Written form
A written word does not become what it names.
Even when we have learned to read it.
Prepared example · no AI request
Original writing
My name is on the participant list. Does that mean this written entry is me?
Proposed reading
After “My name”, the question asks whether “this written entry is me”. A name can be learned and recognized as referring to you. That step proposes treating the written name as the person it names. Even when read as yours, the name remains writing.
One of six prepared examples. Opening it sends no text to a model.
The explanation is writing too
“Letters”, “conventions” and “reading” are words introduced by this explanation. The same examination applies to them.
Writing does not become what it names.
Definitions, explanations and beforeword’s own words remain within this boundary.
Open the text. Choose when to analyze.
Enable it on this site
Open beforeword from the toolbar and choose “Enable the button on this site”. Allow access to this site when the browser asks.
Open the writing
Select ordinary text and choose the beforeword symbol, toolbar icon or context-menu item. The panel opens with that passage; no model request starts.
Choose to examine it
Check the passage and destination shown in the panel. Choose “Examine writing” or press Ctrl/Cmd+Enter in the text field when you want to send it. Exact excerpts stay beside the proposed reading.
API requests use tokens from beforeword’s budget. Each installation gets 8 analyses where service access is enabled. This allowance does not renew daily. Prepared examples and optional dictionary lookup do not use it.
This package is for Chrome on a computer, version 116 or newer. See the website for the current status of other browser packages.
Chrome 0.5.6. Exact excerpts and a proposed reading. Prepared examples work without AI requests; dictionary lookup is available separately.
Optional: dictionary lookup
Choose a word in the original, or enter a word or phrase. The original stays unchanged.
Read the definitions in the selected Russian or English Wiktionary edition. Their source and revision are linked. Alternative senses remain separate.
Choose a word inside a definition to continue. The path records your choices and marks returns to earlier entries; it does not automatically expand an entire language.
These are the words used to explain the entry in this dictionary. The definition is writing too.
No automatic stemming or choice of the “right” sense. A changed lookup form is shown separately from the source. Missing entries and unsupported layouts remain visible limits.
The scope of the analysis
The analysis shows a proposed way of reading the chosen writing. It does not reconstruct a person’s actual reading or learning history. beforeword’s explanation remains writing too.
Long pasted text is kept intact. One section of up to 12,000 UTF-16 units is chosen for each request, with its bounds shown before sending. Other sections are not sent automatically.
An absent entry, an unsupported entry layout and a failed connection are different results. Missing data does not mean that a word has no use or meaning. A failed lookup or analysis is never replaced by an invented definition or an authored example.
AI connections and introductory analyses
The 8 analyses belong to this installation. Reset does not renew them. Failed or invalid results do not use a report; cancellation must reach the server before completion. A connection loss after completion does not reverse the count.
In Settings → Model connection → Your own model, choose OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, Grok, OpenRouter, DeepSeek, Mistral or Groq. Add a key, then load the models available to your account or enter a model ID. Compatible endpoints can also be entered manually. Listing a model does not guarantee a valid analysis.
Own-model requests go directly to the selected service. The key uses session storage, or memory only where that storage is unavailable. It may be lost when the browser session or extension context closes. It is not saved in permanent preferences or sent to beforeword’s server.
Connect an account
OpenRouter sign-in is optional. After your action and approval on its authorization page, the extension exchanges a temporary authorization code and verification data for an API key. It does not read chat cookies or use your Google profile. The key follows the temporary storage rules above. Other model connections use an API key you provide.
Signing in to a chat website does not connect that session to beforeword. A chat subscription does not replace the API connection offered here.
Start using beforeword
beforeword is already installed in Chrome. Open it from the browser toolbar or the context menu of selected text. You can pin its icon through Chrome’s Extensions menu. To enable the button on a page, grant access to that site in the beforeword panel. You can also paste text directly. The website lists current packages and any separate test-installation instructions.
Paste up to 240,000 UTF-16 units and choose a section to examine. Page capture is limited to a selected passage of up to 12,000 units; inputs, passwords and editable areas are excluded.
Prepared examples work without a model. Dictionary lookup needs internet access. A page on an iPhone is not an installed Safari extension and cannot access other tabs.