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I'm looking for multilingual dictionaries in electronic format. Could you please summarize which ones you use and what their advantages and disadvantages are?

I'm especially interested in dictionaries that are not only for the English - Esperanto language pair.

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    This is quite broad, and different people are going to have different ideas of what "best" means. Asking for the largest online dictionary would be more objectively answerable.
    – Nathaniel is protesting
    Aug 25, 2016 at 15:57
  • Would it be improved if an explanation for "best" was provided in the text, for example: "the most accurate", "detailed", "ease of use" (i.e. searchability)?
    – Charlotte SL
    Aug 29, 2016 at 23:13
  • FWIW, check out the Cambridge Dictionaries: dictionary.cambridge.org/us
    – Mike Jones
    Oct 27, 2016 at 21:32
  • FWIW, also check out the TeraDict of PanLex, the most-multilingual dictionary in the world: panlex.org/teradict/?lg=eng
    – Mike Jones
    Dec 2, 2016 at 15:42

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The Reta Vortaro is good as an online dictionary and has translations into many languages. There are also offline versions as apps:

It is also possible to use the data from the Reta Vortaro in various other offline formats as described on the website.

Lernu.net also has a very good online dictionary with many pairs of languages. It can be used offline on Android via an application called DictionaryForMIDs.

For an English-Esperanto dictionary I highly recommend the one by John Wells. It is available on paper from Amazon or even as an eBook on SmashWords.

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  • I've got a 1977 copy of Wells, which I got cheaply off eBay. I find it very useful, and consult it frequently.
    – Oliver Mason
    Aug 25, 2016 at 15:15
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    DictionaryForMIDs is an Android app that you download dictionary files for (it has an in-app interface for that); the lernu.net Esperanto-[other language] dictionaries are available for it, as well as lernu's Esperanto-Esperanto dictionary (and a wide variety of other dictionaries for other language pairs; as a language learner, I find it to be my most useful dictionary app).
    – kristan
    Aug 25, 2016 at 20:17
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    I agree completely with the answer. I would add though that if you need a small dictionary you can carry in your pocket the British Esperanto Association makes a nice one for English <-> Esperanto. ( edukado.net/biblioteko/libroj?iid=9391 ) The "Ilustrita Oficiala Radikaro Esperanta Por Lernanto" published by Eldonejo Pentuvio in Brazil also fills this need, but it is an Esperanto <-> Esperanto dictionary. The Ilustrita Radikaro also ranks works by frequency. ( edukado.net/biblioteko/libroj?iid=21302 ) Both of these books are under $5 USD and are very compact.
    – Andrew Young
    Aug 26, 2016 at 18:38
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    Komputeko ( komputeko.net ) is a good online dictionary of technical terms.
    – Andrew Young
    Aug 26, 2016 at 18:42
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    Another Android dictionary is Praktika Vortaro (disclaimer: I programmed it)
    – dusan
    Jun 7, 2018 at 14:21
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I don't know about offline dictionaries, but Reta Vortaro is probably the best online dictionary.

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    Theres also an offline version of ReVo called PReVo. It's an Android application.
    – Johannes Mueller
    Aug 25, 2016 at 14:56
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The Reta Vortaro is great, but has a terrible user interface. La Simpla Vortaro has the content of ReVo, but is much more usable as an online dictionary:

  • Simple interface that also works on phones and tablets
  • You can enter words in Esperanto and all other languages in the search box
  • You can enter the ĉapelitaj literoj directly, or use the x-system or the h-system
  • Well-formatted example sentences, one per line
  • Easy to copy and paste links to specific words in the dictionary
  • Malpreciza serĉo: words that are similar to the one you typed
  • Vortfarada serĉo: the possible ways to decompose the word – it works even for words that aren't in the dictionary!
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Esperanto dictionaries in .dsl format: https://www.facebook.com/notes/esperanto/epo-vortaroj-en-dsl-formato/10154144986065289

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  • That page until now includes only the English, Russian and Esperanto, don't it? You can use ReVo in GoldenDict too.
    – Marco
    Aug 28, 2016 at 16:10

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