Shadow any YouTube video without scrubbing the progress bar or switching to a dictionary. Click any sentence to loop, click any word for AI grammar explanation. Free, no signup, browser + Android. Built by a self-taught German learner (A0→A2 in 3-4 months).
Hey Product Hunt 👋
I'm Zero, the maker. AI Shadowing is the tool I built for myself — a way to use YouTube for language learning without the friction that nearly made me quit twice.
Quick context: I went from German A0 to A2 in about 3-4 months by shadowing native YouTube videos, 30-45 min a day. The technique works — I got to where I could follow casual dinner chitchat with my friend's parents (not the jokes or fast bits, but enough to nod along and ask follow-ups). But the *process* was brutal:
1. To replay one sentence: drag YouTube scrubber → overshoot → drag again → wait for buffer. Rhythm dies every time.
2. Unknown word? Switch to dictionary app, come back, scrub to where you were. Five seconds of friction every minute, for an hour straight.
3. YouTube's own captions are built for reading along, not practicing — auto-generated on most videos, no punctuation, split mid-sentence every ~3 seconds, no way to loop, no inline lookup.
AI Shadowing fixes all three:
🎯 Paste any YouTube URL → sentence-by-sentence transcript with proper punctuation (AI cleans up the raw captions)
🔁 Click any sentence to loop it instantly — no scrubbing
📖 Click any word for an instant AI grammar explanation that actually answers the follow-up questions I'd save for my teacher
⏱️ Configurable pause between sentences for shadowing practice
📁 Also: upload your own audio (MP3 / MP4 / ZIP), same shadowing UI, syncs across browser + phone
Some honest scope so you don't have to ask:
- Not for absolute beginners (A0). Start with a textbook + basic vocab first; shadowing is the next layer.
- Won't replace conversation practice. This is the missing piece for the lonely middle of self-study, not a full program.
- I personally use the **Android version** way more — phone in pocket means I practice on the bus, walking, waiting in line. It's not on Play Store yet (web is what's live). If today's launch shows interest, I'll push the Android build through.
Tech (since this crowd cares): Flutter (Web + Android), Gemini for caption cleanup + the click-to-explain feature, Google Cloud TTS for pronunciation. Built solo over ~3 months, evenings + weekends.
Free, no signup. 11 languages: English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Simplified + Traditional Chinese.
Monetization: nothing yet. Server-side AI + TTS isn't free, so likely freemium later — but I want to see what people actually use first.
Would love brutal feedback, specifically:
- What language are you learning, and is the workflow missing something for that language?
- Which feature is the "I'd come back for this" hook, and which feels like noise?
- What would make you switch from whatever you currently use (or what stops you from shadowing at all)?
Thanks for taking a look 🙏
Oh, I recall using a chrome extension with a similar idea (years ago) - but just for texts, not for video. I love using videos for learning languages too! Thanks for this tool!
no signup, free, works in browser. the tool respects that someone trying to learn a language at A0 level doesn't need another account to manage. that friction point kills a lot of language tools before the user even sees what they built
About AI Shadowing on Product Hunt
“Turn any YouTube video into a language shadowing lesson”
AI Shadowing launched on Product Hunt on May 26th, 2026 and earned 73 upvotes and 6 comments, placing #26 on the daily leaderboard. Shadow any YouTube video without scrubbing the progress bar or switching to a dictionary. Click any sentence to loop, click any word for AI grammar explanation. Free, no signup, browser + Android. Built by a self-taught German learner (A0→A2 in 3-4 months).
AI Shadowing was featured in Languages (14.3k followers) on Product Hunt. Together, these topics include over 4.4k products, making this a competitive space to launch in.
Who hunted AI Shadowing?
AI Shadowing was hunted by Xiling Gong. A “hunter” on Product Hunt is the community member who submits a product to the platform — uploading the images, the link, and tagging the makers behind it. Hunters typically write the first comment explaining why a product is worth attention, and their followers are notified the moment they post. Around 79% of featured launches on Product Hunt are self-hunted by their makers, but a well-known hunter still acts as a signal of quality to the rest of the community. See the full all-time top hunters leaderboard to discover who is shaping the Product Hunt ecosystem.
Want to see how AI Shadowing stacked up against nearby launches in real time? Check out the live launch dashboard for upvote speed charts, proximity comparisons, and more analytics.
Xiling Gong