The macOS dictionary app cannot add new build in dictionaries

I tried to remove all things in folder

/Users/<user>/Library/Dictionaries

And boom, everything worked :)

Hello. I have had the same problem. But with macOS 10.15.3 the problem is solved. Greetings.

In my case, upgrading to macOS Catalina 10.15.3 solves the issue

Confirm 10.15.3 fixed this.

I had to erase the hard drive, install clean 10.15.5, and used migration assistant to restore from my time machine backup. Now the dictionary is fixed.

Not sure I did it right as I’m not 100% sure what you mean by /Users/<user> but it did not work. Here is what I did, please correct me where I went wrong.

Finder/Home Folder/Menu Bar> Click Go> Hold down option key> Library appears> Click Library> Dictionaries>CoreDataUbiquitySupport folder removed to trash.

closed Finder > opened Dictionary>Clicked on preferred languages> closed Dictionary

but the languages do not go into dictionary. Right clicking or highlighting a word brings up a window that reads...

No Local Dictionary Available

configure dictionaries

if I click on that and try to sent languages nothing happens.

Also remember to restart your computer! In my case the Look Up didn't show the dictionary I selected before I restarted my computer.

You do not need that file. You only need to to remove all things in folder

/Users/<user>/Library/Dictionaries

After that open Dictionary app and choose which dictionary you want to use.

A bit more information, but unfortunately no solution...

The system dictionaries seem to be stored here:

/System/Library/AssetsV2/com_apple_MobileAsset_DictionaryServices_dictionaryOSX

This is in the System folder, so to actually manipulate anything here, one has to disable System Integrity Protection (proceed with caution).

If one deletes any of those asset folders, Dictionary.app recreates it when we select the dictionary again.

Now, in that folder, there is also the following file:

com_apple_MobileAsset_DictionaryServices_dictionaryOSX.xml

which has the link to all dictionaries on Apple's servers. For instance, for the Portuguese-English dictionary:

<key>__BaseURL</key>
			<string>http://appldnld.apple.com/ios11.0/048-04169-20171219-3E638938-E064-11E7-BED0-328EE988D09B/</string>
<key>__CanUseLocalCacheServer</key>
<true/>
<key>__InstallWithOS</key>
<true/>
<key>__RelativePath</key>
			<string>com_apple_MobileAsset_DictionaryServices_dictionaryOSX/163595ab3e757c8ac7fa284e89f101919e3ad920.zip</string>

meaning one can get the dictionary from:

http://appldnld.apple.com/ios11.0/048-04169-20171219-3E638938-E064-11E7-BED0-328EE988D09B/com_apple_MobileAsset_DictionaryServices_dictionaryOSX/163595ab3e757c8ac7fa284e89f101919e3ad920.zip

I copied this file into the said folder, gave it the adequate permissions and tried seeing if Dictionary.app would see them. It didn't work because as soon as I selected these files on the preferences, they were deleted from the folder.

Ran out of ideas, so I give up...

It sounds like everyone having this problem is using the new 16" MacBook Pro. I have seen other people on the Developer forums report problems with this machine and Apple services.

Apparently, this machine has a special build of Catalina and that is causing problems with the Apple Dictionary service. Check System Preferences > Software Update and see if you have an update available, as described here: https://mrmacintosh.com/2019-16-macbook-pro-catalina-10-15-1-supplemental-update-19b2106/

That may fix the problem. If not, the next build of macOS may do it. Please use the Feedback Assistant app to file bug reports on this issue.

Actually, I tried one more thing and it works, as a temporary solution.

1. Download the from the links in the

com_apple_MobileAsset_DictionaryServices_dictionaryOSX.xml

file, as exemplified in my comment above.

2. Instead of going to the system folder, add to your user's Dictionary folder:

/Users/<user>/Library/Dictionaries

3. Rename the file to a different name, eg.

Portuguese - English2.dictionary

4. Voilá: a duplicate entrance will show up on the preferences and this one is now selectable and usable.

If that Dictionary was compiled as a 32-bit bundle, then it would have to be recompiled as a 64-bit dictionary bundle to work on Catalina. The dates of the dictionary are quite old, and raise that suspicion.

What version of OS X/macOS were you using on that 15 inch MBP when you could check that dictonary box?

Thanks all the guys, I finally fix the problem, by the way, there is a tip for newbie (as I am), if you can't find /Library/ folder in your <user> folder, just open finder, and press option button then click go to, the library will show up.

Thanks at all

Thank you for pointing out the problem. I also have this problem with my 16" Macbook pro on the brand new build that came with the computer. As of February 2020, no fix has been provided by Apple. I hope this issue gets the attention it deserves.

Following scheeko's discovery, I figured out that you don't actually have to download anything. All the dictionaries are already preinstalled, located at

/System/Library/AssetsV2/PreinstalledAssetsV2/InstallWithOs/com_apple_MobileAsset_DictionaryServices_dictionaryOSX

Some of the dictionaries here are actually newer than the ones found in the download links in that xml file.