Offline dictionary with pronunciation and usages

Question

Which is the best offline dictionary for Ubuntu ?

It should be like Cambridge or Oxford dictionaries with pronunciation.

The dictionaries, I found did not have enough examples of the sentence in use nor do they tell a lot about meaning.

Answer 1

(I). dict - a CLI client to dictd server (offline usage):

Section - text

Installation:

sudo add-apt-repository "deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu $(lsb_release -sc) universe"

^{(to allow Universe repo)}

sudo apt-get install dict
sudo apt-get install dictd

Installing English dictionary databeses (gcide, wn, devil):

sudo apt-get install dict-gcide
sudo apt-get install dict-wn
sudo apt-get install dict-devil

Installing English Thesaurus database (moby-thesaurus):

sudo apt-get install dict-moby-thesaurus

It also supports various translation/bilingual dictionaries.

Usage:

1. Using a particular database (eg. WordNet - wn):

   dict -d wn "dictionary"
   

2. Not specifying a dict-database will output definitions/translations/thesaurus from all available databases. eg.

   dict "dictionary"
   

   Workaround to include phoneme mnemonics:

   Let's define a function that will use espeak for phoneme mnemonics and dict for definitions, thesauri, and others.

   • First install espeak (if it's not already):

     sudo apt-get install espeak
     

   • Open the .bashrc file in your user-home directory with text editor of your choice:

     nano ~/.bashrc
     

     or

     gedit ~/.bashrc &
     

     (even better if you place your custom aliases and functions in ~/.bash_aliases rather than in ~/.bashrc)

   • Append the following function and save the file:

     function define {
     # espeak for the pronunciation audible output and phonetic alphabet string
     echo "Phoneme mnemonics: $(espeak -ven-uk-rp -x -s 120 "$1" 2> /dev/null)"       
     # dict - the client for the dictionary server
     dict "$1"       
     }
     

     [here I've used the switches -ven-uk-rp for British English Received Pronunciation (espeak --voices for more), -x to display mnemonics, -s for speech output speed. You can modify the switches for espeak or dict as per your needs.]

   • Open a new instance of terminal and use define to look for definitions. e.g.:

     define dictionary
     

     or

     define dictionary | less
     

     (with less you can use arrow keys to scroll through the definitions; pressing h will show you some more controls that you can use; to quit press q)

---

(II). Gnome Dictionary:

Section - Universe/gnome

Installation:

sudo apt-get install gnome-dictionary

Note: To use gnome-dictionary offline, you should first install a dictionary server and the desired databases (the installation of dictd and some databases are shown in option (I) above.)

After installing gnome-dictionary, a dictionary server (e.g. dictd) and the databases (e.g. dict-wn, dict-gcide) you'll have to configure so that it looks up the locally installed server. To do this, start gnome-dictionary and from the menu navigate to Edit -> Preferences. In the Dictionary Preferences window, click Add button, then in Add Dictionary Source add the information about your local dictionary server; add the Description (like dictd), the Hostname - localhost (or some other in your local network), the Port number to 2628 (2628 is the default as specified in the DICT Protocol RFC._{excerpt from dictd documentation}) and hit the Add button. Then in Dictionary Preferences window, select dictd radio button and close the prefs window. Now you should be able to use it offline.

---

(III). "Artha", A handy off-line thesaurus based on WordNet:

Section - Universe/utils

Installation:

sudo add-apt-repository "deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu $(lsb_release -sc) universe"

^{(to allow Universe repo)}

sudo apt-get install artha

(IV). "GoldenDict", offering feature-rich dictionary lookup program using WebKit for an accurate articles' representation, complete with all formatting, colors, images and links.

Section - Universe/utils

Installation:

sudo add-apt-repository "deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu $(lsb_release -sc) universe"

^{(to allow Universe repo)}

sudo apt-get install goldendict

Answer 2

I have installed Artha, Good dictionary. But Artha doesn't provide 'Pronunciation' functionality.

you can install it either from software center or from terminal with

sudo apt-get install artha 

or using graphical Software center

Answer 3

Take a look at Aard Dictionary.

You can download the *.deb file from the homepage and install any dictionary of your choice. Available dictionaries from the website are: Wikipedia, Wikiquote, Wiktionary, Wikispecies, WordNet, Collaborative International Dictionary of English, Jargon File and Hitchwiki.

You can install as many dictionaries at same time as you want.

I would recommend to try it Wiktionary and Collaborative International Dictionary of English installed and see how it goes.

Btw: It's GPL v3 licenced.

It's also available for Android phones, I currently have the german Wikipedia always with me on my phone.

Answer 4

Goldendict with wybbandtts file.

or From terminal

sudo apt-get install goldendict

Answer 5

XOWA

You can use WIktionary database offline with this app.

http://gnosygnu.github.io/xowa/

Download page http://gnosygnu.github.io/xowa/download.html