GoldenDict-ng

Overview

GoldenDict-ng (GoldenDict Next Generation) is a free, open-source, multi-functional dictionary lookup program. It is a modern refactoring of the original GoldenDict (ng stands for next generation), focusing on providing an efficient, cross-platform offline/online dictionary lookup experience. It supports various dictionary formats and improves performance, interface, and compatibility through modern technologies such as Qt6 and Rust. GoldenDict-ng is led by developer xiaoyifang, hosted on GitHub, supports Windows, macOS, and Linux platforms, and is licensed under GPL-3.0.

History and Development

• Origins:
  • 2008–2012: The original GoldenDict was developed by Konstantin Isakov, quickly becoming a classic open-source dictionary, but maintenance stopped after 2012.
  • 2018–2020: The community forked multiple versions, and xiaoyifang began maintaining an active branch, aiming for a modern refactoring.
• Key Milestones:
  • 2021: Officially renamed to GoldenDict-ng, switched to Qt6, rewrote the core engine, and added support for >4GB dictionaries and high DPI.
  • 2022–2023: Introduced Rust modules to optimize performance, added dark mode, and WebEngine support for the latest HTML/CSS.
  • 2024: Version iterated to 24.x, comprehensively improving Alpha processing and multi-platform compatibility.
  • December 2025: Version 25.11.0 released, optimizing the UI, adding support for new dictionary formats (such as Zim), and increasing community contributors.
• Current Status:
  • The project is active, with monthly updates, over 1k GitHub stars, and community-driven development.

Main Features

1. Dictionary Format Support:
   • Supports various formats including StarDict, Lingoes (LD2/LDX), Babylon (BGL), ABBYY Lingvo (DSL/LSA/LSD), MDict (MDX/MDD), Zim, Dictd, etc.
   • Supports >4GB large dictionaries and parallel querying of multiple dictionaries.
2. Lookup Functions:
   • Screen word lookup/selection translation (global hotkey).
   • Web page preview (built-in WebEngine, supports HTML/CSS).
   • Pronunciation support (TTS, Forvo, online API).
3. Interface and Usability:
   • Qt6 interface, high DPI/dark mode support.
   • Tabs, multiple windows, floating search.
4. Extensibility:
   • Lua script plugins, online dictionary interfaces (Youdao, Google Translate, Linguee).
5. Cross-platform compatibility:
   • Windows/macOS/Linux, Flatpak/AppImage support.
6. Hardware compatibility:
   • Minimum: 1 GHz CPU, 512 MB RAM.

Advantages and Limitations

Advantages

• Comprehensive format support: Compatible with almost all dictionary formats, superior to QDictionary.
• Modern: Optimized with Qt6 + Rust, better performance/interface than the original GoldenDict.
• Open source and free: GPL-3.0, no restrictions.
• Active community: Frequent updates in 2025, bug fixes every month.
• Powerful word lookup: Global hotkeys/text selection, suitable for learning/reading.

Limitations

• Dictionaries not included: Users need to download them (e.g., Oxford, Longman), configuration is slightly complex.
• Learning curve: New users need to adapt to multi-dictionary grouping.
• Comparison with other software:
  • Original GoldenDict: Outdated.
  • QDictionary: Lightweight but fewer formats supported.

Summary

GoldenDict-ng is a modern open-source successor to the original GoldenDict. The latest version 25.11.0 (December 2025) uses Qt6 + Rust to improve performance, supporting multiple dictionary formats, word lookup/text selection, online search, and plugins. Compared to the original GoldenDict (outdated) and QDictionary (lightweight), GoldenDict-ng stands out in format support and community activity, but requires manual dictionary configuration.