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Illustration on a French video: the live transcript with a translation under each line, dual subtitles with “les yeux plus gros que le ventre” selected and looping at 0.75×, and the explanation: pronunciation, Listen and Breakdown, the sense in this passage, the explanation language and simpler words.
2:14 / 9:452x
0.75×FR
Onavoulutoutfaireenunweek-end:
We wanted to do it all in one weekend:
onaeulesyeuxplusgrosqueleventre.
we bit off more than we could chew.
TranscriptFrançaisEN
2:02Le plan, c’était simple :The plan was simple:
2:05repeindre le salon, monter les étagères,paint the living room, put up the shelves,
2:09et refaire toute la cuisine.and redo the whole kitchen.
2:12On a voulu tout faire en un week-end : on a eu les yeuxWe wanted to do it all in one weekend: we bit off
2:16plus gros que le ventre. Dimanche soir, rien n’était fini.more than we could chew. By Sunday night, nothing was finished.
2:21Alors on a recommencé, une pièce à la fois.So we started again, one room at a time.
vbM
Transcript
les yeux plus gros que le ventre2:14neutral
/lez‿jø ply ɡʁo kə lə vɑ̃tʁ/
ListenBreakdown
AI VOICE
Sense in contextWanting more than you can actually manage — here, planning far too much for a single weekend.
Explanation language
ENFR
In simpler wordsThey bit off more than they could chew.
1Full transcript, live2Explanation in context3Loop & slow down4Dual subtitles
Composite illustration on a French video. In the extension, the explanation opens in the panel, in place of the transcript. The video is shown as a stand-in.
Illustration on a French video: the live transcript with a translation under each line, dual subtitles with “les yeux plus gros que le ventre” selected and looping at 0.75×, and the explanation: pronunciation, Listen and Breakdown, the sense in this passage, the explanation language and simpler words.
lesyeuxplusgrosqueleventre.
we bit off more than we could chew.
Transcript
les yeux plus gros que le ventre2:14neutral
/lez‿jø ply ɡʁo kə lə vɑ̃tʁ/
ListenBreakdown
AI VOICE
Sense in contextWanting more than you can actually manage — here, planning far too much for a single weekend.
Explanation language
ENFR
Illustration on a French video, condensed. The video is shown as a stand-in.
Everything happens right on YouTube.
Captions
Select words right in the captions.
Pick one word or a whole phrase in Vocabison’s caption bar. Add an optional translation line in your language, made on your device by Chrome when it supports the language pair. Loop a passage, slow it down to 0.75× or 0.5×, adjust size and background, or hide the captions.
2:14 / 9:452x
0.75×FR
Onavoulutoutfaireenunweek-end:
We wanted to do it all in one weekend:
onaeulesyeuxplusgrosqueleventre.
we bit off more than we could chew.
vbM
Explain in context
The words are clear. What they mean isn’t always.
Every explanation gives the sense in this passage, the register — formal, neutral, slang or vulgar — and a natural example. Depending on the expression, you also get simpler words, what it does here, a grammar point, word for word, notes, synonyms and nearby expressions.
Transcript
les yeux plus gros que le ventre2:14neutral
/lez‿jø ply ɡʁo kə lə vɑ̃tʁ/
ListenBreakdown
AI VOICE
Sense in contextWanting more than you can actually manage — here, planning far too much for a single weekend.
Explanation language
ENFR
In simpler wordsThey bit off more than they could chew.
In this passageThe speaker admits the weekend plan was too ambitious. The tone is self-mocking, not a reproach.
Grammar pointOnly avoir changes with the subject; the rest stays fixed: « on a eu… », « j’ai eu… », « tu as eu… ».
Word for word“to have eyes bigger than your belly”
ExampleJ’ai pris trois desserts : j’ai eu les yeux plus gros que le ventre.
NotesEveryday and friendly. Often said about food, but it works for any plan that turns out too big.
Synonyms & nearby
voir trop grandto aim too big — about ambition rather than appetite
en faire tropto overdo it — more general
19 explanations left todayNew selection
Save to vocabulary
Transcript
les yeux plus gros que le ventre2:14neutral
/lez‿jø ply ɡʁo kə lə vɑ̃tʁ/
ListenBreakdown
AI VOICE
Sense in contextWanting more than you can actually manage — here, planning far too much for a single weekend.
Explanation language
ENFR
In simpler wordsThey bit off more than they could chew.
In this passageThe speaker admits the weekend plan was too ambitious. The tone is self-mocking, not a reproach.
Grammar pointOnly avoir changes with the subject; the rest stays fixed: « on a eu… », « j’ai eu… », « tu as eu… ».
Word for word“to have eyes bigger than your belly”
ExampleJ’ai pris trois desserts : j’ai eu les yeux plus gros que le ventre.
NotesEveryday and friendly. Often said about food, but it works for any plan that turns out too big.
Synonyms & nearby
voir trop grandto aim too big — about ambition rather than appetite
en faire tropto overdo it — more general
19 explanations left todayNew selection
Save to vocabulary
In your languageIn the video’s language
Transcript
les yeux plus gros que le ventre2:14neutral
/lez‿jø ply ɡʁo kə lə vɑ̃tʁ/
ListenBreakdown
AI VOICE
Sense in contextWanting more than you can actually manage — here, planning far too much for a single weekend.
Explanation language
ENFR
Transcript
les yeux plus gros que le ventre2:14neutral
/lez‿jø ply ɡʁo kə lə vɑ̃tʁ/
ListenBreakdown
AI VOICE
Sense in contextVouloir plus que ce qu’on peut vraiment faire — ici, prévoir beaucoup trop pour un seul week-end.
Explanation language
ENFR
Your language, or the video’s
Choose the language that helps it click.
Read the explanation in your native language to clear up a nuance, in another language you’re learning, or in the video’s language to stay immersed.
The pills change the language of the explanation only — not the video, not the subtitle track.
Hear it, say it
Hear how it’s said, then say it.
A pronunciation line for short selections — IPA, Hepburn, pinyin or romanisation — and an AI voice: Listen at normal speed and, when it’s offered, Breakdown, slowly, one pronunciation group at a time.
2:05repeindre le salon, monter les étagères,paint the living room, put up the shelves,
2:09et refaire toute la cuisine.and redo the whole kitchen.
2:12On a voulu tout faire en un week-end : on a eulesyeuxWe wanted to do it all in one weekend: we bit off
2:16plusgrosqueleventre. Dimanche soir, rien n’était fini.more than we could chew. By Sunday night, nothing was finished.
2:21Alors on a recommencé, une pièce à la fois.So we started again, one room at a time.
vbM
The whole video
Learn from the whole video.
A transcript beside the video follows along, with a translation line when Chrome can make it on your device. Select words across lines, or play from any line. No captions? Type a word.
Keep what you learn
Keep every word, with its moment.
Save to your vocabulary. On the web, My videos lists what you explained, video by video, and My vocabulary sorts what you saved by language. Search finds an expression in both, with its context and a link back to the moment. Markers on the YouTube timeline show what you’ve already explained.
vocabison.My videosMy vocabularySearch your expressions…M
Vocabularyneutral
les yeux plus gros que le ventre/lez‿jø ply ɡʁo kə lə vɑ̃tʁ/
FRExpression in FrenchENExplained in English
Open the history entry
Context
2:12On a voulu tout faire en un week-end : on a eu les yeux
2:16plus gros que le ventre. Dimanche soir, rien n’était fini.
Watch this moment
les yeux plus gros que… · 2:14 · FR
2:14 / 9:452x
Languages
22 languages to learn.
Explanations work in all of them, and Arabic text displays right to left. The pronunciation line and the AI voice exist only where marked.
arArabicالعربية, Pronunciation line (romanisation), AI voiceə
zhChinese中文, Pronunciation line (pinyin), AI voiceə
csCzechČeština
daDanishDansk
nlDutchNederlands
enEnglishEnglish, Pronunciation line (IPA), AI voiceə
fiFinnishSuomi
frFrenchFrançais, Pronunciation line (IPA), AI voiceə
deGermanDeutsch, AI voice
elGreekΕλληνικά
huHungarianMagyar
itItalianItaliano, AI voice
jaJapanese日本語, Pronunciation line (Hepburn), AI voiceə
koKorean한국어
noNorwegianNorsk
plPolishPolski
ptPortuguesePortuguês, AI voice
roRomanianRomână
ruRussianРусский, AI voice
esSpanishEspañol, Pronunciation line (IPA), AI voiceə
svSwedishSvenska
trTurkishTürkçe
Vocabison’s own interface languages: English and French.
How it works
1
Install on desktop Chrome
Vocabison is a Chrome extension. It runs on your computer, on YouTube.
2
Open a YouTube video with captions
Vocabison’s captions appear in the player. The vb switch turns Vocabison on or off.
vb
3
Select and explain
Select words in the captions or the transcript. The explanation opens beside the video.
lesyeuxplusgrosqueleventre.
we bit off more than we could chew.
Desktop Chrome only. On a phone or tablet? Join the beta and open the link on your computer.
No usable subtitles? Type the expression yourself. You still get an explanation — without the passage’s context.
Free during the beta. Perks with no time limit after it.
The closed beta is for founding members, and spots are limited. During the beta, they get every feature, free. At launch, a paid plan will add advanced features, and Vocabison will keep a free version you can really learn with.
What the free version will keep
Explanations in context, with a daily limit
The live transcript
The translation line
Saving to your vocabulary
The standard AI voice, for Listen and Breakdown
Founding members
Perks with no time limit
New features before everyone else
A dedicated support line
Your suggestions considered first
A reduced subscription price, once there is one
Leave your email below. Spots are limited: installation links go out in small groups.
Leave your email to receive the beta installation link. It’s free to try, and sharing feedback is optional.
Chrome extension for desktop.
Questions
Does it cost anything?
Not during the beta: founding members get every feature, free. After it, Vocabison will keep a free version (see above) and add a paid plan for advanced features. Pricing isn’t set yet: we’ll tell you before anything changes, and founding members will get a reduced price.
Who are the founding members?
The closed-beta testers. Spots are limited: leave your email, and installation links go out in small groups.
How many explanations can I ask for?
During the beta, up to 20 explanations a day. The count starts again every day at midnight UTC. Reopening an explanation from your history or from a timeline marker doesn’t count.
Which languages can I learn?
22, including Arabic, which displays right to left. The explanation can be in your native language, another language you’re learning, or the video’s language. The pronunciation line covers English, French, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, and Arabic; the AI voice covers 10 languages — the list above shows which.
Does it work on my phone or tablet?
No. Vocabison is a Chrome extension for computers: it works on YouTube videos in Chrome on desktop. You can still join the beta from your phone — the link arrives by email, to open on your computer.
What do I need?
Google Chrome on a computer and YouTube videos with captions. No captions? Type the word or expression yourself — you still get an explanation, without the passage’s context.
What happens to my data?
To explain a selection, Vocabison sends the selected words, the captions around them and the video’s title and tags to our servers, which ask an AI model provider to write the explanation. Each explanation is saved to the history in your account: you can delete any entry, and ask us to delete your account. Your beta email is only used for the link and, if you agree, a follow-up. Details in the privacy policy.
Does Vocabison watch the whole video?
No. It works from the subtitles around your selection and the video’s details. It won’t catch every joke, intention or reference.
Where it comes from
Vocabison started about ten years ago. I built it to help my girlfriend, then in prépa, spend less time on English — hi Alice. Today it takes a new shape: a smarter tool to grow your vocabulary, video after video. A lot is still being built.
