Fora Dictionary

Ismail Alper Yilmaz

In-app purchases

About this app

Fora Dictionary is a versatile dictionary viewer.

FEATURES

• Fast and fully offline operation
• Compatibility with StarDict, DSL, XDXF, Dictd, and TSV/Plain dictionaries
• Typing-friendly search with tolerance for case, diacritics, and punctuation
• Fuzzy search
• Full-text search
• In-page popup translator
• History and word list
• Customization options

COMPATIBILITY

Fora Dictionary supports the following dictionary and file types (with the main index file extension in parentheses):

• StarDict dictionaries (*.idx)
• DSL dictionaries (*.dsl)
• XDXF dictionaries (*.xdxf)
• Dictd dictionaries (*.index)
• TSV/Plain dictionaries (*.txt, *.dic)
• Hunspell dictionaries (*.aff)

The application also supports connections to DICT protocol servers.

SETTING UP DICTIONARIES

• Copy the dictionary files into the app’s documents folder on your device. For help connecting your device to a computer, see: https://support.google.com/android/answer/9064445
• Select the dictionary index file, as listed in the compatibility section above (or an archive of it), using the 'Import' option from the Dictionary Manager menu.
• (Optional) Attach resource ZIP files (if available) using the 'Attach ZIP' option in the dictionary menu.
• (Optional) Edit properties of the dictionary, such as its visible name, using the 'Edit Properties' option in the dictionary menu.
• (Optional) Create a full-text search index for the dictionary using the 'Upgrade' option in the dictionary menu.
• (Optional) Create profiles to group and organize dictionaries.

RESOURCE FILES

Resource files of a dictionary can be packed in multiple ZIP files with arbitrary sizes and file names. Use the "Attach ZIP" option in the dictionary menu to copy and attach ZIP files to a dictionary.

FULL-TEXT SEARCH

The app supports full-text searches of all dictionaries for exact matches. This feature requires a one-time upgrade of each dictionary, which may take a considerable amount of time to complete, as every word in the dictionary is indexed for searchability.

SYNCHRONIZING BETWEEN DEVICES

Copying or moving dictionaries between devices can be accomplished using one of the following methods:

• Export the dictionary to a *.zip file on the first device and then import that *.zip file on the second device.
• Copy or move the entire ".fora" folder or individual dictionary folders using a file manager. (After transferring, you may need to add dictionaries to a profile using the "Add to Profile" option in the Dictionary Manager menu.)

SEARCH TYPES

There are five types of searches you can perform on dictionaries:

• Regular search: Displays results that exactly match the query.
• Extended matching search: Displays results that match the query with case, diacritics, and punctuation ignored. Suggestions include in-phrase and phonetic matches.
• Full-text search: Provides a list of articles containing exact matches of the query. The search scope includes all text in articles, not limited to headwords, but also definitions, synonyms, examples, etc.
• Fuzzy search: Displays a list of articles most similar to the query. This search acts like a spell checker for words you're uncertain about spelling.
• Wildcard search: Displays a list of articles that match the criteria set by a wildcard query.

ANDROID 10 OR LATER

If you upgrade from an earlier Android version to Android 10 or later, you may need to move the ".fora" folder manually. Copy it from shared storage to Android/data/com.ngc.fora/files/ using a computer or file manager, because newer Android versions restrict access to shared and external storage.

HELP AND SUPPORT

• https://fora-dictionary.com

Copyright © 2010-2025 NG-Computing. All rights reserved.

Ratings and reviews

Best offline dictionary! I imported many StarDict dictionaries available online, and I can use this app to find word definitions complete with pictures and examples. For instance, try and look up "compass" after importing Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary 8th edition. However, the app can play English sounds perfectly, but can't play Russian sounds well. For example, it says "Davaz" when I ask it to say "давай."

This is a great programme that you can use with a variety of dictionaries. It can be tricky to load the dictionaries because of Android permissions - I find it easier to use my computer to put the files in the right location in the SD card. But once you get that done it's a great way to have access to a range of dictionaries. One thing I'd like to see is a "random" button that takes you to a random entry in one of your dictionaries.

It's there a pop-up mode for quickly looking up words in other apps? I honestly mostly just use a dictionary and looking for a particular word and wanted to be able to click off of a pop-up to remain in the app. I really like it besides that shortcoming.

What’s new

v24.0
• Added Hunspell dictionaries support
• Added Zip64 dictionary resources support
• Added foldable article result display
• Optimized various default settings
• Bug fixes and performance improvements