HOWTO: Create a Dictionary/Fictionary for KOBO or koreader

febalci · 04-23-2025, 09:42 AM

Started to read Malazan series on KOBO Libra Colour, and i immediately faced the problem of the excessive number of characters in the book; and since i am old, i had trouble remembering the character names. So i heard about this Fictionary; which ias basically a dictionary, and when you press and hold the name on kobo, it will show you who this guy is...

I had the very same problem on Game of Thrones and The Wheel of Time Series. Wheel of Time has a whole chapter at the end, showing Who is Who? in the book...

Since my book version is in Turkish, The Fictionary dictionaries din't helped me. So i learned how to prepare dictionaries for KOBO, and when i later continued on koreader; i also learned to make Stardict dictionaries. You can find details on:

https://github.com/febalci/KOBO-Fictionary-Utilities.

KOBO Dictionary

Install dictgen (https://github.com/pgaskin/dictutil)
Create a .txt file with the extension .df

Define characters or words here:
Simple Sample:

Code:

@ word
Definition here.
@ word 1
Definition 1 here.
@ test
Blah blah blah.

Another Sample:

Code:

@ Hannan
& Mosag
: , Hannan Mosag
Altı Kabile Konfederasyonu'nun Bağcı Kralı\
Tiste Edurlar
@ Theradas
: , Theradas Buhn
Buhn Soyu'nun Büyük Oğlu\
Tiste Edurlar

# Dictfile reference for dictgen

Code:

    @ HEADWORD: Start a new entry. The headword doesn’t have to be unique, and can contain spaces.
        Header
            : WORD_INFO or :: (optional): Add extra word info after the headword, or remove it entirely.
            & VARIANT (optional): Add an additional word to match. Follows the same rules as the headword. Can be repeated multiple times.
        Body
            MARKDOWN or <html> RAW_HTML: Include a definition written in Markdown or raw HTML code.

Code:
```
$dictgen mydictionary.df
```
It creates a dicthtml-mydictionary.zip file.
Copy this file to KOBOeReader/.kobo/custom-dictionary folder.

koreader dictionary
# koreader uses Stardict dictionary only.

Install pyglossary (https://github.com/ilius/pyglossary)
Create a .TXT file with the extension .txt

Define characters or words here:
Sample:

Code:

Tomad	<b>Tomad Sengar</b><br>Sengar Soyu'nun patriği<br><i>Tiste Edurlar</i>
Uruth[TAB]Sengar Soyu'nun matronu<br><i>Tiste Edurlar</i>
Korku[TAB](Fear)<br>Sengar, Büyük Oğul, Kabilelerin Silah Ustası<br><i>Tiste Edurlar</i>
Trull[TAB]<b>Trull Sengar</b><br>İkinci Oğul<br><i>Tiste Edurlar</i>
Binadas[TAB]<b>Binadas Sengar</b><br>Üçüncü Oğul<br><i>Tiste Edurlar</i>
Rhulad	<b>Rhulad Sengar</b><br>Dördüncü ve En Küçük Oğul<br><i>Tiste Edurlar</i>

# Press tab key instead of [TAB]. Make sure your editor does not change tabs to spaces
# You can use html codes in work explanations

Code:

$pyglossary mydictionary.txt ./mydictionary --sort --write-format=StardictMergeSyns

Your dictionary is ready. But most probably you will need a synonyms file too.
Create a synonyms.txt file
Optionally, define synonyms in this file:

Sample:
Code:
```
Tomad Sengar[TAB]Tomad
Trull Sengar[TAB]Trull
Binadas Sengar[TAB]Binadas
Rhulad Sengar[TAB]Rhulad
Sengar[TAB]Tomad
Sengar[TAB]Trull
Sengar[TAB]Rhulad
```
# Press tab key instead of [TAB]. Make sure your editor does not change tabs to spaces
# Right side after [TAB] should match one of the words in mydictionary.txt file
Execute syncreate.py file. This will create .syn file.
Code:
```
$python3 syncreate.py mydictionary synonyms.txt
```
Copy all mydictionary(.idx, .ifo, .dict.dz and optionally .syn) files to /KOBOeReader/.adds/koreader/data/dict/mydictionary/ folder.

04-23-2025, 09:42 AM	#1
febalci Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2019 Device: none	HOWTO: Create a Dictionary/Fictionary for KOBO or koreader Started to read Malazan series on KOBO Libra Colour, and i immediately faced the problem of the excessive number of characters in the book; and since i am old, i had trouble remembering the character names. So i heard about this Fictionary; which ias basically a dictionary, and when you press and hold the name on kobo, it will show you who this guy is... I had the very same problem on Game of Thrones and The Wheel of Time Series. Wheel of Time has a whole chapter at the end, showing Who is Who? in the book... Since my book version is in Turkish, The Fictionary dictionaries din't helped me. So i learned how to prepare dictionaries for KOBO, and when i later continued on koreader; i also learned to make Stardict dictionaries. You can find details on: https://github.com/febalci/KOBO-Fictionary-Utilities. KOBO Dictionary Install dictgen (https://github.com/pgaskin/dictutil) Create a .txt file with the extension .df Define characters or words here: Simple Sample: Code: @ word Definition here. @ word 1 Definition 1 here. @ test Blah blah blah. Another Sample: Code: @ Hannan & Mosag : , Hannan Mosag Altı Kabile Konfederasyonu'nun Bağcı Kralı\ Tiste Edurlar @ Theradas : , Theradas Buhn Buhn Soyu'nun Büyük Oğlu\ Tiste Edurlar # Dictfile reference for dictgen Code: @ HEADWORD: Start a new entry. The headword doesn’t have to be unique, and can contain spaces. Header : WORD_INFO or :: (optional): Add extra word info after the headword, or remove it entirely. & VARIANT (optional): Add an additional word to match. Follows the same rules as the headword. Can be repeated multiple times. Body MARKDOWN or <html> RAW_HTML: Include a definition written in Markdown or raw HTML code. Code: $dictgen mydictionary.df It creates a dicthtml-mydictionary.zip file. Copy this file to KOBOeReader/.kobo/custom-dictionary folder. koreader dictionary # koreader uses Stardict dictionary only. Install pyglossary (https://github.com/ilius/pyglossary) Create a .TXT file with the extension .txt Define characters or words here: Sample: Code: Tomad <b>Tomad Sengar</b><br>Sengar Soyu'nun patriği<br><i>Tiste Edurlar</i> Uruth[TAB]Sengar Soyu'nun matronu<br><i>Tiste Edurlar</i> Korku[TAB](Fear)<br>Sengar, Büyük Oğul, Kabilelerin Silah Ustası<br><i>Tiste Edurlar</i> Trull[TAB]<b>Trull Sengar</b><br>İkinci Oğul<br><i>Tiste Edurlar</i> Binadas[TAB]<b>Binadas Sengar</b><br>Üçüncü Oğul<br><i>Tiste Edurlar</i> Rhulad <b>Rhulad Sengar</b><br>Dördüncü ve En Küçük Oğul<br><i>Tiste Edurlar</i> # Press tab key instead of [TAB]. Make sure your editor does not change tabs to spaces # You can use html codes in work explanations Code: $pyglossary mydictionary.txt ./mydictionary --sort --write-format=StardictMergeSyns Your dictionary is ready. But most probably you will need a synonyms file too. Create a synonyms.txt file Optionally, define synonyms in this file: Sample: Code: Tomad Sengar[TAB]Tomad Trull Sengar[TAB]Trull Binadas Sengar[TAB]Binadas Rhulad Sengar[TAB]Rhulad Sengar[TAB]Tomad Sengar[TAB]Trull Sengar[TAB]Rhulad # Press tab key instead of [TAB]. Make sure your editor does not change tabs to spaces # Right side after [TAB] should match one of the words in mydictionary.txt file Execute syncreate.py file. This will create .syn file. Code: $python3 syncreate.py mydictionary synonyms.txt Copy all mydictionary(.idx, .ifo, .dict.dz and optionally .syn) files to /KOBOeReader/.adds/koreader/data/dict/mydictionary/ folder.

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