define-cli

CLI vocabulary lookup for language learners. Fetches definitions, IPA pronunciation, and real usage examples.

Install

pipx install git+https://github.com/abbyslab/define-cli

Usage

define fr bonjour          			# IPA + definitions + 5 examples
define nl ingewikkeld
define fr bonjour -e       			# full examples dump
define fr bonjour --no-examples   	# definitions only
define fr bonjour --no-defs      	# examples only
define --langs              		# list all supported languages and their codes
define --shell fr 					# interactive shell mode for French

Keeping up to date

The tool scrapes live websites which change their structure occasionally. If output looks wrong or empty, reinstall to get the latest fixes:

pipx reinstall define-cli

Supported languages

Code	Language
ar	Arabic
ca	Catalan
zh	Chinese
cs	Czech
da	Danish
nl	Dutch
fr	French
de	German
el	Greek
he	Hebrew
hi	Hindi
hu	Hungarian
it	Italian
ja	Japanese
ko	Korean
fa	Persian
pl	Polish
pt	Portuguese
ro	Romanian
ru	Russian
sk	Slovak
es	Spanish
sv	Swedish
th	Thai
tr	Turkish
uk	Ukrainian
vi	Vietnamese

Sources

• English Wiktionary — IPA, part of speech, definitions
• Reverso Context — real-world usage examples with translations
• Tatoeba — fallback examples for languages not supported by Reverso

Development

git clone git@github.com:abbyslab/define-cli
cd define-cli
make setup

Run the tool locally:

./define fr bonjour
./define --langs

Run tests:

make test		# unit tests (no network)
make live 		# live tests against real sites (network required)