Download Persian Dictionary
Inca Lillard
It's unfortunate that there's no official (or even unofficial) Persian dictionary for Amazon Kindle. I'm no programmer but I took it on myself to make a English-Persian dictionary myself, and it's finally here!
Live now: The new revised online German-Persian dictionary with full search functionality. Due to the high level of demand for a German-Persian dictionary, we have until recently provided a BETA version with restricted search options on this site. In the meantime, we have fully digitised the dictionary and are pleased to offer it here as a complete online dictionary in both language directions.
In 7 chapters, the author presents an account of the Old Persian language that encompasses its corpus, glossary and concordance. For the first time, the book provides a dictionary of every single cuneiform term that is attested in the Old Persian language and it contains a comprehensive analysis of each word, its orthographic representation, its linguistic roots and its corresponding declensions across the extant sources.
The initial phase of the dictionary includes basic vocabulary for describing physical appearance, daily routines, items in some everyday spaces and items in some national and religious ceremonies in Iran. The dictionary is under further development in 2023 and 2024.
There is no one single best Persian dictionary. Instead, different dictionaries are useful for different purposes. What follows is not an exhaustive list of all the dictionaries available, but an introduction to my favorite print and online dictionaries, both bilingual (English/Persian) and monolingual (Persian-Persian), and some tips on their use. Unless otherwise noted, these dictionaries focus on modern Iranian Persian.
Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics: This English-French-Persian dictionary is specific to vocabulary related to astronomy and astrophysics. It gives etymologies for its entries and is best searched in roman transliteration (eg. barf), though you can also search in Perso-Arabic script (برف).
Have other questions? A favorite dictionary I left out? Leave a comment and let me know. I plan to write more posts in the future about how to learn Persian, as well as posts on other topics.
For total beginners who are not yet comfortable with the Perso-Arabic script, I recommend Yavar Dehghani\u2019s bidirectional (Persian-English and English-Persian) dictionary. It allows users to look up Persian words by their roman transliteration, which is great for learners who can\u2019t yet guess how words might be spelled.
For more intermediate to advanced learners I recommend the Millennium (Hez\u0101re) English-Persian dictionary. It\u2019s geared towards native Persian speakers but can be very useful for English-speaking Persian learners, as it\u2019s reasonably up to date and provides a range of examples and equivalents for English words and idioms.
Hayyim: Soleym\u0101n Hayyim was an Iranian Jewish lexicographer and his Persian-English dictionary, published in the 1930s, remains one of the best of its kind. Given its age, it doesn\u2019t have newer coinages in the language, but since written Persian is conservative and changes only very slowly, it\u2019s still very useful, especially when reading 19th and 20th century written material. NB: when searching the digitized version, final \u06A9 and \u06AF must be written as \u0643 . For example, to find \u06A9\u0634\u06A9 you must search for \u06A9\u0634\u0643 . The search also uses an idiosyncratic character for the intermedial \u0647, making it difficult to search for words like \u0646\u06AF\u0647\u0628\u0627\u0646.
Steingass: This is a late 19th century Indo-Persian dictionary, and is the best Persian-English dictionary for Indian materials. Hayyim, for example, won\u2019t have a word like \u067E\u0627\u0646 p\u0101n , but you\u2019ll find it in Steingass. It shares the character issues that the digital version of Hayyim has. In addition, it often has \u0629 rather than a final \u0647 or \u062A in words of Arabic origin, so for example \u062D\u0627\u0644\u062A and \u062E\u0644\u06CC\u0641\u0647 would appear as \u062D\u0627\u0644\u0629 and \u062E\u0644\u06CC\u0641\u0629 , respectively, in Steingass.
Farsi123: This is probably the best English-to-Persian online dictionary. Its sample sentences are great for seeing words in context and better understanding their use. The dictionary is best used by searching for a single word. If you want to look up \u201Cplay a role,\u201D for example, search for \u201Cplay\u201D and then look for \u201Cplay a role\u201D among the entries. This takes a bit of guesswork; to find \u201Chit the spot\u201D you\u2019d need to search under \u201Cspot.\u201D Farsi123 can also be used for looking up Persian words but is much less useful in that direction.
Glosbe: This resource searches other dictionaries and online sources and is great for looking up tricky things like idioms and more contemporary language, as you can search for entire phrases. It will often show you a range of ways your query could be translated. As such, it\u2019s better for intermediate or advanced learners, as it returns actual usages rather than dictionary definitions and thus requires a good level of knowledge in order to be used effectively. The Persian-to-English search is also good.
\u0648\u0627\u0698\u0647\u200C\u06CC\u0627\u0628: Probably the best site for searching multiple Persian-Persian dictionaries, most importantly the encyclopedic Dehkhod\u0101 dictionary. Dehkhod\u0101 is usually your best option, as it is itself a compendium of other dictionaries.
Wiktionary: this dictionary is, like Wikipedia, freely editable, so its entries should be taken with a grain of salt. Nevertheless it\u2019s often a very useful resource and its etymological information tends to be solid.
Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics: This English-French-Persian dictionary is specific to vocabulary related to astronomy and astrophysics. It gives etymologies for its entries and is best searched in roman transliteration (eg. barf), though you can also search in Perso-Arabic script (\u0628\u0631\u0641).
MacKenzie\u2019s Concise Pahlavi Dictionary: while I\u2019ve focused on New Persian in this post, this Middle Persian dictionary is indispensable for those interested in Persian etymology and historical linguistics.
You should use whatever you feel comfortable with! That being said, the sooner you can start using a monolingual dictionary (especially Dehkhod\u0101), the better. Definitions might include other words you don\u2019t know, leading you to look those up as well, creating a virtuous cycle of learning.
Look in a dictionary that provides transliteration. Hayyim, Steingass, Wiktionary, and even \u0648\u0627\u0698\u0647\u200C\u06CC\u0627\u0628 generally offer transliteration. Note that Hayyim does not distinguish between long and short vowels, so \u062D\u0627\u0644\u062A h\u0101lat is transliterated as \u2018halat.\u2019
Meʿyār-e jamālī (comp. 744-45/1343-44) by Šams-e Faḵrī Eṣfahānī is a dictionary of 1,580 entries, including corrupt forms, arranged on the model of Lōḡat-e fors; all supporting verses are composed by the author. It was used by Wafāʾī, Enjū Šīrāzī, Sorūrī, ʿAbd-al-Rašīd Tatavī, and Awbahī.
Madār al-afāżel of Allāhdād Fayżī Serhendī (comp. 1001/1592) is a detailed dictionary comprising 12,000 entries arranged according to the first and then final letters. The author mentions as his sources Tājayn, (i.e.,Tāj al-maṣāder of Bayhaqī and Tāj al-lōḡa of Jawharī or the annonymous Tāj al-asmāʾ), Ṣorāhá, Mohaḏḏab al-asmāʾ, Qonyat al fetyān for Arabic and on Zafān-egūyā, Adāt al-fożalāʾ, Šaraf-nāma-ye Monyarī, Moʾayyed al-fożalāʾ, etc. for Persian words. Some definitions are provided with supporting verses (Dabīrsīāqī, pp. 101-02).
Bahār-e ʿAjam is a dictionary of about 10,000 entries, including a considerable number of idioms and expressions, in alphabetical order, compiled in 1152/1739 by Tīk Čand Bahār. In his introduction the author mentions as his source about 100 dīvāns and correspondence collections of the Persian and Indian poets of the Safavid period.
Farhang-e Wafāʾī or Resāla-ye Ḥosayn Wafāʾī (comp. 933/1526) by Ḥosayn Wafāʾī is based mainly on Ṣehāḥ al-fors. The author has also used Meʿyār-e jamālī, the dictionary of Šams-al-Dīn Moḥammad Kašmīrī and some other sources for a limited number of entries. Another dictionary written in the same period is Toḥfat al-aḥbāb, compiled in 936/1529 by the calligrapher Solṭān-ʿAlī Awbahī for Saʿd-al-Dīn Mašhadī, the vizier of Khorasan. It comprises 2,483 entries arranged according to their first and last letters respectively. The entries are almost the same as those recorded by Asadī, plus a number of corrupt forms. The examples are also the same as those quoted by Asadī, besides some verses by later poets (Anwarī, Sūzanī, Sanāʾī, Kamāl-al-Dīn Esmāʿīl, Moʿezzī, etc.). No source is cited by the author (Dabīrsīāqī, pp. 74-78).
Persian lexicography in the Ottoman empire. Persian lexicography in the Ottoman empire apparently began in the 9th/15th century. Unlike those compiled in India, almost all dictionaries produced in the Ottoman empire are bilingual (Persian-Turkish). The earliest extant dictionary is the anonymous Oqnūm-e ʿAjam, containing about 5,000 entries arranged alphabetically according to the initial and final letters. It was used by the author of Farhang-e Neʿmat-Allāh (d. 969/1561-62). A manuscript preserved in Bodleian was copied in 898/1492 (Dabīrsīāqī, pp. 261-62).
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