Language/Multiple-languages/Culture/Internet-Dictionaries

Best Online Dictionaries

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Hi Polyglots! 😊

On this page we have put together a collection of online dictionaries.

Language names are based on ISO 639-3 with minor modifications.

GoldenDict-ng can be used for convenient searchings.

Dictionaries listed must be digitalised so that can be searched by queries.

Meanings of indicators:

• [API] API support;
• [offl.d], [offl.w], [offl.p], [offl.db] available for offline use (document, webpage, program, database);
• [PD], [PL] in public domain or under a public license.

SingleFile can be used to save webpages.

This page has a child: Language/Multiple-languages/Culture/Internet-Specialised-Dictionaries

Source languages are headings, target languages are paragraph. “Searching by entry content” is excluded, i.e. only “searching by headword” is taken into consideration, in terms of “source languages” and “target languages”. This resembles the layout of the paper dictionary.

For the database:

If a database on a website is from elsewhere, then this database will not be taken into consideration. If a dictionary doesn't mention its source and the source turns out to be from elsewhere, possibly involving plagiarism, then this site will not be mentioned.

The first link of each database is the source of it, if its source is publicly available.

Though using the same database, the versions they use and the portions they cover can vary.

[PL] or [PD] in the headings indicates the database's status, [PL] after the links indicates the service's (e.g. program's).

Q&A

How many words does a dictionary have?

Find some random words with different frequency levels (for example top 1000, 5000, 10000, 50000), according to the lists on Wiktionary or somewhere else. Then you can test it.

How to evaluate a dictionary?

Find a random word and search in the dictionary, then ignore the headword, just see the entry and see how many headwords you can come up with. If you can always recall one word, that means the dictionary is very precise. If it's one-one projection, it may cause big misunderstandings because words are usually don't have exactly corresponding word senses. Part-of-speech is essential. But being precise is not the only thing to care about. The entry should be brief, too. You couldn't expect a hobbyist dictionary to reach this high quality, but a satisfying level.

Can a translator serve as a dictionary?

See if the translator returns multiple results. If it only returns one result for a word, it can't meet your demand sometimes.

What other aspects should I consider?

First, privacy and security. HTTP is less secure than HTTPS. If you have uBlock Origin installed, you can see how many third-parties a website contains. For apps, check their permissions. You can make use of Exodus Privacy to see trackers and permissions of an app. Second, see if it is licensed under any public copyright license. This kind of license makes sure that anyone can access it and do something with it without worry about potential copyright issues (whether a use is a fair use or not), so it can be easily reproduced and widely spread. The most successful case being JMdict. Third, see if it is actively updated. A discontinued dictionary may contain more mistakes. An important factor for an actively updated dictionary is a community, which may requires public copyright licenses so that people are willing to contribute to it.

I can't visit a website in my region. What to do?

The simplest way is using the Tor Browser and set the exit node somewhere.

main | multiple | specialised

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