My work
Assignments work here without it, but the extension is what explains words while you read anything else: news, articles, email. One click, no setup.
To do
Finished work (0)
On your own
My readings
A PDF you've downloaded — an article, a chapter, a handout — opened here so you can select any word in it. Private to you: no teacher sees these, and nothing about how you read them is recorded.
My classes
My words
Every word and sentence you've looked up. Tap the ☆ on any word to keep it in Starred — those are the ones worth revising.
Progress
Your own activity. Your teacher sees class activity separately — this page is just for you.
Last 30 days
Words you've looked up more than once
Usually the ones worth revising.
Help
How Explica works, and what to do when something doesn't.
Common questions
How do I actually use it while I'm reading or writing?
Install the extension and sign in once. Then:
- Reading anything — highlight a word or a sentence and the Explain button appears next to it. Click it.
- Writing anything — an email, a form, a document — double-click in the box after your last word, or select some of what you've written, and the writing helper appears. It hides again as soon as you carry on typing, so it isn't in your way.
- Google Docs — the same, through the Explica add-on.
Assignments set by a teacher work here in the browser without the extension, but everything else needs it.
Why can't I change the language or level in my class?
A class is set to one language by your teacher, and they can set a minimum explanation level for it — so you can make explanations harder than the minimum, but not easier. That's deliberate: the point of the class is to work in the language.
Practice writing is where you choose freely. It has its own language and level pickers, no teacher sees it, and nothing you write there is stored on our servers. If you want to work in a different language or with more support than your class allows, use that.
Do I need the browser extension?
Not for assignments — readings and writing run here in the browser. You need it for explanations while you're reading anything else: a news article, a paper, an email.
Can my teacher see my practice writing?
No. Practice writing stays in your browser and is never sent to a teacher or stored on our servers. Your teacher sees work you submit for an assignment, and activity in classes you've joined.
What can my teacher actually see?
Work you submit, how many words you looked up, and — for a set reading — how long you spent and which pages. They can't see your practice writing, your saved words, or anything you do outside a class.
An explanation looks wrong.
It might be. Explanations are AI-generated and can be confidently mistaken, especially on rare words, dialect or older texts. Use the follow-up box to push back — and treat it as a study aid rather than an authority.
Nothing happens when I highlight a word.
Either the extension isn't installed in this browser (check the Account tab), or no plan covers you yet. Some pages — Google Docs, and PDFs opened in Chrome's own viewer — draw text in a way an extension can't read.
Still stuck?
Ask your teacher first if you're in a class. Otherwise we answer these ourselves.
Account
Your details, your plan, and what happens to your data.
Signed in as
- Name
- —
- —
- Account type
- —
- Access
- —
Plan
—
Have a code? Enter it under Access code below — a code gives you access directly, with nothing to pay.
Access code
If your teacher, your school, or we gave you a code, enter it here. It gives you access straight away — there's nothing to pay and no card needed.
Browser extension
Checking…
This is the main thing Explica does: highlight a word on any website — a news article, a paper, an email — and get it explained without leaving the page.
Get the extensionTeaching with Explica
A teacher account adds classes, assignments, readings and student progress — and keeps everything you already have for your own learning.
Enter the teacher code your administrator gave you.
Set up your own classes and invite your students, without waiting on a department rollout. Free for 14 days, no card — then $19 a month including 3 student places, $5 per student after that. Your school can take over the billing later. This is a single-teacher account — a department or school plan is what covers a whole team.
Domain licensing, an administrator console, and invoicing.
Teacher tools
You have a teacher account.
Open the teaching consoleYour classes are archived, not deleted, and student work is kept. You can unlock teacher tools again later.
Your data
What we store, why, and for how long is written out in plain language — worth a read if you're a student wondering what your teacher can see.
Delete my account
Permanently removes your account, your lookup history, your starred words and your writing.