Skip to content

DPD for Apple Dictionary

DPD is now available as a native Apple Dictionary, allowing you to look up Pāḷi words directly in the built-in Dictionary app and with system-wide lookup.

⚡ Please Note: This is only available on macOS. It does not work on iOS, iPadOS, or other operating systems.

In Brief

  1. Download dpd-apple.dictionary.zip from GitHub Releases
  2. Unzip the file
  3. Move Digital-Pali-Dictionary.dictionary to ~/Library/Dictionaries/
  4. Restart Dictionary app
  5. Enable DPD in Dictionary settings

Detailed Instructions

Download

(1) Go to the latest release page on GitHub.

(2) Under Assets, download dpd-apple.dictionary.zip.

Unzip

(3) Locate the downloaded .zip file in your Downloads folder and double-click to unzip it. You will get a folder called Digital-Pali-Dictionary.dictionary.

Install the Dictionary

(4) Open Finder and press Shift + Command + G (or go to Go > Go to Folder...).

(5) Type ~/Library/Dictionaries/ and press Enter.

⚡ Please Note: If the Dictionaries folder does not exist, create it.

(6) Move the Digital-Pali-Dictionary.dictionary folder into this folder.

Restart Dictionary App

(7) If the Dictionary app is open, quit it completely (Command + Q) and reopen it. If it is not open, simply open it.

Enable DPD

(8) Open Dictionary app and go to Dictionary > Settings (or press Command + ,).

(9) Make sure Digital Pali Dictionary is checked in the list of dictionaries. You can drag it to change the priority order.

Using DPD

Dictionary App

Type any Pāḷi word in the search bar of the Dictionary app. DPD supports inflected forms, so searching for dhammassa will show the main dhamma entry.

System-wide Lookup

Select any Pāḷi word in any application and press Control + Command + D for a quick popup definition. This works in Safari, Preview, Pages, and most macOS apps.

Updating

To update to the latest version, download the newest dpd-apple.dictionary.zip from GitHub Releases, unzip it, and replace the existing Digital-Pali-Dictionary.dictionary in ~/Library/Dictionaries/. Restart the Dictionary app to load the new version.

That's it, you're all set up! Enjoy Pāḷi lookup across macOS.