This platform brings together the principal Western and Asian dictionaries of classical written Mongolian,
together with Tibetan-Mongolian Buddhist glossaries, searchable in a single interface.
Entries are keyed by a shared reference identifier, allowing cross-dictionary comparison for any headword.
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Mongolian-English Dictionary
Ferdinand D. Lessing · University of California Press, 1960
The standard Western reference for classical written Mongolian, with ~13,000 headwords. Exceptional depth in Buddhist and Lamaist terminology, with Tibetan and Sanskrit cross-references. Entries include citations from classical texts. An essential tool for researchers working with traditional manuscripts and religious literature.
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Dictionnaire Mongol-Russe-Français
Osip M. Kovalevski · Kazan University Press, 1844–1849 (3 vols.)
The most comprehensive 19th-century Mongolian dictionary, with ~25,000–27,000 headwords in Russian and French. Based on extensive fieldwork among Buryat and Mongolian populations, and on a wide range of classical texts including the Buddhist Kanjur and Tanjur. The foundational reference on which all later Western dictionaries drew.
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Mongolisch-Deutsches Wörterbuch
Isaac Jacob Schmidt · Imperial Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, 1835
The first substantial Mongolian dictionary for a German-reading scholarly audience, with ~8,000–10,000 headwords. Schmidt's years as a missionary among the Kalmyk population along the Volga gave the work a practical grounding unusual for its era. Best used alongside his companion grammar of 1831. Preceded Kovalevski by nearly a decade.
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Mongolian-English Dictionary
Inga Boberg · Copenhagen, 1954–1955
Grew out of the Scandinavian missionary linguistic tradition in Mongolia. More attentive to colloquial and spoken Mongolian than the purely philological dictionaries. Provides English glosses, making it directly accessible to anglophone users. A useful complement to Lessing for everyday and practical vocabulary that academic dictionaries underrepresent.
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Mongolian-English Dictionary
Charles R. Bawden · Kegan Paul International, 1997
A comprehensive dictionary of modern Mongolian (Khalkha), covering everyday, literary, and scientific vocabulary with ~10,000 headwords. Complements Lessing by focusing on the contemporary written standard rather than classical sources. Particularly useful for 20th-century texts and modern scholarly literature.
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Mongolisch-Deutsches Wörterbuch
Hans-Peter Vietze · Verlag Enzyklopädie Leipzig, 1988
A solid German-language reference for modern Khalkha Mongolian, developed within the East German academic tradition of Mongolian studies. Covers standard literary vocabulary with grammatical annotations. Valuable for German-speaking researchers and as a cross-reference alongside English-language dictionaries.
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新蒙汉词典 (New Mongolian-Chinese Dictionary)
编委会编 · Inner Mongolia People's Publishing House, Hohhot
The standard Mongolian-Chinese reference for Inner Mongolia, covering classical literary Mongolian (in traditional script) alongside modern standard and administrative vocabulary. Compiled by an institutional editorial committee and revised across multiple editions. Reflects the bilingual governance needs of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and stands at the end of a lexicographical tradition reaching back to Qing dynasty multilingual glossaries.
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蒙汉词典（增订本）(Mongolian-Chinese Dictionary, Revised Edition)
内蒙古大学蒙古学研究院蒙古语文研究所编 · Inner Mongolia University Press, 1999
A revised and expanded Mongolian-Chinese dictionary compiled by the Institute of Mongolian Language and Literature at the Academy of Mongolian Studies, Inner Mongolia University. Published in 1999 in A5 format, with a preface and conventions (pp. 1–30), main text (pp. 1–1414), and appendices (pp. 1415–1519). Covers classical written Mongolian (in traditional script) alongside modern standard vocabulary, with Chinese glosses throughout. Represents the Inner Mongolian institutional lexicographical tradition and serves as a companion to the 新蒙汉词典.
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Mahāvyutpatti (in progress)
Tibetan-Sanskrit-Mongolian canonical glossary
Entries drawn from the Mahāvyutpatti, a canonical multilingual Buddhist glossary compiled in Tibet in the early 9th century. Provides Tibetan, Sanskrit, and Mongolian equivalents for Buddhist technical terminology. Used here as a cross-reference for entries that appear in the Mongolian Buddhist canonical translation tradition.
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Tibetan-Mongolian Dictionary (in progress)
Lokesh Chandra · International Academy of Indian Culture, New Delhi
A Tibetan-Mongolian dictionary compiled by Lokesh Chandra, providing Mongolian equivalents for Tibetan Buddhist terminology. Drawn from the tradition of Tibetan-Mongolian lexicographical works produced in connection with the translation of canonical literature. An important resource for tracing the Tibetan sources of Mongolian Buddhist vocabulary.
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Saran-u Gerel Tibetan-Mongolian Dictionary (in progress)
Tibetan-Mongolian Buddhist glossary
A Tibetan-Mongolian dictionary providing Mongolian equivalents for Tibetan Buddhist terminology, keyed by canonical reference. Complements the Lokesh Chandra dictionary as an additional lexicographical source for Buddhist vocabulary in the Mongolian translation tradition.
