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Where Can I Check SEAB Approved Dictionaries? | PSLE, GCE and Examination-Year Rules

Did you know? The safest starting point is SEAB’s Calculators and Dictionaries page, then the official Approved Dictionary List linked from it. The current document is labelled for the 2026 PSLE and GCE examinations and separates printed dictionaries from approved e-dictionary models.

Check the exact dictionary title, edition or model, publisher and approved period—not just the language or brand. The current SEAB document also says previously approved dictionaries may continue to be used unless a policy, syllabus or examination-format change causes SEAB to withdraw approval.

Approval of a dictionary is not the same as permission to use it in every paper. Match the list to your examination year, subject and paper instructions, and follow any school or SEAB candidate briefing about permitted aids. For a future examination such as the Singapore-Cambridge Secondary Education Certificate, use the instructions published for that examination rather than assuming a 2026 GCE list carries forward unchanged.

Find your next step

Choose an official source · Match the exact item · Separate approval from permission · Check the examination year · Prepare the item before exam day · Read the next explanation

Which source answers your question?

Your questionStart hereWhat to check
Open the current official listSEAB Calculators and DictionariesPage update and the approved-dictionary card
Check a printed dictionarySEAB Approved Dictionary ListTitle, edition, publisher or ISBN where shown
Check an e-dictionarySEAB Approved Dictionary ListExact model, publisher and approved period
Confirm paper-level instructionsSEAB PSLE informationCandidate rules and instructions for the correct year
Use the live SEAB landing page to reach the current list, then verify the exact item and the paper instructions.

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Match the exact item

Two dictionaries with similar names can be different editions, while e-dictionaries from one manufacturer can have several model numbers. Read the relevant language section carefully. For printed dictionaries, use the bibliographic details supplied. For an electronic model, compare the model printed on the device rather than relying on its colour or packaging.

The approved-period column helps you identify items newly listed for a span of years. The document’s note on previously approved dictionaries is important, but it is not permission to substitute an unlisted look-alike. If a title or model is unclear, ask the school or SEAB with the exact details in hand.

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Separate approval from permission

The list answers whether SEAB has approved an item for use in the named national examinations. The examination paper and candidate instructions answer whether a dictionary may be brought into or used for a particular component. These are two different checks, and both must agree.

A dictionary should also remain an examination aid, not a storage device for notes. Do not add loose sheets, written material or unauthorised functions. Follow invigilator instructions and the published candidate rules even when an item appears on the approved list.

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Check the examination year

The official PDF presently identifies the 2026 PSLE and GCE N(A), N(T), O- and A-Level examinations. Families preparing for another year should reopen the SEAB landing page, because the linked document can change. Saving an old PDF is useful for a record, but it should not replace a current check.

This matters especially as examination arrangements evolve. A student entering the SEC era should look for SEC-specific candidate information and the syllabus or paper instructions for the correct cohort. Do not infer that every language paper, subject level or examination format has identical dictionary rules.

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Prepare the item before exam day

Write down the dictionary’s full title or device model and compare it with the official list. Check batteries or permitted accessories early, label the item as the school directs and avoid bringing an unfamiliar replacement at the last minute.

Then read the school’s examination briefing and SEAB information for the actual paper. If the school gives a stricter operational instruction, resolve the difference before the examination. A clear yes from the correct official route is much better than a hurried guess at the venue.

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Read the next useful explanation

Check the SEAB approved calculator list

Find the latest PSLE syllabus and subject documents

Explore the Singapore school pathways collection.

Official sources reviewed on 10 October 2026. The live SEAB landing page and linked list remain the controlling sources; paper-level permission must still be checked.

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Where Can I Find Singapore University Admission Appeal Information?

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Explore the connected learning guides

Choose the question that brought you here. Open one useful guide, try a small task, and stop when you have what you need.

Take one question further

The same learning habit can travel across subjects, while each subject keeps its own methods. These routes help you notice a difficulty, understand one part of it, and return to something you can do.

A word is familiar, but using it is difficult.

Move from recognising a word to retrieving it in a new context. Understand vocabulary plateaus.

Try it without the guide: Choose one word you already know. Close the guide and use it in a new sentence. Explain why it fits; try another context tomorrow.

A piece of writing has ideas, but the reader loses the thread.

Make the order of events and the links between sentences clear. Explore composition writing.

Try it without the guide: Choose one short paragraph. Read the relevant explanation, close it, and revise the paragraph. Ask someone to tell you what happened and why.

The Mathematics seems familiar, but marks still disappear.

Find the first point where the working stops being reliable. Find Secondary 4 A-Math mark leakage.

Try it without the guide: For a Secondary 4 A-Math question you have attempted, locate the first uncertain line. Repair that step, then try a comparable question without the worked answer.

A Science fact is remembered, but the explanation is incomplete.

Connect the evidence to a scientific idea and the resulting change. Follow the Primary Science learning route.

Try it without the guide: Choose a familiar Primary Science example. Explain the evidence, the idea and the result without notes. Then change one condition and explain your prediction.

Two accounts of the world seem to disagree.

Check the question, source, date and evidence before combining claims. Explore the World Knowledge research library.

Try it without the guide: Take one claim. Find the source best placed to support it, note its date, and state what remains uncertain. Return to your original question.

There is plenty of help, but independence is hard to see.

Check what the learner can understand and do after support is removed. Understand how education works.

Try it without the guide: Choose one small task the child has practised. Agree on a calm, brief attempt without prompts. Use what happens to choose one next step, then stop.

For the structure behind these connections, read the eduKateSingapore runtime manifest and the eduKate ecosystem boot contract. The reader map describes public navigation; those manifests preserve the wider ownership and return rules.

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