Introduction
The Shobdo API provides programmatic access to one of the largest multilingual dictionary databases in the world. Search across 30+ dictionaries covering 15+ languages, retrieve full dictionary entries with definitions, examples, pronunciations, etymology, and audio — all through a simple REST API.
Base URL
All API requests are made to the following base URL:
https://api.shobdo.me/api/v1
Quick Start
Get started in three steps:
- Create an account at shobdo.me and generate an API key from the Console.
- Make your first request using your API key:
# Example request
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
"https://api.shobdo.me/api/v1/search?q=hello"- Parse the response — every successful response returns a standard JSON envelope:
{
"ok": true,
"data": [
{
"id": "42",
"word": "hello",
"preview": "Used as a greeting...",
"dictionaryId": "...",
"dictionaryName": "...",
"sourceLang": "en",
"targetLang": null,
"hasAudio": true
}
],
"meta": {
"total": 12,
"limit": 20,
"offset": 0,
"took_ms": 45
}
}What You Can Do
Search across all dictionaries
Use GET /search with powerful filtering options to find translations, meanings, and pronunciations across all supported language pairs. Learn more
Retrieve a full dictionary entry
Use GET /entry/{source}/{id} to retrieve a complete dictionary entry by its unique ID, containing rich definitions, examples, and etymology. Learn more
Look up an entry by word string
Use GET /entry/{source}/word/{word} to directly look up a dictionary entry when you know the exact word string. Learn more
Stream pronunciation audio
Use GET /audio/{source}/{lexid} to retrieve a direct stream of the pronunciation audio for a specific entry. Learn more
Supported Languages
Shobdo supports English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Arabic, Persian, Burmese, Bulgarian, Greek, and Thai — with more being added regularly.
Next Steps
- Authentication — Learn how to authenticate your API requests.
- Rate Limits — Understand your monthly request allowance.
- API Reference: Search — Dive into the search endpoint.