59: The Tiny Ad-Supported Dictionary That Fits Your Pocket, Not Your Pocket-Book

A one-way English-to-Oromo phrase gun: type “coffee” → “buna”, tap speaker, done. The lexicon is small (≈6 k words), the app is free, and a discreet banner pays the bills. No return ticket, no grammar coach—just a pocket shortcut for English speakers who want to speak Afan Oromo without digging through PDFs.

One-Way Only

Search bar accepts English input only. Typing “buna” yields “no results”. The developer states reverse lookup will arrive “in future builds”, but for now it’s strictly English → Oromo (Latin script).

Ad Load

A small banner sits at the bottom of the main screen; full-screen interstitial appears after every 10th search. Offline mode keeps the lexicon but ads resume once data is back.

Core Use

• Greetings, numbers, food, travel, emergencies.
• Audio uses system TTS (Oromo voice pack must be downloaded separately).
• Bookmarks and history work offline; no sign-in required.

Performance

• 2.8 MB install, 0.5 s search, <0.3 % battery per hour.
• Works on Android 5.1+ and Go edition.

Pros

• Instant English → Oromo offline lookup.
• Free, tiny, no sign-in, works on low-end phones.
• Audio button (if system voice is present).

Cons

• One-way only; no Oromo → English.
• Contains ads; offline mode still shows banners when re-connected.
• No grammar, example sentences, or native speaker audio.
• <1 k installs = uncertain update schedule.

Final Word

A handy one-way phrase gun for tourists, volunteers, and diaspora parents—just remember you can’t look up Oromo words in reverse, and the occasional ad will tap you on the shoulder.