Sanggunian ang diksyunaryo.

It is an imperative sentence, meaning it gives a command or instruction.

A natural English translation is Consult the dictionary or Refer to the dictionary.

This kind of wording is common in textbooks, classroom instructions, and formal written directions.

In Filipino, commands often leave the subject understood. Just like English can say Sit down! without saying You sit down!, Filipino can also omit the person being addressed.

So Sanggunian ang diksyunaryo already means Consult the dictionary even without an explicit you.

If you want to make the addressee more explicit, you may hear or see:

Sanggunian mo ang diksyunaryo.

Here, mo shows that the implied doer is you.

Ang is not the same as English the. It is a marker that highlights the noun phrase that the sentence is centered on grammatically.

In Sanggunian ang diksyunaryo, ang diksyunaryo is the noun phrase being marked.

So although English says the dictionary, Filipino ang is doing a different job: it marks the focused noun, not just definiteness.

This is because of the verb form sanggunian.

A very common pattern in Filipino is:

Sumangguni sa diksyunaryo.
= Consult the dictionary / Refer to the dictionary.

Here, sumangguni is an actor-focused form, and the dictionary is marked with sa.

But in Sanggunian ang diksyunaryo, the verb form shifts the grammar so that the dictionary becomes the focused element, and that is why it is marked by ang instead.

So these are similar in meaning, but they are built differently:

Sumangguni sa diksyunaryo.
Sanggunian ang diksyunaryo.

Yes. Sanggunian is related to sumangguni, which means to consult or to refer to.

The form sanggunian uses the -an ending, which often points to a place, source, or reference point involved in the action. In this sentence, the dictionary is the source being consulted.

So the sense is not just do something with the dictionary, but more specifically use the dictionary as a reference.

Yes. Sanggunian can also be a noun meaning reference, source, or in some contexts even council/board.

That can confuse learners at first, but context usually makes the meaning clear.

In Sanggunian ang diksyunaryo, it functions as a verb because the sentence is clearly a command.

So here it means something like Consult or Use as a reference, not reference as a noun.

It is generally neutral to formal. It sounds natural in written instructions, school materials, manuals, and similar contexts.

If you want to sound more polite in speech, you could add po or use a softer construction, for example:

Sumangguni po sa diksyunaryo.

That sounds more polite and conversational.

The original sentence is not rude; it is just a straightforward instruction.

Yes. Diksyunaryo is the standard Filipino word for dictionary. It is a borrowed word that has been adapted to Filipino spelling.

So even though it looks somewhat like English dictionary, it is a normal, everyday Filipino word.

It is more specific than just use.

Sanggunian ang diksyunaryo suggests consulting the dictionary as a source of information or checking it for reference. So the idea is closer to:

Consult the dictionary
Refer to the dictionary
Use the dictionary as a reference

If you simply wanted to say use a dictionary, you might choose a different verb, such as gumamit.

Yes. Sumangguni sa diksyunaryo is a very natural alternative and means almost the same thing.

The main difference is grammatical structure:

Sumangguni sa diksyunaryo uses sa and an actor-focused verb.
Sanggunian ang diksyunaryo uses ang and a different verb form that puts the dictionary in focus.

For many learners, it is helpful to understand both, even if Sumangguni sa diksyunaryo may feel more straightforward at first.