rtr46/meikipop

What it solves

meikipop is a universal Japanese OCR popup dictionary that allows users to instantly look up Japanese words anywhere on their screen. It removes the limitations of browser extensions or application-specific tools by enabling lookups in games, scanned manga, and videos with hard-coded subtitles.

How it works

The application uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to read Japanese text directly from the screen. Users can either scan the entire screen or select a specific region to improve performance. Once text is detected, the app provides instant dictionary lookups via a lightweight, responsive UI. It supports multiple OCR backends, including a fast local option (meikiocr), a high-accuracy remote option (Google Lens), and integration with other tools like Chrome Screen AI or owocr.

Who it’s for

It is designed for people reading Japanese content on their desktop, such as gamers, manga readers, and viewers of Japanese media, who want a frictionless way to translate words without manually typing them into a dictionary.

Highlights

• Universal Compatibility: Works across any application or window on Windows, Linux, and macOS.
• Pluggable OCR Backends: Users can choose between local OCR for privacy and speed or remote OCR for higher accuracy.
• Optimized Performance: Uses a pre-processed dictionary format for near-instant lookups.
• Customizable: Supports custom hotkeys, themes, colors, and layout configurations.