Diccionario RAE y ASALE (DLE) - Spanish dictionary access & search

DLE serves as the official tool provided by the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) and the Association of Academies of the Spanish Language (ASALE) for accessing the 23rd edition of the "Dictionary of the Spanish language." This application is available for free, thanks to the dedication of Obra Social "la Caixa" towards cultural initiatives.

Quickly and effortlessly clarify any inquiries regarding a word’s meaning, spelling, and grammatical features with direct access to the RAE's database.

Navigate through a user-friendly and responsive interface that offers various ways to consult this essential dictionary of the Spanish language. 

Notable features include:

- Approximate searches for words, phrases, and expressions using a robust algorithm.

- Precise searches for dictionary entries.

- Searches based on criteria such as "Begins with ...", "Contains ...", and "Ends with ...".

- Ability to find anagrams.

- A random search function.

- Navigable text for each entry.

- An index of phrases and expressions linked to each entry.

- Direct access to verb conjugations.

- Daily word feature.

- Ad-free browsing experience.

- History of browsed terms and a favorites section.

The RAE presents the new features of the "Dictionary of the Spanish Language" in its 23.5 update

December 16, 2021

This Thursday, the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) presented update 23.5 of the Dictionary of the Spanish Language (DLE), announcing the new features that, once again this year, have been incorporated into the online work of the RAE and the Association of Academies of the Spanish Language (ASALE), consulted by millions of Spanish speakers around the world. Specifically, this new edition of the work includes 3,836 modifications, including additions of articles and meanings, as well as amendments. These are now available at www.dle.rae.es, which is supported by the "la Caixa" Foundation.

The presentation was attended by the director of the RAE and president of ASALE, Santiago Muñoz Machado, and the director of the Dictionary of the Spanish Language, academic Paz Battaner.

LANGUAGE AND TECHNOLOGY

The digitalization and technological advancement of our societies is reflected in the increasing incorporation into the Dictionary of the Spanish Language of terms born directly from the language of the Internet, social media, and new technologies. Update 23.5 of the dictionary includes terms such as bitcoin, bot, cyberbullying, cybercrime, cryptocurrency, geolocation, and webinar.

Others with existing entries in the DLE are being reinvented in the digital age and include new meanings. This is the case with audio, as an audio message sent digitally; sharing, referring to making a file, link, or other digital content available to a user; or the new computer jargon meanings for the verbs "cut" and "paste," to which the colloquial form "corta-paste" has also been added.

WORDS FOR ALL TASTES: FROM CACHOPO TO QUINOA

Gastronomy also adds an important group of words that are present on our tables and in those of much of the world. Dishes such as sanjacobo (a typical dish of Asturian cuisine); cachopo (a typical dish of Asturian cuisine); paparajote (a Murcian sweet made from lemon leaves); and Andalusian rebujito (a rebujito in Spanish) have been added to the DLE.

Other foods have also been added, such as quinoa, a word of Quechua origin, and crudité (a crudité in Spanish).

Other entries have been updated with complex additions, such as the word tinto (a term for "tinto"), which incorporates "de verano" (a term for "summer"), to refer to the typical Spanish drink composed of red wine and soda or lemon soda, or the addition of balsamic vinegar to the entry "vinegar."

REMNANTS OF THE PANDEMIC IN THE DICTIONARY

The outbreak of the coronavirus has affected every aspect of our lives, which has also been reflected in our language. The last update of the DLE incorporated words that are present in many of our conversations today, such as the term COVID itself. The 2021 update continues to add modifications directly related to the health situation, such as face masks, swabs, and masks, as well as new meanings for terms such as screening, or the complex forms social bubble and new normal.

New terms related to the world of healthcare, such as triage and vaccinology, have also been updated.

A WORLD THAT SPEAKS SPANISH

The Dictionary of the Spanish Language, prepared in collaboration with the Association of Academies of the Spanish Language (ASALE), incorporates terms from the native speech of all Spanish-speaking regions, a language we share with nearly 600 million people around the world.

Thus, we find new features that come directly from across the Atlantic, such as the addition of a meaning for "audio" as a synonym for "headphone," a usage specific to Latin America.

The terms "emergency doctor" and "urgent specialist," used in different regions of Latin America to refer to a specialist in hospital emergency care, also appear.

Other Americanisms that can now be consulted in version 23.5 of the DLE include buseca, chuteador, repentismo, salvada, sambar, and the complex form "valer madre" or "valemadrismo" for something of little importance.

OTHER NEW FEATURES

Also added to the online version of the dictionary are terms such as "enoturismo" (wine tourism) and "gentrification" (gentrification), as well as some related to sexuality and gender, such as polyamory, transgender, cisgender, and pansexuality.

The new update of the DLE also incorporates colloquial words used in the everyday life of Spanish speakers, such as "owl," referring to the night bus; "chuche," a shortened form of "chuchería" (sweet treat); "ojiplático" (ojiplático), or the addition of meanings to entries such as "empanado" (empanado), "queda" (stayed), and "rayar" (scratched).