About the Project

A collaborative effort to document and preserve the Judeo-Spanish language for speakers, learners, and researchers worldwide.

Warm parchment tones with scattered handwritten script in sepia ink, evoking an old manuscript or letter, set against a dark atmospheric background with subtle golden light at the edges.

Documenting Judeo-Spanish Vocabulary

The Diksionario de Ladinokomunita is a community-driven dictionary dedicated to recording and sharing the vocabulary of Judeo-Spanish (Ladino). It brings together headwords in Djudeo-Espanyol alongside translations into Castellano (Spanish), English, and Türkçe (Turkish), making the language accessible across multiple linguistic communities.

Each entry includes example sentences that show words in authentic context, helping users understand usage as well as meaning. Where possible, entries also note etymological origins — such as Jeneral or Torah/Tanah — reflecting the layered history of the language.

A Collaborative Resource

The dictionary is built around three core functions:

This open model allows the dictionary to grow through the knowledge of its users, reflecting the living nature of the language.

Connected to Ladinokomunita

The project is part of the broader Ladinokomunita community, a network of people dedicated to keeping Judeo-Spanish alive in written and spoken form. The dictionary infrastructure is hosted on servers at Sophia University in Japan, providing a stable technical foundation for the resource.

Updates and announcements are shared via the project's Twitter/X account, @aruiztinoco.

Four Languages, One Dictionary

Djudeo-Espanyol

The source language — Judeo-Spanish as written and spoken in Sephardic communities, using Latin-script orthography.

Castellano

Spanish translations that bridge Ladino with its closest Romance relative, aiding speakers across the Hispanic world.

English

English translations open the dictionary to international researchers, linguists, and diaspora communities.

Türkçe

Turkish translations reflect the deep historical ties between Sephardic Jews and Turkey, where Ladino has been spoken for centuries.