Hindi is one of the world’s most popular languages. It’s third, in fact, app behind Mandarin Chinese and English. Tons of people travel to India and other parts of the world where Hindi is prevalent. Thus, a good phrasebook or dictionary is a good decision. You don’t need a paper phrasebook or dictionary anymore, though.
Mobile devices are more than capable of handling the task. Most of these apps also work between the two languages. Thus, native Hindi speakers can use them for English, and English speakers can use them for Hindi. Here are the best Hindi to English dictionaries and phrasebooks for Android.
The best Hindi to English dictionaries for Android
Dictionary Linguee
Price: Free
Dictionary Linguee is one of the best multilingual dictionaries. It supports over four dozen languages and Hindi is one of them. It has basic, desirable features such as cross-language translation, definitions, offline support, example sentences, pronunciations, and other stuff like that. Additionally, the UI is clean and simple. It can basically translate between any of the languages it supports. Thus, you can use this for a bunch of languages. It’s also entirely free as far as we could tell. They also have a free website version. The only downside is the app’s age. It hasn’t seen an update since 2017. We hope the developers pick this one back up.
Google Play Books (and similar apps)
Price: Free
Google Play Books and similar apps are pretty decent for phrasebooks and multilingual dictionaries. You can buy both on most ebook platforms. They have the advantage of being a little more thorough and a little easier than apps. However, apps can provide more functionality.
In any case, most phrasebooks and dictionaries cost less than $10. Plus, they sync between all of your devices as long as you log into the app on those devices. Finally, you can download them for complete offline use if needed. It’s a good way to do it the old school way in a new school format. You can also use Amazon Kindle for this exact same style of functionality. However, you can also use Amazon to buy regular paper phrasebooks too for a good one-two punch.
Google Translate
Price: Free
Google Translate is probably your best bet for Hindi to English dictionaries and phrasebooks. It can translate over 100 languages online and over 50 languages offline (via typing). The app also includes a camera mode for signs, menus, and other such things. It even translates whole conversations in real time. Most words come with definitions and it does include a phrasebook for most languages as well. This is the one we recommend first with Dictionary Linguee in a close second. Yes, it is that good.
Hindi Dictionary
Price: Free
Hindi Dictionary is a perfectly serviceable Hindi to English dictionary. This one features the usual stuff like cross-language translations and definitions along with auto-suggestions, pronunciations, and complete offline support. It also has synonyms, antonyms, and a variety of little games and lessons for practice. The UI looks a little old, but the app is still in active development. It’s completely free with no in-app purchases but also with a few ads. This is an excellent option for those looking for something a little simpler than most and it also works great as a phrasebook.
Simply Learn Hindi
Price: Free / Up to $4.99
Simpy Learn Hindi is a language learning app. However, it actually functions better as a Hindi phrasebook. It contains hundreds of common words and phrases along with audio pronunciations, a bookmark system for saving favorite phrases, flashcards, and other various tools. You can also do some fun stuff like play pronunciations more slowly so that you understand it better. The free version contains about 300 phrases and it should work for many. However, the full version contains everything and it’s a much better experience as expected.
Bonus: Hindi learning apps
Price: Free / Varies
There are a variety of language learning apps for Hindi. They include popular ones like Rosetta Stone, Memrise, Duolingo, and Mondly. These are massive software suites with a ton of tools. Most of them include a translation feature, a phrasebook, a dictionary, and other such tools. They are vastly more expensive than other apps on the list. However, they also do way more. Those serious about learning Hindi may want to use another app on this list as a study aid and grab a language learning app for the full experience.