NoaLingua Recommended
The best Chrome extensions for language students, led by NoaLingua
A reading list in another language, a lecture recording, and a deadline. Different problem from casual learning.
A student needs three things a casual learner does not: PDFs that stay readable, terminology that sticks, and everything exportable for revision. NoaLingua opens set texts in two PDF modes with clickable words, and exports your deck to Anki, CSV or a spreadsheet for free.
Free, and every feature works on the free plan. No account, no sign-up — the extension installs and works. What the paid plans change.
Why this one
Why we put NoaLingua first here
We make it, so read this as the argument it is — and then check it against what it cannot do, which is on the site for the same reason.
- Set texts are usually PDFs. The original-layout mode keeps columns, tables and figures where they are — which matters when the figure is the point — with every word still clickable.
- The bilingual mode aligns paragraphs side by side for the passages you genuinely cannot get through, without turning the whole reading into a translation.
- Terminology from a lecture on YouTube, a paper in PDF and a page on the web lands in one deck, which is how revision actually works.
- Export is free on every plan, so a term's worth of vocabulary can leave as an Anki package or a spreadsheet before an exam.
The shortlist
What to use
Every entry carries a reason not to pick it, including ours. Descriptions of other tools come from those tools' own pages, dated below each one.
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NoaLingua Our pick
A Chrome extension that turns YouTube, Netflix, any web page and PDFs into study material: dual subtitles, click any word for its meaning in that sentence, and a spaced schedule that brings it back.
Best for. Students reading set texts in PDF and following lectures online, who need everything exportable for revision.
Not for. It is a 0.2 release with a very small user base, and it is built by one person. If you want something mature and widely used, that is a real reason to pick something else. Where it does and does not run is below.
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Anki
The open-source spaced-repetition program, free on desktop and Android.
Best for. Revision at scale, particularly for anyone already running a medical or language deck.
Not for. It does not collect anything for you. Anki reviews the cards you make; making them from what you watch and read is the part it leaves to you and to whatever tool you pair it with.
Anki website · Described from Anki, official site, read 2026-09-10
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Readlang
A web reader and click-to-translate extension with support for importing your own texts.
Best for. Reading web-based set texts with a simple, proven translation layer.
Not for. Built for web pages rather than for PDFs with academic layout.
Readlang website · Described from Readlang, official features page, read 2026-08-10
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Immersive Translate
A bilingual page-translation extension that renders translation alongside the original.
Best for. Getting through a long secondary source quickly when you need the argument, not the language.
Not for. It is for comprehension speed, not for learning. Nothing is retained and nothing is scheduled.
Immersive Translate website · Described from Immersive Translate, official pricing page, read 2026-08-10
Where this recommendation stops
Scanned course readers, which have no text layer and which NoaLingua does not OCR. Also not for library platforms that will not display the text to you in the first place — it reads what your browser renders and does not bypass access controls. Desktop Chrome only, so it is not on the tablet you read on the bus.
The full list is on what NoaLingua cannot do, and the per-language detail is on supported languages.
Questions about best Chrome extensions for language students
Will it open the scanned PDFs my department uses?
No. It reads a PDF's text layer, and a scan is an image. If your reader is a photocopy, you will need an OCR step first from something else.
Can I get my terminology out for revision?
Yes, free on every plan — an Anki package with images and audio, Anki-compatible CSV, an editable spreadsheet, or the whole profile as JSON.
Is there a student discount?
There is no student plan, because there is little to discount: every feature works free, and paid plans only raise the deck-size cap.
Read next
Install it and try this on the next thing you watch
Free, with every feature. No account, nothing to cancel, and your deck stays on your machine.
Add to Chrome — Free Add to Chrome Opens the Chrome Web Store listing NoaLingua — beyond dual subs: video, web, PDF — free, no account, Chrome 138 or newer.- Free, and not a trial Every feature on the free plan — both PDF modes, shadowing, all 30 practice formats.
- No account, no email Nothing to sign up for and nothing to cancel. There is no login screen at all.
- Two dropdowns to set up Pick what you are learning and what you want translations in. That is the whole setup.
- Your words stay yours Export to Anki, CSV, a spreadsheet or a full JSON profile — free on every plan.