Turn the French you watch into the French you write.
Dictator is a Safari extension for Mac. It plays a show one sentence at a time, you type what you hear, and every letter is checked as you type, with the mistake explained in French.
Try a dictée
Phrase 1 / 4Press play, listen, then write the sentence on the lines below. Punctuation doesn’t count, accents do.
How it works
-
Open a video with French subtitles
On YouTube, Netflix, Prime Video or Apple TV, with French subtitles available. Press ⌥⇧D or the Dictator button in Safari’s toolbar.
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Listen to one sentence
Dictator rebuilds whole sentences from the subtitles, plays one, and stops the video at its end. Replay it as often as you like, slower if you need to.
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Write what you hear
Letters turn green or red as you type. A forgotten accent, a missing apostrophe or an extra word is named on the spot. Get it right and the next sentence starts.
Checked like a teacher would, without the red pen
The correction compares words, not keystrokes, so one slip doesn’t throw off the rest of the line.
- Accents and apostrophes
aujourdhuiaujourd’hui “Attention à l’apostrophe.”- Missing and extra words
- Named where they happen, with the expected spelling if you want it.
- What doesn’t count
- Punctuation, capital letters (unless you ask), and lines like “Pfff !” or “OK !” that aren’t worth writing down.
- Your recurring mistakes
- “Mes erreurs” keeps the words you miss, per video and overall, and reads them back with your Mac’s French voice.
Where it works
Safari on macOS 13 or later. Streaming services need your own subscription and French subtitles on the title you watch.
| Site | Where Dictator appears | Subtitles it uses |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube | Under the video, or over it in fullscreen | Written or automatic French captions |
| Netflix | Docked over the picture | The French subtitle track |
| Prime Video | Docked over the picture | French subtitles, sentence by sentence as they’re spoken |
| Apple TV | Docked over the picture | The French subtitle track |
Nothing leaves your Mac
No account, no tracking, no servers. Subtitles are read in the page you’re watching, and your progress stays in Safari’s storage on your Mac. Read the privacy policy.
Questions
Do I need to speak some French already?
It helps to know the basics. Dictator suits learners from about A2 upwards, and you can slow sentences down to 0.5× or 0.75× while you build up.
Why doesn’t a video work?
Dictator needs French subtitles. Turn them on in the player and press ⌥⇧D again. If it still doesn’t start, the panel has a “Copier le diagnostic” button: send what it copies to support@agani.app.
Is Dictator affiliated with these services?
No. YouTube, Netflix, Prime Video and Apple TV are trademarks of their owners. Dictator only works with what the page already shows you.
Does it work on iPhone or iPad?
Not yet. Dictator is for Safari on the Mac.