A dictionary inside Anki.

Installation

The add-on runs inside Anki 25.09 or newer on the desktop. Anki provides the Qt and web engine runtime, so there is nothing else to install.

Install from AnkiWeb

1. Open Anki and choose Tools → Add-ons.
2. Click Get Add-ons… and enter the code below.
3. Restart Anki. An Anki Dictionary menu appears in the menu bar.

1973740182copy

Install from a release file

1. Download the latest .ankiaddon from the releases page.
2. In Anki, open Tools → Add-ons.
3. Drag the file onto the Add-ons window, or click Install from file… and select it.
4. Restart Anki.

Install dictionaries

Open Anki Dictionary → Settings… → Dictionaries. Use Quick Setup to install one recommended dictionary plus frequency, level and conjugation data for a language pair. Install Dictionaries (Web) lets you pick individual dictionaries; Install Dictionaries (Files) accepts Yomichan .zip and Migaku .json files.

First lookup

The shortest path from a clean Anki install to a result in a note field.

1. Install Anki 25.09 or newer and restart it once.
2. Install the add-on with the AnkiWeb code 1973740182 (or a release file).
3. Open Anki Dictionary → Settings… → Dictionaries and install at least one dictionary for your target language.
4. Press Ctrl+W (⌘+W on macOS) or choose Anki Dictionary → Open Dictionary.
5. Type a word, press Enter, and choose a result.
6. Pick the target field in the dictionary header, then click Send to Field.

Search modes

The mode is in the dropdown next to the search bar. Forward is the default; it matches entries that begin with the query. Use Exact when you want only the headword, and Anywhere when a lookup returns nothing.

Bracket pairs (), [], （） and 《》 are stripped with their contents, so pasted text with furigana still works.

Dictionary groups

A group defines which dictionaries are searched. The group selector in the header includes All, one group per installed language, and the Images, Forvo and LLM source groups when those features are enabled.

Create or edit groups in the Settings tab, under Dictionary Groups. The editor selects dictionaries from the installed list; Quick Setup creates the language groups for the language pair you choose.

LLM, images and audio

These sources appear as groups in the header when they are enabled. They behave like dictionary sources: choose the group, select a result, then send it to a field or to the exporter.

DuckDuckGo images

Choose the Images group, click an image to select it (click again to deselect), then click Send to Field. Set the search region and maximum width/height in the Settings tab.

Forvo audio

Choose the Forvo group, tick a recording, then click Send to Field. Enable Forvo and choose the language in Settings → Forvo. If the group stays empty, confirm the feature is enabled and that Anki can reach the network.

LLM definitions

Open Settings → LLM. Choose an OpenAI-compatible endpoint or a local Ollama install, then set the base URL, API key and model. The prompt receives the term, part of speech, and frequency or level context when available.

Separate prompt templates with a line containing only ---. The model is instructed to mirror that delimiter, and the add-on splits the response into independent definition blocks, each with its own export, copy and send controls. It is still one API call.

The results window

Results are grouped by dictionary. A dictionary header holds the output mode, field selector and previous/next dictionary controls. A definition header holds the term, reading, frequency, and the Send to Exporter, Copy and Send to Field buttons.

• Sidebar lists every result in the current search; click one to jump to it, or right-click a dictionary name to fold its entries.
• History is behind the clock icon. Double-click a term to search it again.
• Zoom with the + and − buttons; the sidebar and definitions resize together.
• Multi-Tab keeps each search in its own tab; Single-Tab replaces the current result.
• Deconjugation resolves conjugated input to its dictionary form when a conjugation table is installed.

Frequency and level

When a frequency list is installed, each entry header carries stars and often a numeric rank. Level data appears as labels such as HSK³:1, JLPT:N2 or CEFR:B2. If two lists publish the same label, it is shown once; hover the label to see both sources.

Keyboard shortcuts

Global shortcuts work from any Anki window. In-window keys work while the dictionary has focus. Press ? inside the dictionary to show the shortcut map.

In the dictionary window

In the Card Exporter, Ctrl+B/I/U toggle bold, italic and underline in notes; Ctrl+S looks up selected text in the dictionary and Ctrl+F searches it in the Browser.

Send to Field

This writes one definition into a note field. It works in the Add, Edit, Browser and Reviewer windows.

1. Pick the target field in the Field Selector dropdown in the dictionary header.
2. Choose the output mode: Add, Overwrite or If Empty.
3. Click Send to Field in a definition header. With text selected, only that portion plus the header is sent; with nothing selected, the whole definition goes.

Card Exporter

The exporter is a staging window: collect definitions, a sentence, notes, one image and one audio clip, then add the card in one action.

Export templates

A template maps content types onto the fields of one note type. Create one in the Settings tab, under Export Templates, before using the exporter.

Build a card

1. Click Send to Exporter (the Anki icon) in any definition header. Selected text goes to the sentence field; otherwise the whole entry goes to the definition list.
2. Add an image or audio with the exporter's image and audio controls.
3. Click Add.

Mass export existing cards

1. Select cards in the Card Browser.
2. Choose Edit → Export Definitions.
3. Set the input field, output field, up to three dictionaries, output mode and maximum definitions per dictionary.
4. Click Execute.

Themes

A theme is a JSON object with fourteen color roles: header background, sidebar, text, search term, border, Anki button background and text, tab hover, two tab gradient colors, example highlight, definition background and text, and pitch accent.

Apply a theme

Open the Appearance tab in Settings, or click the theme icon in the dictionary toolbar. Click a card and the open window updates. The gallery can be filtered by light, dark or custom, and a wrong pick can be undone from the notice at the bottom.

Create or edit

1. Click New theme, or Customize/Duplicate on an existing card.
2. Adjust the colors; the live preview and readability audit update as you type.
3. Use the two-color generator to derive a palette from a background and an accent color.
4. Save, or Save & Apply. JSON can be copied out and pasted back in for sharing.

The same search for 电脑 in five of the eight built-in themes. Catppuccin Latte, Solarized Light and Tokyo Night are also included.

Settings

Open Anki Dictionary → Settings… or the gear icon in the dictionary window. The tabs are Settings, Appearance, LLM, Forvo, Frequency Lists and Dictionaries.

Export Templates and Dictionary Groups are sections inside the Settings tab, not separate tabs. Restore Defaults is in the footer of the settings window. Some settings are read when the dictionary window opens, so close and reopen it after changing them.

Other tabs

• Appearance — theme gallery and editor.
• LLM — endpoint, API key, model, prompt templates, temperature, timeout and streaming.
• Forvo — enable the service and choose the language to search.
• Frequency Lists — stars, rank thresholds, HSK mode and level labels.
• Dictionaries — Quick Setup, dictionary installation, language removal.

Troubleshooting

The Anki Dictionary menu is missing

Confirm Anki is 25.09 or newer and restart it. Check the add-on is enabled under Tools → Add-ons. If you installed from source, verify the folder is directly under addons21 and contains __init__.py.

A search returns nothing

• Check the selected group contains a dictionary for the language.
• Try Forward or Anywhere instead of Exact.
• If the word is conjugated, enable deconjugation and install a conjugation table.
• Check Max total search results is not zero.

An installed dictionary does not appear

Language groups are created when a language is added. Edit the group and select the dictionary, or choose All. Removing and reinstalling a dictionary keeps the group definition, but the group must still include it.

The LLM block errors or times out

• Verify the base URL includes the API prefix, e.g. https://api.openai.com/v1.
• Check the key and model name. Local Ollama needs no key, but the server must be running.
• Raise the timeout or choose a faster model.
• If responses are empty, simplify the prompt; a refusal is not a parse failure.

Forvo returns no recordings

Enable Forvo, set the language in Settings → Forvo, and confirm the machine can reach the network. The Forvo group is separate from your language dictionaries, so select it explicitly.

Send to Field writes to the wrong card

The add-on targets the card window Anki last used. Enable Show Export Target Identifier to see the target before sending. Close extra Add/Edit windows if the choice is ambiguous.

A settings change did nothing

Some settings are read when the dictionary window opens. Close it and reopen it with Ctrl+W / ⌘+W. Theme changes apply immediately and do not need a restart.

Where are the logs?

In Anki, open Tools → Add-ons, select the add-on and click View Files. The rotating log is logs/addon.log inside that folder. Attach the relevant tail to a bug report.

How do I update or uninstall?

Update with Tools → Add-ons → Check for Updates, then restart Anki. To uninstall, disable the add-on, restart Anki, then delete it from Tools → Add-ons. User dictionaries and themes live under the add-on's user_files/ folder; keep that folder if you plan to reinstall.