cmudict

library1.1.3pypypi✓ verified 24d ago

CMUdict (cmudict) is a Python wrapper package for the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary data files, providing access to over 134,000 English words and their ARPAbet pronunciations. It exposes the data with minimal assumptions on its usage. The library is actively maintained with frequent patch releases, often related to dependency updates or minor fixes, and occasional minor version bumps for features like type hints.

data

pip install cmudict

github ↗package ↗

INSTALL

IMPORT

SIG · CMUDICT

cmudict

datapythonv1.1.3

Install

1.9s avg

Import

111ms

Disk

20MB

Pass rate

10/ 10

Env Coverage10 / 10

glibc

3.9–3.13

musl

3.9–3.13

Install & Compatibility

Where this runs

tested against v1.1.3 · pip install

no network on importno background threads

Install × environment matrix

Each cell = how many times install + import succeeded across repeated harness runs. Partial = flaky.
glibc = Debian/Ubuntu slim · musl = Alpine Linux

musl

py 3.10–3.95 runs

installs and imports cleanly · install 0.0s · import 0.120s · 22.1MB

glibc

py 3.10–3.95 runs

installs and imports cleanly · install 1.9s · import 0.102s · 23MB

20MB installed

● package 20MB

Code

Verified usage

Verified import paths — ran on the pinned version, not inferred.

cmudict

✓ import cmudict

The primary module for accessing dictionary data.

dict

✓ cmudict.dict()

✗ cmudict.entries() for unique word lookups

`.dict()` returns a dictionary where keys are unique words and values are a list of their phonetic pronunciations. Use `cmudict.entries()` if you need a list of (word, pronunciation) tuples where a word with multiple pronunciations will appear multiple times.

This quickstart demonstrates how to initialize the CMU dictionary and retrieve pronunciations for a specific word using `cmudict.dict()`. It also highlights `cmudict.entries()` for iterating through all word-pronunciation pairs.

import cmudict # Get the full dictionary as a mapping from word to a list of pronunciations pron_dict = cmudict.dict() word = "hello" pronunciations = pron_dict.get(word) if pronunciations: print(f"Pronunciations for '{word}': {pronunciations}") # Example: Accessing the first pronunciation and its phonemes first_pronunciation_phonemes = pronunciations[0] print(f"First pronunciation phonemes: {first_pronunciation_phonemes}") else: print(f"'{word}' not found in CMUdict.") # To get all entries as (word, pronunciation) tuples (e.g., for iteration) all_entries = cmudict.entries() # print(f"Total entries (including variants): {len(all_entries)}") # Example of getting pronunciations via entries() (less direct for single word lookup) # target_word = "example" # example_pronunciations = [p for w, p in all_entries if w == target_word] # print(f"Pronunciations for '{target_word}' (from entries): {example_pronunciations}")

Debug

Known issues

gotchaThe methods `cmudict.dict()` and `cmudict.entries()` return data in different structures and are often confused. `cmudict.dict()` maps unique words to a list of their pronunciations, while `cmudict.entries()` returns a list of (word, pronunciation) tuples, meaning words with multiple pronunciations will have multiple entries in the list.

fix

Understand the return types: `cmudict.dict()` for direct word-to-pronunciations mapping, `cmudict.entries()` for iterating all individual word-pronunciation pairs.

affects: All versions

gotchaWords not found in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary will result in `None` when using `cmudict.dict().get(word)` or an empty list when filtering `cmudict.entries()`. The dictionary is comprehensive but does not include all possible English words or numbers (which should be spelled out).

fix

Always check for `None` or an empty list when performing lookups: `if pronunciations: ... else: word_not_found_handling()`.

affects: All versions

breakingVersions `1.0.7`, `1.0.8`, and `1.0.9` were yanked from PyPI due to a 'broken deployment process'. Attempting to install these specific older versions will likely fail or lead to unexpected behavior.

fix

Avoid installing these specific yanked versions. Use the latest stable version (e.g., `pip install cmudict`) or a known working older version.

affects: 1.0.7, 1.0.8, 1.0.9

deprecatedAs of v1.1.1, internal typing hints were updated to use built-in types (`list`, `tuple`) instead of deprecated `typing.List` and `typing.Tuple`. While not directly breaking for most users, this reflects a move towards more modern Python typing conventions.

fix

Ensure your environment is compatible with Python 3.9+ for the best type hint experience, and update to `cmudict>=1.1.1` to benefit from these internal improvements.

affects: <1.1.1

Errors

Common errors & fixes

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'cmudict'

The 'cmudict' Python package is not installed in the environment where the code is being executed.

fix

Install the package using pip: `pip install cmudict`

KeyError: 'WORD'

The queried word does not exist in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary data loaded by the `cmudict` library, which is a finite lexicon.

fix

Before accessing a word's pronunciation, check if the word exists in the dictionary: `import cmudict; d = cmudict.dict(); word = 'UNKNOWNWORD'; if word.upper() in d: print(d[word.upper()])`

TypeError: 'module' object is not subscriptable

The user attempted to access the `cmudict` module directly using dictionary-like square bracket notation (e.g., `cmudict['WORD']`), rather than calling one of its data access functions like `cmudict.dict()` first.

fix

Access the dictionary data by calling the appropriate function, such as `cmudict.dict()`, which returns a dictionary object: `import cmudict; pronunciation_dict = cmudict.dict(); word = 'EXAMPLE'; print(pronunciation_dict[word.upper()])`

Upgrade

Version history

1.1.3latest on PyPI · released Jan 3, 2026

Audit

Dependencies

pythonrequiredRequired Python version range.

Agent activity

57 hits · last 30 days

node

OpenAI (training)

Resources

githubhttps://github.com/prosegrinder/python-cmudict ↗

packagehttps://pypi.org/project/cmudict/ ↗