Guide

Loop a sentence to practise a language on a Mac

Grab the line you keep mishearing, loop it until your mouth gets it, and keep it for later.

By the KIBA team · Updated

Short answer: play the video or audio, record the sentence with KIBA, tighten the edges, press L. It loops until you stop it. Press Return to keep it as a WAV clip for later.

Step by step

  1. Pause the video or lesson just before the sentence. Mute other tabs.
  2. Click KIBA's ring in the menu bar, play the sentence, click the ring again.
  3. In the trimmer, drag the edges so only the sentence is left. Pinch or scroll to zoom in on a single word.
  4. Press L to loop and Space to play. Repeat along with it.
  5. Press Return to save it, or click the trash icon next to the name if you don't need it.

Worked example: one tricky phrase

You're watching a lesson and the teacher says a phrase fast. Record ten seconds around it, then drag the edges in until the loop is just the phrase. Now it repeats cleanly with no pause, so you hear the rhythm, not only the words. Save it with a name you'll recognise, like konbanwa-greeting.

Using the clips in flashcards

Flashcard apps can attach audio files. In Anki, use the paper-clip button on a card to attach the saved clip. Anki's manual notes that MP3 is the most widely supported audio format, so if a WAV clip plays on your Mac but stays silent on your phone, convert it to MP3 first.

Good to know: KIBA records what your Mac plays, in real time. A 30-second clip takes 30 seconds. It can't make audio better than the source: a WAV of a compressed stream still sounds like that stream. And it records sound only, never your microphone or your screen.

Only record lessons and videos you're allowed to use for your own study. More: recording from your browser.

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