VocabLearner

A single-file vocabulary notebook for building word lists as you read — look up a word and it fills in the Chinese translation, definition, example sentence, and etymology, then helps you study what you've collected.

Open vocab-multi.html in any browser. No install, no build step, no server — everything runs client-side and is saved in the browser's local storage.

Features

• Multiple lists — keep a separate word list per book or topic, switch between them anytime.
• AI-assisted lookup — type a word and Claude fills in the Chinese translation, a short English definition, an example sentence, and etymology (word origin/root).
• Multi-group organization — a word can belong to more than one group at once (e.g. a page-range group like page:59-78 from when you read it, and a word-root group like latin velle root). Groups never overwrite each other.
• AI-assisted relationships — scans your whole list for etymological or semantic connections between words and proposes new groups to add. It only ever adds a group to a word; it never removes one you've already set.
• Group filter — pick one group from a dropdown to see just its words, instead of scrolling the whole list.
• Quiz / flashcard mode — a shuffled study session over your current list: see the word, try to recall it, reveal the answer, and mark yourself right or wrong.
• Bulk etymology fill — backfills etymology for words that were added before that field existed, one AI request per missing word, with progress and a stop button.
• Print to PDF — a clean, printable layout of your list, grouped the same way as on screen.
• Backup / restore — export any list to a JSON file and re-import it later, or merge it into another list.
• Edit any entry — fix or fill in any field (including group membership) on a word you've already added.

Setup

You'll need an Anthropic API key for the lookup, relationship, and etymology-fill features (everything else works without one):

1. Get a key at console.anthropic.com.
2. Open vocab-multi.html and paste the key into the box at the top. It's stored only in your browser's local storage and is sent only to Anthropic's API.

Data & privacy

All your words, lists, and API key live in your browser's local storage on your device — nothing is sent anywhere except the direct calls to Anthropic's API when you use lookup, relate, or the etymology fill. Use Backup regularly to export a list to a JSON file, since local storage can be cleared by the browser.