac app that is playing the language you are learning.
Immersive captions for self-directed language learning
Watch what you want.Understand what you hear.
Turn audio from the Mac app you choose into selectable captions, then look up a phrase with a source you trust—without leaving your flow.
Coming soon on the Mac App StoreRequires macOS 26.0 or later
- On-device speech recognition
- Choose your content
- Choose your Lookup Destinations
- No account
One focused learning loop
From listening to understanding, without changing what you watch.
Start captions
PhraseLens turns the selected audio into live captions using an on-device Apple speech model.
Select a phrase
Highlight a caption phrase—or switch between Phrases and Sentences—to choose exactly what to explore.
Look it up
Open the selected text in your current lookup site, then return to the content with your context intact.
See the learning loop
From the moment you hear it to the moment it makes sense.
PhraseLens stays over the content you chose, then brings your preferred lookup source into the same learning moment.
Caption appearance
Your content. Your sources. Your flow.
A caption tool that adapts to how you learn.
Phrase-aware Japanese
Japanese captions can show furigana and useful phrase grouping. PhraseLens also recognizes English and Simplified Chinese.
Your lookup destinations
Use the dictionaries, learning databases, or search sites you trust. Add them as Lookup Destinations instead of sending every Caption Phrase to one fixed source.
Local and user-controlled
Speech recognition runs on your Mac. There is no PhraseLens account, advertising, or cloud transcript history.
Lookup destinations
Your sources, organized your way.
Choose the current site, add your own, and control their order from one place.
Private by design
Your listening stays on your Mac.
Audio and captions are processed locally with downloaded Apple speech models. PhraseLens does not operate a server that receives your audio or stores your transcript history.
- No advertising
- No behavioral analytics
- No third-party crash SDK
- No account or subscription
Common questions
What can PhraseLens caption?
Audio from a supported browser or Mac app you select, plus microphone input for nearby or external audio.
Which languages are supported?
Japanese is the primary learning experience, including furigana and phrase-aware grouping. English and Simplified Chinese caption recognition are also supported.
Does PhraseLens upload my audio?
No. Speech recognition uses a downloaded Apple model and runs on your device.
What is sent to a lookup website?
Only the text you choose to look up is sent to the third-party site you selected. That site’s own privacy practices apply.
Which macOS version is required?
PhraseLens requires macOS 26.0 or later.
PhraseLens — Immersive Captions
Your content. Your sources. Your flow.
Coming to the Mac App Store as a one-time purchase.
Coming soon on the Mac App StoreRequires macOS 26.0 or later