# Esperanto–English and English–Esperanto dictionary

Source: https://esperantopedia.org/dictionary/
Language: en
Updated: 2026-10-10

> Free Esperanto–English and English–Esperanto dictionary: 27,357 words with IPA, word structure and example sentences, in 17 languages.

**This is a free Esperanto–English and English–Esperanto dictionary.** It has 27,357 Esperanto words with an English meaning and 23,295 English words that each lead to their Esperanto equivalent. Search above to go from Esperanto to English, or use the English–Esperanto button below to go the other way.

Esperanto words are built from roots, prefixes, suffixes and endings that never change shape. A good dictionary therefore shows not only what a word means but also **how it is built**. *Mal·san·ul·ej·o* ("hospital") is *mal-* (opposite) + *san* (health) + *-ul-* (person) + *-ej-* (place) + *-o* (noun) – literally "a place for unhealthy people". Its entry shows this and more:

| Part of the entry | Example: *malsanulejo* |
|---|---|
| Meaning | "hospital", plus translations into other languages |
| Pronunciation | IPA /mal.sa.nuˈle.jo/, syllables mal·sa·nu·**LE**·jo (Esperanto is always stressed on the second-to-last syllable), and a recording where one exists |
| Word structure | mal- + san + -ul- + -ej- + -o, each part explained |
| Word family | *sano* "health", *sana* "healthy", *sanigi* "to heal", *malsana* "ill", *malsano* "illness" |
| Forms | *malsanulejo, malsanulejoj, malsanulejon, malsanulejojn* |
| Example sentence | *Hieraŭ mi iris en la malsanulejon.* – "I went to the hospital yesterday." |
| Status | "Official word" if it is in the Fundamento or an Official Addition of the Academy |

## What is in the dictionary?

On 1 November 2026 the dictionary has these Esperanto words with a page, counted by the language of the meaning:

| Language | Words with a page | Pages from the other side |
|---|---:|---:|
| French | 29,583 | 22,364 |
| English | 27,357 | 23,295 |
| German | 23,103 | 22,966 |
| Esperanto (definitions) | 22,833 | – |
| Polish | 20,759 | 22,972 |
| Russian | 20,616 | 18,593 |
| Dutch | 17,954 | 13,403 |
| Spanish | 17,778 | 10,842 |
| Portuguese | 16,857 | 10,124 |
| Japanese | 16,782 | 14,125 |
| Chinese | 16,567 | 12,976 |
| Hungarian | 16,255 | 14,152 |
| Czech | 15,466 | 15,513 |
| Ukrainian | 15,321 | 15,350 |
| Italian | 15,024 | 5,612 |
| Slovak | 13,008 | 11,996 |
| Turkish | 11,468 | 2,974 |

Counts differ because each language community has written a different amount about Esperanto in Wiktionary and Reta Vortaro. The English–Esperanto side has 23,295 pages, one per English word, each with the main Esperanto equivalent, other candidates and example sentences.

## Which words get a page?

A word gets a page in a language when it has a meaning there and at least two of five things: a Wiktionary entry, a Reta Vortaro article, example sentences, a pronunciation recording, or one of our own hand-checked meanings (we have them for the 1,000 most common words). Entries with a single meaning and no example sentence stay visible but are kept out of search engines until they are filled in. We do not publish hundreds of thousands of empty pages, so some rare words and technical terms are missing. For those, see [best Esperanto dictionaries](https://esperantopedia.org/learn/dictionaries/).

## Where does the data come from?

Each block on an entry page names its source and licence, and sources are never blended into one text. The [sources page](https://esperantopedia.org/sources/) lists every project we use.

| Source | Used for | Licence |
|---|---|---|
| [Reta Vortaro (ReVo)](https://reta-vortaro.de/) | Definitions in Esperanto, translations, official status | GNU GPL 2 |
| [Wiktionary](https://www.wiktionary.org/) via [kaikki.org](https://kaikki.org/) | Meanings from 18 language editions | CC BY-SA 4.0 and GFDL |
| [ESPDIC](http://www.denisowski.org/Esperanto/ESPDIC/espdic_readme.html) by Paul Denisowski | English meanings | CC BY 3.0 |
| [Tatoeba](https://tatoeba.org/) | Example sentences with translations | CC BY 2.0 FR |
| [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Lingua_Libre_pronunciation-epo) | Recordings, mostly from Lingua Libre | Per file, mostly CC BY-SA 4.0 |
| Esperantopedia | Pronunciation, word structure, forms | CC BY-SA 4.0 |

## How do I search the dictionary?

- **Type the first letters.** Results appear as you type, and Enter opens the top one. Diacritics are optional: *cxar*, *car* and *ĉar* all find *ĉar* ("because").
- **Use the x-system.** Typing *cx* gives *ĉ* automatically.
- **Search the base form.** Nouns end in *-o*, adjectives in *-a*, adverbs in *-e*, verbs in *-i*. For *hundojn* search *hundo*; its entry shows the plural and accusative forms.
- **Unknown long word?** Take it apart with [word building](https://esperantopedia.org/grammar/word-building/), the [prefixes](https://esperantopedia.org/grammar/prefixes/) and the [suffixes](https://esperantopedia.org/grammar/suffixes/). Learn the [100 most common words](https://esperantopedia.org/learn/vocabulary/) first.

## Common questions

### Is there a free Esperanto–English dictionary?

Yes. This dictionary is free. Two other free options are ESPDIC, a downloadable Esperanto–English list of 63,895 entries (6 October 2024) that anyone may reuse with credit, and Reta Vortaro, with definitions in Esperanto and 39,267 English translations.

### How do I find an English word in Esperanto?

Use the English–Esperanto button under the search box and pick the first letter. Every page opens with the answer: "dog" in Esperanto is *hundo*. English words with several meanings list further Esperanto words and sample sentences.

### How many words does Esperanto have?

There is no single total, because roots combine freely with prefixes and suffixes. The largest monolingual dictionary, the *Plena Ilustrita Vortaro* (PIV), has 16,780 headwords and 46,890 lexical units in its 2002 and 2005 editions. PIV 2020, the last traditionally printed edition, revises that text only lightly, and we found no newer published total. Reta Vortaro has 13,094 articles and 40,765 senses.

### Which Esperanto dictionary should I use?

For quick lookups with sound and examples, use this one. Once you read Esperanto well, Reta Vortaro and PIV 2020 at vortaro.net give definitions in Esperanto, and ESPDIC suits offline use. [Best Esperanto dictionaries](https://esperantopedia.org/learn/dictionaries/) compares them.

## Sources

- [Reta Vortaro statistics, 7 October 2026](https://reta-vortaro.de/revo/inx/statistiko.html); [revo-fonto licence](https://github.com/revuloj/revo-fonto/blob/master/LICENSE)
- [ESPDIC readme](http://www.denisowski.org/Esperanto/ESPDIC/espdic_readme.html), Paul Denisowski
- [Wiktionary:Copyrights](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wiktionary:Copyrights); [Tatoeba terms of use](https://tatoeba.org/en/terms_of_use)
- [Lingua Libre recordings, Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Lingua_Libre_pronunciation-epo)
- [Plena Ilustrita Vortaro – Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plena_Ilustrita_Vortaro_de_Esperanto) and [Vikipedio](https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plena_Ilustrita_Vortaro_de_Esperanto), citing Marek Blahuš, *A Spell Checker for Esperanto* (Masaryk University, 2008)
- [Fundamento de Esperanto](https://www.akademio-de-esperanto.org/fundamento/)