v1.0.3
· Card layout
- Base form moved next to the meaning: for an inflected word (like “ran”), the base form no longer crowds the word. It now follows the meaning, with a small “base form” label in front.
- Phrases skip the base form: when you select several words, the card doesn’t show a base form, and the word is set one size smaller so the layout stays tidy.
- No more repeated pronunciations: the AI sometimes repeated the pronunciations, which showed up as US UK US UK on the card. They’re now de-duplicated, including results cached earlier.
- Report a problem when it fails: if the AI response can’t be parsed or something unexpected goes wrong, the card now has a “Report a problem” link. The form opens with the version, browser and interface language filled in, and never includes the text you selected.
v1.0.2
· Easier to find
- Feedback is easier to find: Settings has its own Feedback section, and Feedback in the popup is now a clear button.
- Get a key in one click: once you pick a provider in Settings, a link to get a key from that provider appears under the key field.
- Hosted version waitlist: don’t want to deal with an API key? Join the waitlist for a hosted version from Settings (we’re still considering it).
- Pages can opt out: Lingowl won’t pop up a card inside areas marked with
data-lingowl-ignore. The demo on this site uses it, so it no longer overlaps the real card.
v1.0.1
· Feedback
- Feedback form: “Feedback” in the popup and Settings now opens a form with the version, browser and interface language already filled in. If the form won’t load, Settings also shows the contact email.
- Uninstall survey: after you uninstall Lingowl, the browser opens a short feedback page. Filling it in is optional.
v1.0.0
· First release
- Meaning in context: select a word or phrase and Lingowl sends it with its sentence to your AI, which returns only the one meaning it has there.
- Translation card: the word and its base form, pronunciation (US / UK for English, one click to switch), part of speech, language direction, the meaning in this sentence and a definition in the original language. A skeleton shows while loading, and errors say what went wrong.
- Many languages: the source text can be in any language and is detected automatically; translate into 11 languages: Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Russian.
- Several AI providers: DeepSeek, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, OpenRouter, or any custom OpenAI-compatible endpoint. Bring your own key and pick your model.
- 4 ways to trigger: on select, double-click, hold Alt, or click an icon; plus a per-site blocklist.
- Context menu and shortcut: right-click and choose Translate with Lingowl, or press Alt+Shift+L (Option+Shift+L on macOS).
- Light and dark themes, or follow the system.
- Word list: save a word from its card in one click; different example sentences of the same word are merged. Search and delete entries, export CSV (ready to import into Anki), JSON as a backup, or Markdown notes, and import JSON exported by Lingowl. It stays on your computer and is never synced or uploaded.
- Lookup cache: recent results are cached on your computer, so repeats are quick.
- Master password (optional): encrypt the key stored on your computer.
- Settings page: test your connection, clear all data, and choose between Simplified Chinese and English for the interface.