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Getting started

This introduction will help you quickly familiarize yourself with the basics and set you up for a smooth language learning experience.

Whether you're new to Yomitan or just need a refresher, here you'll find all the essential information you need to begin your journey.

Let's dive in and get started!


Installation

Chrome

Firefox

※ Unlike Chrome, Firefox does not allow extensions meant for testing to be hosted in the marketplace. You will have to download the desired version and side-load it yourself. You only need to do this once, and you will get updates automatically.

Edge


Basic Usage

Now that you have installed Yomitan, let's explore how you can utilize her features in your language learning journey.

Quick-actions

Click the yomitan icon Yomitan button in the browser bar to open the quick-actions popup.

yomitan main popup

  • The cog cog button will open the Settings page.
  • The magnifying glass magnifying glass button willopen the Search page.
  • The question mark symbol question mark buttonwill open the Information page.
  • The profile icon profile button will appear when multipleprofiles exist, allowing the current profile to be quickly changed.

Installing Dictionaries

To import the dictionaries you wish to use for term and kanji searches, head over to Dictionary to get set up!

If you do not have any dictionaries installed or enabled, Yomitan will warn you that it is not ready for use by displaying an orange exclamation mark over its icon. This exclamation mark will disappear once you have installed and enabled at least one dictionary.

custom dictionaries list

Scanning Text

Webpage text can be scanned by moving the cursor while holding a modifier key, which is Shift by default.

If definitions are found for the text at the cursor position, a popup window containing term definitions will open. This window can be dismissed by clicking anywhere outside of it.

popup with search terms

Audio

Click on the loudspeaker icon speaker button to hear the term pronounced by a native speaker.

If an audio sample is not available, you will hear a short click instead. For more options, see Audio Configuration.

Kanji

Click on individual kanji in the term definition results to view additional information about those characters, including stroke order diagrams, readings, meanings, and other useful data.

popup with kanji details

To further enhance your Yomitan experience, it's worth integrating with Anki, a spaced-repetition flashcard program to help solidify the words you encounter.