What's the general idea?

The idea of Kim's little helper is to get as much information as possible about a word, to be able to translate it properly.

What exactly goes in those windows?

That varies from one language pair to another, depending upon what is available via the Internet. Let's take the German-English helper as an example.

First phase - researching the German word

The small input window has two input boxes: one for a German word and one for an English word. The output windows are different for each box. If you enter a German word, the following set of 7 windows will be produced, which are labelled A to G here.

A & E These are compact versions of German - English dictionaries designed for small displays. Here they have suggested several translations for Zahnrad. You may have to scroll to see them all.

B This shows the result of a search for pictures of "Zahnrad".

C This shows the result of a search for the word "Zahnrad". The number of results is interesting here. If nothing is found, the word may be misspelled, or it may be an unusual compound noun which needs breaking up into its parts to be understood.

D This shows the result of a search for definitions of "Zahnrad" to help you to understand the various meanings a word can have. If any definitions are found, they will be more extensive than the single word result from a translation dictionary.

F This shows the German Wikipedia encyclopaedia entry for "Zahnrad". If there is an entry, Wikipedia can supply a wealth of information about the term. Do consider making an entry yourself once you have solved particularly tricky puzzles. It's very easy to do.

G This shows the result of a searching for "Zahnrad" and "englisch" together. This may pick up specialist dictionaries in the form of word lists, or websites where a translation is on offer.

Second phase - researching a possible English translation

Having researched the German word, you may want to check a possible English translation. When you enter your chosen English word, the set of 7 windows will be used differently.

A & E These are English / American dictionaries. Window A is for correct English spelling. Window E is for a whole set of information about the word, which varies with the word.

B This shows the result of a search for pictures of your chosen English word "cog". If it looks the same as the German picture, you must be on the right track.

C This shows the result of a search for "cog". The number of results is interesting here. If nothing is found, the word may be misspelled.

D This shows the result of a search for definitions of "cog" to help you to understand the various meanings the word can have.

F This shows the English Wikipedia encyclopaedia entry for "cog". If there is an entry, Wikipedia can supply a wealth of information about the term.

G This shows the result of a searching for "cog" and "German" together. This may pick up specialist dictionaries in the form of word lists, or websites where a translation is on offer.