FarsiDic Review: Free Persian Dictionary (Dehkhoda Sources)

Level: All levels | Time: As needed | Cost: Free | Best for: Quick lookups, Persian-to-English dictionary

What Is FarsiDic?

FarsiDic is a free online Persian dictionary that draws from authoritative Persian sources including Dehkhoda and Moin dictionaries. It handles Persian-to-English, English-to-Persian, and Persian-to-Persian lookups. The database is substantial, covering literary, formal, and some colloquial vocabulary.

What Works

The Dehkhoda and Moin sources are the gold standard of Persian lexicography. Having free access to definitions from these authoritative dictionaries is genuinely valuable. For learners reading Persian literature or academic texts, FarsiDic provides the depth that Google Translate can't match. Persian-to-Persian definitions are available for learners ready to think in Farsi.

The search handles both Persian script and transliteration input, which means you can look up words even if you can't type in Persian yet.

Where It Falls Short

The interface feels dated. Search results can be cluttered, with multiple definitions from different sources displayed without clear hierarchy. For quick lookups, you'll spend time parsing through results to find the definition you need. No audio pronunciation means you're guessing at vowels.

Colloquial vocabulary and slang are mostly absent. If you hear "bâbâ bikhiyâl" in conversation and look it up here, you'll find nothing. The dictionary skews literary and formal, which limits its usefulness for everyday learners.

Layer 2: Dictionary-Specific Breakdown

Who Should Use This

Intermediate-advanced learners reading Persian texts. Anyone who needs authoritative definitions from Dehkhoda/Moin. Not ideal for beginners who need simple, clean definitions with pronunciation.

The Verdict

FarsiDic is the reference dictionary for serious Persian learners. The Dehkhoda/Moin sources are unmatched. But for everyday vocabulary lookups, Google Translate is honestly faster and simpler. Keep FarsiDic bookmarked for when you need the real definition, not just the translation.

For vocabulary learning with context and pronunciation, ZabanYar teaches words in sentences, not definitions.

Full disclosure. ZabanYar is my own app. I built it, so treat any recommendation of it on this page as an interested one rather than an independent verdict. Everything else here is my honest read, and you are welcome to check it against someone else's.

Get it wrong and the worst that happens is a warm laugh and a story they’ll tell for years. Get it right — refuse the tea twice, accept on the third — and you’ll watch a face open up. You didn’t just speak Persian. You played the game.