Read English books without looking up every word
Most people do not give up on an English book because it is too hard. They give up because looking words up is tiring. Seven or eight unknown words a page, each one a stop, a search, and then finding your line again. Two chapters in, the book is closed.
Solaread does that work ahead of time. When you open the book, the words you probably do not know already have a short translation after them. The words you know are left alone.
Your eyes stay on the line
The translation sits right after the word, in the same line, not in a side panel. You never look away to read it and then hunt for where you were. That is deliberate: Solaread is designed for staying focused.
It is also quiet. A short gloss in parentheses, set into the text, there when you need it and easy to read past when you do not. It helps without pulling you out of the book.
How it works
- Take a vocabulary test of about 30 seconds. One word at a time, Know it or Don't know. Twenty words.
- Only the words you probably do not know are translated. The translation follows the word in parentheses, inside the line.
- Missed a word? Double-click it. A popover shows the translation, and you can save the word. A saved word keeps its gloss under the line, so it is still there when you reread the page days later.
- The more you read, the less it marks. Solaread remembers the words you saved and the words you marked as known, and the hints follow your level.
- Every saved word keeps its sentence. In your vocabulary book, each word links back to the sentence it came from.
Compared with the usual ways to read
| Way of reading | What is good | Where it gets tiring |
|---|---|---|
| Tap a word, look it up | You look up exactly what you want | You stop and tap for every unknown word, dozens of times a chapter |
| Full translation, side by side | You understand at once | Your eyes go straight to the translation, and the English goes unread |
| Kindle Word Wise | Hints appear above hard words by themselves | Amazon says it is only available in books in English, and is not enabled on all Kindle books |
| Solaread | Translations appear after unknown words by themselves, matched to your vocabulary | You need an account, and your own EPUB, TXT or PDF file |
Word Wise details are from Amazon's help page "What is Word Wise?", checked on October 8, 2026.
When it will not help
- You are looking for books to read. Solaread is a reader. It does not provide books; you bring the file.
- You mostly read English books bought from Amazon on a Kindle, and your book has Word Wise enabled. That is already enough.
- You want the whole book translated. Solaread translates words, not the full text.
Not only English books
Books can be in English, French or Spanish today. The translations can be in your language: English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French, German, Vietnamese, Spanish and Portuguese are one click away, and you can search for others in Settings.
What is free and what is not
A free account reads EPUB and TXT books, with a monthly translation allowance that renews the next month. Scholar Plus is USD 9.99 per month and adds PDF import, the notes panel and far more translation each month. The allowance is larger, not unlimited.
Questions
Do I need to install anything?
No. Solaread runs in the browser: Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox.
Can I import a book I bought on Kindle?
Only if you have it as an EPUB, TXT or PDF file that you are allowed to use. Solaread does not remove copy protection.
My vocabulary is small. Can I still use it?
Yes. With a smaller vocabulary, more words are translated. As you read more, fewer are.