Quickstart

Welcome to Shobdo! This guide will take you from generating your first API key to making your first successful API request.

By the end of this guide, you will have successfully searched for a word and retrieved its dictionary definition.

1. Get your API Key

To use the Shobdo API, you need an API key.

1. Sign up or Log in to your Developer Console.
2. Navigate to the API Keys section.
3. Click Create New Key. Give it a memorable name (e.g., "Local Development").
4. Copy the key and keep it secure. You will not be able to see it again!

2. Make your first request

With your API key in hand, you're ready to make your first request. We will use the /api/v1/api/entry/en/word/{word} endpoint to look up the definition of the word "dictionary".

You must pass your API key using the Authorization header as a Bearer token.

curl -X GET "https://api.shobdo.me/api/v1/api/entry/en/word/dictionary" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Accept: application/json"

const fetchWord = async () => {
  const response = await fetch("https://api.shobdo.me/api/v1/api/entry/en/word/dictionary", {
    method: "GET",
    headers: {
      "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY",
      "Accept": "application/json"
    }
  });
  
  const data = await response.json();
  console.log(data);
};
 
fetchWord();

import requests
 
url = "https://api.shobdo.me/api/v1/api/entry/en/word/dictionary"
headers = {
    "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY",
    "Accept": "application/json"
}
 
response = requests.get(url, headers=headers)
print(response.json())

3. Understand the Response

If your request is successful, the API will return a 200 OK response with a JSON payload containing the dictionary entry data.

{
  "ok": true,
  "data": {
    "id": "123",
    "word": "dictionary",
    "htmlContent": "<b>1.</b> A reference book containing words usually alphabetically arranged...",
    "plainText": "1. A reference book containing words usually alphabetically arranged...",
    "sourceLang": "en",
    "targetLang": null,
    "dictionaryId": "shobdo_mono_en_1",
    "dictionaryName": "English Comprehensive Dictionary",
    "partOfSpeech": "noun",
    "phonetic": "/ˈdɪk.ʃən.ər.i/",
    "hasAudio": true,
    "audioUrl": "https://api.shobdo.me/api/v1/api/audio/shobdo_mono_en_1/123"
  },
  "meta": {
    "took_ms": 15
  }
}

Next Steps

Congratulations! You've successfully integrated with Shobdo. From here, you can:

• Learn about our Data Models to understand how we structure complex entries.
• Explore the Search API for fuzzy matching and typo tolerance.
• Check out our Audio Guide to learn how to stream pronunciations in your app.