i-know-words 2026.4.20

A minimalistic menubar app designed for people who obviously don't know all the words yet

[!CAUTION] AI-created/vibe coded

AI-model: ChatGPT 5.2

AI-participation degree: 80%

I Know Words

What is this?

I Know Words is a lightweight macOS menubar application for ambient vocabulary exposure.

It sits quietly in your system tray and surfaces words from your own dictionaries at a steady pace — no sessions, no pressure, no gamification. Where traditional tools demand attention, I Know Words works in the background. Just enough to feel productive without actually trying too hard.

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How It Compares

Tool	UX Model	Friction	Customization	Passive Mode	Notes
I Know Words	Menubar, always-on	⭐ Very low	⭐ High (YAML + JSON)	✅ Yes	Background exposure, no sessions
WordBar	Menubar	Low	Low	✅ Yes	Minimal, less configurable
Vocable	Full app	Medium	Medium	❌ No	Session-based learning
Anki	Full app (SRS)	High	High	❌ No	Powerful but requires discipline
Memrise	App/Web	Medium	Low	❌ No	Gamified, content-driven

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Key Differences

vs Anki / Vocable

• No sessions
• No “review queue”
• No cognitive overhead

👉 You don’t study words — you just keep seeing them.

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vs WordBar

• Configurable menu structure
• Multiple dictionaries
• Frequency-based word selection

👉 More control, same simplicity.

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vs Memrise

• No gamification
• No streaks
• No dopamine loops

👉 Just words. Quietly appearing.

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Philosophy

• No popups
• No notifications
• No streaks
• No guilt

Just words. Appearing. Like you planned it.

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Why?

Because opening Anki is a commitment.

This is not.

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When to Use It

• While working
• While coding
• While pretending to be productive

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What It’s Not

• Not a full learning system
• Not a replacement for Anki
• Not trying to make you fluent overnight

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Features

• 🧠 Random word rotation with frequency-based weighting (common words appear more often)
• ⏱ Configurable update interval
• 🌍 Multiple dictionaries with instant switching
• 📌 Menubar-first UX (no windows, no distractions)
• 🔗 Clickable links (Wiktionary, Google Translate, etc.)
• 📋 One-click copy for any field
• 🕘 History of recently shown words
• 🎛 Configurable menu structure via YAML

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How it works

• Words are loaded from JSON dictionaries
• Selection is weighted using logarithmic ranking (if available)
• The UI is rendered dynamically from config
• The app lives entirely in your system tray

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Installation

pip install -r requirements.txt

Run:

python3 app.py

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Configuration

All behavior is controlled via config.yaml.

Example:

interval: 10

dictionaries:
  TR → EN: dictionaries/tr_en.json
  EN → TR: dictionaries/en_tr.json

default: TR → EN

display:
  tr_en:
    show_translation_in_bar: false
    ranking:
      enabled: true
      key: rank
    menu_items:
      word: english
      translation: turkish
      wiktionary: wiktionary
      gtranslate: "google translate"
      rank: rank

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Dictionary Format

Each dictionary is a JSON array of objects:

[
  {
    "english": "ephemeral",
    "turkish": "geçici",
    "rank": 1234,
    "wiktionary": "https://...",
    "google translate": "https://..."
  }
]

• Keys are flexible — just reference them in config
• URL values become clickable links in the menu

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Disclaimer

This app will not make you fluent.

But it will make you feel like you're doing something about it — which is arguably more important.

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Known Issues

• dictionaries are not ready yet
• no hotkeys implemented
• no timer-reset on Next-button use