CorviUnderstand a YouTube video in a language you don't speak
Last updated: 2026-11-01
To understand a YouTube video in a language you don't speak, open it on your Mac and tap Corvi's Fn key. Corvi takes the video's captions from YouTube and tells you what the speaker said in a few sentences, aloud, in your own language. Double-tap Fn to ask about a detail, also in your language. It works in 35 languages, in either direction.
The problem: the best video on the topic is in the wrong language
The talk everyone recommends is in English. The only good tutorial for your camera is in Japanese. The interview with the founder is in German, the cooking video in Italian, the lecture your professor linked in French. Subtitles help if you can read fast in that language, and auto-translated subtitles help a little more, but you still have to watch the whole video to find the three minutes you needed.
What you usually want first is simple: *what does this person say, and is it worth my time?*
Ways to follow a foreign-language video on a Mac
| Option | How | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Auto-translated subtitles | In YouTube's player: Settings › Subtitles › Auto-translate | Free; you still watch the whole video and read fast-moving lines |
| A dubbed audio track | Some videos offer other audio languages in Settings | Only on some videos and in some languages |
| Paste the transcript into a chatbot | Show transcript, copy, paste into ChatGPT or Claude, ask for a summary in your language | Works, but takes several steps every time |
| Corvi | Tap Fn on the video page | Spoken summary in your language, then questions by voice; it doesn't play the video for you |
How to do it with Corvi
- Set your language once in Corvi's settings, for example Spanish, Hindi, Turkish or Polish.
- Open the video on YouTube in Safari, Chrome, Arc, Firefox or Edge.
- Tap Fn once. Corvi takes the transcript straight from YouTube and tells you the speaker's main points in 3–5 sentences, in your language.
- Double-tap Fn and ask, in your language: "What did he say about the price?", "Which settings does she use?", "At what point does the demo start?". Each answer goes deeper. If the video doesn't contain the answer, Corvi searches the web and names its source.
You don't need to know which language the video is in. Any of Corvi's 35 languages can be the language of the video, and any can be the language you listen in.
Stop typing. Stop reading. Talk and listen.
Free to download, no card needed. Setup takes a minute; if you don't like it, drag it to the Trash.
Download free for MacExamples
| The video | What you hear |
|---|---|
| A 50-minute English conference talk | The speaker's argument, the evidence, and the one tool they recommend |
| A Japanese review of a camera lens | Whether the reviewer liked it, the strengths and the weak points |
| A German explainer on a tax change | What changes, for whom, and from when |
| A Spanish cooking video | The dish, the key ingredients and the step people usually get wrong |
| A French university lecture | The question of the lecture and its main conclusions |
What Corvi doesn't do
- It doesn't dub or translate the whole video. You get a short spoken summary and answers to your questions, not a word-for-word translation.
- It needs captions. Corvi works from the captions most YouTube videos have, written by the creator or generated automatically. If a video has none, Corvi can only summarize the text on the page, such as the title and description.
- It doesn't see the pictures. What's shown but never said, like a diagram or an on-screen setting, isn't in the transcript.
- It makes mistakes sometimes. Summaries are made by AI. For anything you'll quote or act on, check the part of the video the summary pointed you to.
Tips
- Listen first, then watch the minute that matters. Ask "Where in the video does she explain the setup?" and jump there.
- Ask for the words. "Which technical terms does he use, and what do they mean?" helps when you're learning the language.
- Use it on the comments too. Point at the comments and tap Fn to hear what viewers said, in your language.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to turn on subtitles or translate anything first?
No. Corvi reads the video's transcript in its original language and summarizes it directly in yours.
Which languages does it work with?
35, including English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Hindi, Arabic and Turkish. Any of them can be the video's language or yours.
Does it work on other video sites?
Corvi takes transcripts directly from YouTube. On other sites it summarizes the text on the page.
Is it free?
Corvi is free to download and start, with no card needed.