diff --git a/Include/internal/pycore_global_objects_fini_generated.h b/Include/internal/pycore_global_objects_fini_generated.h
index 54931e8504e..d896e870630 100644
--- a/Include/internal/pycore_global_objects_fini_generated.h
+++ b/Include/internal/pycore_global_objects_fini_generated.h
@@ -902,7 +902,6 @@ _PyStaticObjects_CheckRefcnt(PyInterpreterState *interp) {
     _PyStaticObject_CheckRefcnt((PyObject *)&_Py_ID(deterministic));
     _PyStaticObject_CheckRefcnt((PyObject *)&_Py_ID(device));
     _PyStaticObject_CheckRefcnt((PyObject *)&_Py_ID(dict));
-    _PyStaticObject_CheckRefcnt((PyObject *)&_Py_ID(dict_content));
     _PyStaticObject_CheckRefcnt((PyObject *)&_Py_ID(dictcomp));
     _PyStaticObject_CheckRefcnt((PyObject *)&_Py_ID(difference_update));
     _PyStaticObject_CheckRefcnt((PyObject *)&_Py_ID(digest));
diff --git a/Include/internal/pycore_global_strings.h b/Include/internal/pycore_global_strings.h
index a665195c899..a06d7495bab 100644
--- a/Include/internal/pycore_global_strings.h
+++ b/Include/internal/pycore_global_strings.h
@@ -393,7 +393,6 @@ struct _Py_global_strings {
         STRUCT_FOR_ID(deterministic)
         STRUCT_FOR_ID(device)
         STRUCT_FOR_ID(dict)
-        STRUCT_FOR_ID(dict_content)
         STRUCT_FOR_ID(dictcomp)
         STRUCT_FOR_ID(difference_update)
         STRUCT_FOR_ID(digest)
diff --git a/Include/internal/pycore_runtime_init_generated.h b/Include/internal/pycore_runtime_init_generated.h
index 01289f6118d..83301d8aef7 100644
--- a/Include/internal/pycore_runtime_init_generated.h
+++ b/Include/internal/pycore_runtime_init_generated.h
@@ -900,7 +900,6 @@ extern "C" {
     INIT_ID(deterministic), \
     INIT_ID(device), \
     INIT_ID(dict), \
-    INIT_ID(dict_content), \
     INIT_ID(dictcomp), \
     INIT_ID(difference_update), \
     INIT_ID(digest), \
diff --git a/Include/internal/pycore_unicodeobject_generated.h b/Include/internal/pycore_unicodeobject_generated.h
index 8ec1ac1e56d..c0f5f2b17f6 100644
--- a/Include/internal/pycore_unicodeobject_generated.h
+++ b/Include/internal/pycore_unicodeobject_generated.h
@@ -1360,10 +1360,6 @@ _PyUnicode_InitStaticStrings(PyInterpreterState *interp) {
     _PyUnicode_InternStatic(interp, &string);
     assert(_PyUnicode_CheckConsistency(string, 1));
     assert(PyUnicode_GET_LENGTH(string) != 1);
-    string = &_Py_ID(dict_content);
-    _PyUnicode_InternStatic(interp, &string);
-    assert(_PyUnicode_CheckConsistency(string, 1));
-    assert(PyUnicode_GET_LENGTH(string) != 1);
     string = &_Py_ID(dictcomp);
     _PyUnicode_InternStatic(interp, &string);
     assert(_PyUnicode_CheckConsistency(string, 1));
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_zstd.py b/Lib/test/test_zstd.py
index 713294c4c27..541db4441b0 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_zstd.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_zstd.py
@@ -288,8 +288,8 @@ class CompressorTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
         KEY = 100001234
         option = {CompressionParameter.compression_level: 10,
                   KEY: 200000000}
-        pattern = r'Zstd compression parameter.*?"unknown parameter \(key %d\)"' \
-                  % KEY
+        pattern = (r'Invalid zstd compression parameter.*?'
+                   fr'"unknown parameter \(key {KEY}\)"')
         with self.assertRaisesRegex(ZstdError, pattern):
             ZstdCompressor(options=option)
 
@@ -420,8 +420,8 @@ class DecompressorTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
         KEY = 100001234
         options = {DecompressionParameter.window_log_max: DecompressionParameter.window_log_max.bounds()[1],
                   KEY: 200000000}
-        pattern = r'Zstd decompression parameter.*?"unknown parameter \(key %d\)"' \
-                  % KEY
+        pattern = (r'Invalid zstd decompression parameter.*?'
+                   fr'"unknown parameter \(key {KEY}\)"')
         with self.assertRaisesRegex(ZstdError, pattern):
             ZstdDecompressor(options=options)
 
@@ -507,7 +507,7 @@ class DecompressorTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertFalse(d.needs_input)
 
     def test_decompressor_arg(self):
-        zd = ZstdDict(b'12345678', True)
+        zd = ZstdDict(b'12345678', is_raw=True)
 
         with self.assertRaises(TypeError):
             d = ZstdDecompressor(zstd_dict={})
@@ -1021,6 +1021,10 @@ class DecompressorFlagsTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
 class ZstdDictTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
 
     def test_is_raw(self):
+        # must be passed as a keyword argument
+        with self.assertRaises(TypeError):
+            ZstdDict(bytes(8), True)
+
         # content < 8
         b = b'1234567'
         with self.assertRaises(ValueError):
@@ -1068,9 +1072,9 @@ class ZstdDictTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
 
         # corrupted
         zd = ZstdDict(dict_content, is_raw=False)
-        with self.assertRaisesRegex(ZstdError, r'ZSTD_CDict.*?corrupted'):
+        with self.assertRaisesRegex(ZstdError, r'ZSTD_CDict.*?content\.$'):
             ZstdCompressor(zstd_dict=zd.as_digested_dict)
-        with self.assertRaisesRegex(ZstdError, r'ZSTD_DDict.*?corrupted'):
+        with self.assertRaisesRegex(ZstdError, r'ZSTD_DDict.*?content\.$'):
             ZstdDecompressor(zd)
 
         # wrong type
@@ -1096,7 +1100,7 @@ class ZstdDictTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
 
 
         TRAINED_DICT = train_dict(SAMPLES, DICT_SIZE1)
-        ZstdDict(TRAINED_DICT.dict_content, False)
+        ZstdDict(TRAINED_DICT.dict_content, is_raw=False)
 
         self.assertNotEqual(TRAINED_DICT.dict_id, 0)
         self.assertGreater(len(TRAINED_DICT.dict_content), 0)
@@ -1250,7 +1254,7 @@ class ZstdDictTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
     def test_as_prefix(self):
         # V1
         V1 = THIS_FILE_BYTES
-        zd = ZstdDict(V1, True)
+        zd = ZstdDict(V1, is_raw=True)
 
         # V2
         mid = len(V1) // 2
@@ -1266,7 +1270,7 @@ class ZstdDictTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertEqual(decompress(dat, zd.as_prefix), V2)
 
         # use wrong prefix
-        zd2 = ZstdDict(SAMPLES[0], True)
+        zd2 = ZstdDict(SAMPLES[0], is_raw=True)
         try:
             decompressed = decompress(dat, zd2.as_prefix)
         except ZstdError: # expected
diff --git a/Modules/_zstd/_zstdmodule.c b/Modules/_zstd/_zstdmodule.c
index c3852fe8973..0294828aa10 100644
--- a/Modules/_zstd/_zstdmodule.c
+++ b/Modules/_zstd/_zstdmodule.c
@@ -1,7 +1,4 @@
-/*
-Low level interface to Meta's zstd library for use in the compression.zstd
-Python module.
-*/
+/* Low level interface to the Zstandard algorthm & the zstd library. */
 
 #ifndef Py_BUILD_CORE_BUILTIN
 #  define Py_BUILD_CORE_MODULE 1
@@ -34,17 +31,17 @@ set_zstd_error(const _zstd_state* const state,
     switch (type)
     {
     case ERR_DECOMPRESS:
-        msg = "Unable to decompress zstd data: %s";
+        msg = "Unable to decompress Zstandard data: %s";
         break;
     case ERR_COMPRESS:
-        msg = "Unable to compress zstd data: %s";
+        msg = "Unable to compress Zstandard data: %s";
         break;
 
     case ERR_LOAD_D_DICT:
-        msg = "Unable to load zstd dictionary or prefix for decompression: %s";
+        msg = "Unable to load Zstandard dictionary or prefix for decompression: %s";
         break;
     case ERR_LOAD_C_DICT:
-        msg = "Unable to load zstd dictionary or prefix for compression: %s";
+        msg = "Unable to load Zstandard dictionary or prefix for compression: %s";
         break;
 
     case ERR_GET_C_BOUNDS:
@@ -58,10 +55,10 @@ set_zstd_error(const _zstd_state* const state,
         break;
 
     case ERR_TRAIN_DICT:
-        msg = "Unable to train zstd dictionary: %s";
+        msg = "Unable to train the Zstandard dictionary: %s";
         break;
     case ERR_FINALIZE_DICT:
-        msg = "Unable to finalize zstd dictionary: %s";
+        msg = "Unable to finalize the Zstandard dictionary: %s";
         break;
 
     default:
@@ -152,7 +149,7 @@ set_parameter_error(const _zstd_state* const state, int is_compress,
     }
     if (ZSTD_isError(bounds.error)) {
         PyErr_Format(state->ZstdError,
-                     "Zstd %s parameter \"%s\" is invalid.",
+                     "Invalid zstd %s parameter \"%s\".",
                      type, name);
         return;
     }
@@ -187,13 +184,13 @@ _zstd.train_dict
         The size of the dictionary.
     /
 
-Internal function, train a zstd dictionary on sample data.
+Train a Zstandard dictionary on sample data.
 [clinic start generated code]*/
 
 static PyObject *
 _zstd_train_dict_impl(PyObject *module, PyBytesObject *samples_bytes,
                       PyObject *samples_sizes, Py_ssize_t dict_size)
-/*[clinic end generated code: output=8e87fe43935e8f77 input=70fcd8937f2528b6]*/
+/*[clinic end generated code: output=8e87fe43935e8f77 input=d20dedb21c72cb62]*/
 {
     // TODO(emmatyping): The preamble and suffix to this function and _finalize_dict
     // are pretty similar. We should see if we can refactor them to share that code.
@@ -258,7 +255,7 @@ _zstd_train_dict_impl(PyObject *module, PyBytesObject *samples_bytes,
                                      chunk_sizes, (uint32_t)chunks_number);
     Py_END_ALLOW_THREADS
 
-    /* Check zstd dict error */
+    /* Check Zstandard dict error */
     if (ZDICT_isError(zstd_ret)) {
         _zstd_state* const mod_state = get_zstd_state(module);
         set_zstd_error(mod_state, ERR_TRAIN_DICT, zstd_ret);
@@ -292,10 +289,10 @@ _zstd.finalize_dict
     dict_size: Py_ssize_t
         The size of the dictionary.
     compression_level: int
-        Optimize for a specific zstd compression level, 0 means default.
+        Optimize for a specific Zstandard compression level, 0 means default.
     /
 
-Internal function, finalize a zstd dictionary.
+Finalize a Zstandard dictionary.
 [clinic start generated code]*/
 
 static PyObject *
@@ -303,7 +300,7 @@ _zstd_finalize_dict_impl(PyObject *module, PyBytesObject *custom_dict_bytes,
                          PyBytesObject *samples_bytes,
                          PyObject *samples_sizes, Py_ssize_t dict_size,
                          int compression_level)
-/*[clinic end generated code: output=f91821ba5ae85bda input=130d1508adb55ba1]*/
+/*[clinic end generated code: output=f91821ba5ae85bda input=3c7e2480aa08fb56]*/
 {
     Py_ssize_t chunks_number;
     size_t *chunk_sizes = NULL;
@@ -360,7 +357,7 @@ _zstd_finalize_dict_impl(PyObject *module, PyBytesObject *custom_dict_bytes,
 
     /* Parameters */
 
-    /* Optimize for a specific zstd compression level, 0 means default. */
+    /* Optimize for a specific Zstandard compression level, 0 means default. */
     params.compressionLevel = compression_level;
     /* Write log to stderr, 0 = none. */
     params.notificationLevel = 0;
@@ -376,7 +373,7 @@ _zstd_finalize_dict_impl(PyObject *module, PyBytesObject *custom_dict_bytes,
                         (uint32_t)chunks_number, params);
     Py_END_ALLOW_THREADS
 
-    /* Check zstd dict error */
+    /* Check Zstandard dict error */
     if (ZDICT_isError(zstd_ret)) {
         _zstd_state* const mod_state = get_zstd_state(module);
         set_zstd_error(mod_state, ERR_FINALIZE_DICT, zstd_ret);
@@ -407,12 +404,12 @@ _zstd.get_param_bounds
     is_compress: bool
         True for CompressionParameter, False for DecompressionParameter.
 
-Internal function, get CompressionParameter/DecompressionParameter bounds.
+Get CompressionParameter/DecompressionParameter bounds.
 [clinic start generated code]*/
 
 static PyObject *
 _zstd_get_param_bounds_impl(PyObject *module, int parameter, int is_compress)
-/*[clinic end generated code: output=4acf5a876f0620ca input=84e669591e487008]*/
+/*[clinic end generated code: output=4acf5a876f0620ca input=45742ef0a3531b65]*/
 {
     ZSTD_bounds bound;
     if (is_compress) {
@@ -442,14 +439,12 @@ _zstd.get_frame_size
         A bytes-like object, it should start from the beginning of a frame,
         and contains at least one complete frame.
 
-Get the size of a zstd frame, including frame header and 4-byte checksum if it has one.
-
-It will iterate all blocks' headers within a frame, to accumulate the frame size.
+Get the size of a Zstandard frame, including the header and optional checksum.
 [clinic start generated code]*/
 
 static PyObject *
 _zstd_get_frame_size_impl(PyObject *module, Py_buffer *frame_buffer)
-/*[clinic end generated code: output=a7384c2f8780f442 input=7d3ad24311893bf3]*/
+/*[clinic end generated code: output=a7384c2f8780f442 input=3b9f73f8c8129d38]*/
 {
     size_t frame_size;
 
@@ -457,9 +452,9 @@ _zstd_get_frame_size_impl(PyObject *module, Py_buffer *frame_buffer)
     if (ZSTD_isError(frame_size)) {
         _zstd_state* const mod_state = get_zstd_state(module);
         PyErr_Format(mod_state->ZstdError,
-            "Error when finding the compressed size of a zstd frame. "
-            "Make sure the frame_buffer argument starts from the "
-            "beginning of a frame, and its length not less than this "
+            "Error when finding the compressed size of a Zstandard frame. "
+            "Ensure the frame_buffer argument starts from the "
+            "beginning of a frame, and its length is not less than this "
             "complete frame. Zstd error message: %s.",
             ZSTD_getErrorName(frame_size));
         return NULL;
@@ -472,14 +467,14 @@ _zstd_get_frame_size_impl(PyObject *module, Py_buffer *frame_buffer)
 _zstd.get_frame_info
 
     frame_buffer: Py_buffer
-        A bytes-like object, containing the header of a zstd frame.
+        A bytes-like object, containing the header of a Zstandard frame.
 
-Internal function, get zstd frame infomation from a frame header.
+Get Zstandard frame infomation from a frame header.
 [clinic start generated code]*/
 
 static PyObject *
 _zstd_get_frame_info_impl(PyObject *module, Py_buffer *frame_buffer)
-/*[clinic end generated code: output=56e033cf48001929 input=1816f14656b6aa22]*/
+/*[clinic end generated code: output=56e033cf48001929 input=94b240583ae22ca5]*/
 {
     uint64_t decompressed_size;
     uint32_t dict_id;
@@ -494,9 +489,9 @@ _zstd_get_frame_info_impl(PyObject *module, Py_buffer *frame_buffer)
         _zstd_state* const mod_state = get_zstd_state(module);
         PyErr_SetString(mod_state->ZstdError,
             "Error when getting information from the header of "
-            "a zstd frame. Make sure the frame_buffer argument "
+            "a Zstandard frame. Ensure the frame_buffer argument "
             "starts from the beginning of a frame, and its length "
-            "not less than the frame header (6~18 bytes).");
+            "is not less than the frame header (6~18 bytes).");
         return NULL;
     }
 
@@ -518,13 +513,13 @@ _zstd.set_parameter_types
     d_parameter_type: object(subclass_of='&PyType_Type')
         DecompressionParameter IntEnum type object
 
-Internal function, set CompressionParameter/DecompressionParameter types for validity check.
+Set CompressionParameter and DecompressionParameter types for validity check.
 [clinic start generated code]*/
 
 static PyObject *
 _zstd_set_parameter_types_impl(PyObject *module, PyObject *c_parameter_type,
                                PyObject *d_parameter_type)
-/*[clinic end generated code: output=f3313b1294f19502 input=30402523871b8280]*/
+/*[clinic end generated code: output=f3313b1294f19502 input=75d7a953580fae5f]*/
 {
     _zstd_state* const mod_state = get_zstd_state(module);
 
diff --git a/Modules/_zstd/_zstdmodule.h b/Modules/_zstd/_zstdmodule.h
index 00e0d2177f3..b36486442c6 100644
--- a/Modules/_zstd/_zstdmodule.h
+++ b/Modules/_zstd/_zstdmodule.h
@@ -1,7 +1,4 @@
-/*
-Low level interface to Meta's zstd library for use in the compression.zstd
-Python module.
-*/
+/* Low level interface to the Zstandard algorthm & the zstd library. */
 
 /* Declarations shared between different parts of the _zstd module*/
 
diff --git a/Modules/_zstd/buffer.h b/Modules/_zstd/buffer.h
index c902eef4f8e..bff3a81d8aa 100644
--- a/Modules/_zstd/buffer.h
+++ b/Modules/_zstd/buffer.h
@@ -1,7 +1,4 @@
-/*
-Low level interface to Meta's zstd library for use in the compression.zstd
-Python module.
-*/
+/* Low level interface to the Zstandard algorthm & the zstd library. */
 
 #ifndef ZSTD_BUFFER_H
 #define ZSTD_BUFFER_H
diff --git a/Modules/_zstd/clinic/_zstdmodule.c.h b/Modules/_zstd/clinic/_zstdmodule.c.h
index fc9f49813df..766e1cfa776 100644
--- a/Modules/_zstd/clinic/_zstdmodule.c.h
+++ b/Modules/_zstd/clinic/_zstdmodule.c.h
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ PyDoc_STRVAR(_zstd_train_dict__doc__,
 "train_dict($module, samples_bytes, samples_sizes, dict_size, /)\n"
 "--\n"
 "\n"
-"Internal function, train a zstd dictionary on sample data.\n"
+"Train a Zstandard dictionary on sample data.\n"
 "\n"
 "  samples_bytes\n"
 "    Concatenation of samples.\n"
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ PyDoc_STRVAR(_zstd_finalize_dict__doc__,
 "              dict_size, compression_level, /)\n"
 "--\n"
 "\n"
-"Internal function, finalize a zstd dictionary.\n"
+"Finalize a Zstandard dictionary.\n"
 "\n"
 "  custom_dict_bytes\n"
 "    Custom dictionary content.\n"
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ PyDoc_STRVAR(_zstd_finalize_dict__doc__,
 "  dict_size\n"
 "    The size of the dictionary.\n"
 "  compression_level\n"
-"    Optimize for a specific zstd compression level, 0 means default.");
+"    Optimize for a specific Zstandard compression level, 0 means default.");
 
 #define _ZSTD_FINALIZE_DICT_METHODDEF    \
     {"finalize_dict", _PyCFunction_CAST(_zstd_finalize_dict), METH_FASTCALL, _zstd_finalize_dict__doc__},
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ PyDoc_STRVAR(_zstd_get_param_bounds__doc__,
 "get_param_bounds($module, /, parameter, is_compress)\n"
 "--\n"
 "\n"
-"Internal function, get CompressionParameter/DecompressionParameter bounds.\n"
+"Get CompressionParameter/DecompressionParameter bounds.\n"
 "\n"
 "  parameter\n"
 "    The parameter to get bounds.\n"
@@ -220,13 +220,11 @@ PyDoc_STRVAR(_zstd_get_frame_size__doc__,
 "get_frame_size($module, /, frame_buffer)\n"
 "--\n"
 "\n"
-"Get the size of a zstd frame, including frame header and 4-byte checksum if it has one.\n"
+"Get the size of a Zstandard frame, including the header and optional checksum.\n"
 "\n"
 "  frame_buffer\n"
 "    A bytes-like object, it should start from the beginning of a frame,\n"
-"    and contains at least one complete frame.\n"
-"\n"
-"It will iterate all blocks\' headers within a frame, to accumulate the frame size.");
+"    and contains at least one complete frame.");
 
 #define _ZSTD_GET_FRAME_SIZE_METHODDEF    \
     {"get_frame_size", _PyCFunction_CAST(_zstd_get_frame_size), METH_FASTCALL|METH_KEYWORDS, _zstd_get_frame_size__doc__},
@@ -291,10 +289,10 @@ PyDoc_STRVAR(_zstd_get_frame_info__doc__,
 "get_frame_info($module, /, frame_buffer)\n"
 "--\n"
 "\n"
-"Internal function, get zstd frame infomation from a frame header.\n"
+"Get Zstandard frame infomation from a frame header.\n"
 "\n"
 "  frame_buffer\n"
-"    A bytes-like object, containing the header of a zstd frame.");
+"    A bytes-like object, containing the header of a Zstandard frame.");
 
 #define _ZSTD_GET_FRAME_INFO_METHODDEF    \
     {"get_frame_info", _PyCFunction_CAST(_zstd_get_frame_info), METH_FASTCALL|METH_KEYWORDS, _zstd_get_frame_info__doc__},
@@ -359,7 +357,7 @@ PyDoc_STRVAR(_zstd_set_parameter_types__doc__,
 "set_parameter_types($module, /, c_parameter_type, d_parameter_type)\n"
 "--\n"
 "\n"
-"Internal function, set CompressionParameter/DecompressionParameter types for validity check.\n"
+"Set CompressionParameter and DecompressionParameter types for validity check.\n"
 "\n"
 "  c_parameter_type\n"
 "    CompressionParameter IntEnum type object\n"
@@ -428,4 +426,4 @@ _zstd_set_parameter_types(PyObject *module, PyObject *const *args, Py_ssize_t na
 exit:
     return return_value;
 }
-/*[clinic end generated code: output=8445b658dcdcbb9c input=a9049054013a1b77]*/
+/*[clinic end generated code: output=437b084f149e68e5 input=a9049054013a1b77]*/
diff --git a/Modules/_zstd/clinic/compressor.c.h b/Modules/_zstd/clinic/compressor.c.h
index d7909cdf89f..f69161b590e 100644
--- a/Modules/_zstd/clinic/compressor.c.h
+++ b/Modules/_zstd/clinic/compressor.c.h
@@ -8,30 +8,30 @@ preserve
 #endif
 #include "pycore_modsupport.h"    // _PyArg_UnpackKeywords()
 
-PyDoc_STRVAR(_zstd_ZstdCompressor___init____doc__,
+PyDoc_STRVAR(_zstd_ZstdCompressor_new__doc__,
 "ZstdCompressor(level=None, options=None, zstd_dict=None)\n"
 "--\n"
 "\n"
 "Create a compressor object for compressing data incrementally.\n"
 "\n"
 "  level\n"
-"    The compression level to use, defaults to ZSTD_CLEVEL_DEFAULT.\n"
+"    The compression level to use. Defaults to COMPRESSION_LEVEL_DEFAULT.\n"
 "  options\n"
 "    A dict object that contains advanced compression parameters.\n"
 "  zstd_dict\n"
-"    A ZstdDict object, a pre-trained zstd dictionary.\n"
+"    A ZstdDict object, a pre-trained Zstandard dictionary.\n"
 "\n"
 "Thread-safe at method level. For one-shot compression, use the compress()\n"
 "function instead.");
 
-static int
-_zstd_ZstdCompressor___init___impl(ZstdCompressor *self, PyObject *level,
-                                   PyObject *options, PyObject *zstd_dict);
+static PyObject *
+_zstd_ZstdCompressor_new_impl(PyTypeObject *type, PyObject *level,
+                              PyObject *options, PyObject *zstd_dict);
 
-static int
-_zstd_ZstdCompressor___init__(PyObject *self, PyObject *args, PyObject *kwargs)
+static PyObject *
+_zstd_ZstdCompressor_new(PyTypeObject *type, PyObject *args, PyObject *kwargs)
 {
-    int return_value = -1;
+    PyObject *return_value = NULL;
     #if defined(Py_BUILD_CORE) && !defined(Py_BUILD_CORE_MODULE)
 
     #define NUM_KEYWORDS 3
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ _zstd_ZstdCompressor___init__(PyObject *self, PyObject *args, PyObject *kwargs)
     }
     zstd_dict = fastargs[2];
 skip_optional_pos:
-    return_value = _zstd_ZstdCompressor___init___impl((ZstdCompressor *)self, level, options, zstd_dict);
+    return_value = _zstd_ZstdCompressor_new_impl(type, level, options, zstd_dict);
 
 exit:
     return return_value;
@@ -189,9 +189,9 @@ PyDoc_STRVAR(_zstd_ZstdCompressor_flush__doc__,
 "    Can be these 2 values ZstdCompressor.FLUSH_FRAME,\n"
 "    ZstdCompressor.FLUSH_BLOCK\n"
 "\n"
-"Flush any remaining data left in internal buffers. Since zstd data consists\n"
-"of one or more independent frames, the compressor object can still be used\n"
-"after this method is called.");
+"Flush any remaining data left in internal buffers. Since Zstandard data\n"
+"consists of one or more independent frames, the compressor object can still\n"
+"be used after this method is called.");
 
 #define _ZSTD_ZSTDCOMPRESSOR_FLUSH_METHODDEF    \
     {"flush", _PyCFunction_CAST(_zstd_ZstdCompressor_flush), METH_FASTCALL|METH_KEYWORDS, _zstd_ZstdCompressor_flush__doc__},
@@ -252,4 +252,4 @@ skip_optional_pos:
 exit:
     return return_value;
 }
-/*[clinic end generated code: output=ef69eab155be39f6 input=a9049054013a1b77]*/
+/*[clinic end generated code: output=ee2d1dc298de790c input=a9049054013a1b77]*/
diff --git a/Modules/_zstd/clinic/decompressor.c.h b/Modules/_zstd/clinic/decompressor.c.h
index 9359c637203..4ecb19e9bde 100644
--- a/Modules/_zstd/clinic/decompressor.c.h
+++ b/Modules/_zstd/clinic/decompressor.c.h
@@ -10,28 +10,28 @@ preserve
 #include "pycore_critical_section.h"// Py_BEGIN_CRITICAL_SECTION()
 #include "pycore_modsupport.h"    // _PyArg_UnpackKeywords()
 
-PyDoc_STRVAR(_zstd_ZstdDecompressor___init____doc__,
+PyDoc_STRVAR(_zstd_ZstdDecompressor_new__doc__,
 "ZstdDecompressor(zstd_dict=None, options=None)\n"
 "--\n"
 "\n"
 "Create a decompressor object for decompressing data incrementally.\n"
 "\n"
 "  zstd_dict\n"
-"    A ZstdDict object, a pre-trained zstd dictionary.\n"
+"    A ZstdDict object, a pre-trained Zstandard dictionary.\n"
 "  options\n"
 "    A dict object that contains advanced decompression parameters.\n"
 "\n"
 "Thread-safe at method level. For one-shot decompression, use the decompress()\n"
 "function instead.");
 
-static int
-_zstd_ZstdDecompressor___init___impl(ZstdDecompressor *self,
-                                     PyObject *zstd_dict, PyObject *options);
+static PyObject *
+_zstd_ZstdDecompressor_new_impl(PyTypeObject *type, PyObject *zstd_dict,
+                                PyObject *options);
 
-static int
-_zstd_ZstdDecompressor___init__(PyObject *self, PyObject *args, PyObject *kwargs)
+static PyObject *
+_zstd_ZstdDecompressor_new(PyTypeObject *type, PyObject *args, PyObject *kwargs)
 {
-    int return_value = -1;
+    PyObject *return_value = NULL;
     #if defined(Py_BUILD_CORE) && !defined(Py_BUILD_CORE_MODULE)
 
     #define NUM_KEYWORDS 2
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ _zstd_ZstdDecompressor___init__(PyObject *self, PyObject *args, PyObject *kwargs
     }
     options = fastargs[1];
 skip_optional_pos:
-    return_value = _zstd_ZstdDecompressor___init___impl((ZstdDecompressor *)self, zstd_dict, options);
+    return_value = _zstd_ZstdDecompressor_new_impl(type, zstd_dict, options);
 
 exit:
     return return_value;
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ PyDoc_STRVAR(_zstd_ZstdDecompressor_decompress__doc__,
 "Decompress *data*, returning uncompressed bytes if possible, or b\'\' otherwise.\n"
 "\n"
 "  data\n"
-"    A bytes-like object, zstd data to be decompressed.\n"
+"    A bytes-like object, Zstandard data to be decompressed.\n"
 "  max_length\n"
 "    Maximum size of returned data. When it is negative, the size of\n"
 "    output buffer is unlimited. When it is nonnegative, returns at\n"
@@ -227,4 +227,4 @@ exit:
 
     return return_value;
 }
-/*[clinic end generated code: output=ae703f0465a2906d input=a9049054013a1b77]*/
+/*[clinic end generated code: output=7a4d278f9244e684 input=a9049054013a1b77]*/
diff --git a/Modules/_zstd/clinic/zstddict.c.h b/Modules/_zstd/clinic/zstddict.c.h
index 4e0f7b64172..34e0e4b3ecf 100644
--- a/Modules/_zstd/clinic/zstddict.c.h
+++ b/Modules/_zstd/clinic/zstddict.c.h
@@ -9,35 +9,33 @@ preserve
 #include "pycore_critical_section.h"// Py_BEGIN_CRITICAL_SECTION()
 #include "pycore_modsupport.h"    // _PyArg_UnpackKeywords()
 
-PyDoc_STRVAR(_zstd_ZstdDict___init____doc__,
-"ZstdDict(dict_content, is_raw=False)\n"
+PyDoc_STRVAR(_zstd_ZstdDict_new__doc__,
+"ZstdDict(dict_content, /, *, is_raw=False)\n"
 "--\n"
 "\n"
-"Represents a zstd dictionary, which can be used for compression/decompression.\n"
+"Represents a Zstandard dictionary.\n"
 "\n"
 "  dict_content\n"
-"    A bytes-like object, dictionary\'s content.\n"
+"    The content of a Zstandard dictionary as a bytes-like object.\n"
 "  is_raw\n"
-"    This parameter is for advanced user. True means dict_content\n"
-"    argument is a \"raw content\" dictionary, free of any format\n"
-"    restriction. False means dict_content argument is an ordinary\n"
-"    zstd dictionary, was created by zstd functions, follow a\n"
-"    specified format.\n"
+"    If true, perform no checks on *dict_content*, useful for some\n"
+"    advanced cases. Otherwise, check that the content represents\n"
+"    a Zstandard dictionary created by the zstd library or CLI.\n"
 "\n"
-"It\'s thread-safe, and can be shared by multiple ZstdCompressor /\n"
-"ZstdDecompressor objects.");
+"The dictionary can be used for compression or decompression, and can be shared\n"
+"by multiple ZstdCompressor or ZstdDecompressor objects.");
 
-static int
-_zstd_ZstdDict___init___impl(ZstdDict *self, PyObject *dict_content,
-                             int is_raw);
+static PyObject *
+_zstd_ZstdDict_new_impl(PyTypeObject *type, PyObject *dict_content,
+                        int is_raw);
 
-static int
-_zstd_ZstdDict___init__(PyObject *self, PyObject *args, PyObject *kwargs)
+static PyObject *
+_zstd_ZstdDict_new(PyTypeObject *type, PyObject *args, PyObject *kwargs)
 {
-    int return_value = -1;
+    PyObject *return_value = NULL;
     #if defined(Py_BUILD_CORE) && !defined(Py_BUILD_CORE_MODULE)
 
-    #define NUM_KEYWORDS 2
+    #define NUM_KEYWORDS 1
     static struct {
         PyGC_Head _this_is_not_used;
         PyObject_VAR_HEAD
@@ -46,7 +44,7 @@ _zstd_ZstdDict___init__(PyObject *self, PyObject *args, PyObject *kwargs)
     } _kwtuple = {
         .ob_base = PyVarObject_HEAD_INIT(&PyTuple_Type, NUM_KEYWORDS)
         .ob_hash = -1,
-        .ob_item = { &_Py_ID(dict_content), &_Py_ID(is_raw), },
+        .ob_item = { &_Py_ID(is_raw), },
     };
     #undef NUM_KEYWORDS
     #define KWTUPLE (&_kwtuple.ob_base.ob_base)
@@ -55,7 +53,7 @@ _zstd_ZstdDict___init__(PyObject *self, PyObject *args, PyObject *kwargs)
     #  define KWTUPLE NULL
     #endif  // !Py_BUILD_CORE
 
-    static const char * const _keywords[] = {"dict_content", "is_raw", NULL};
+    static const char * const _keywords[] = {"", "is_raw", NULL};
     static _PyArg_Parser _parser = {
         .keywords = _keywords,
         .fname = "ZstdDict",
@@ -70,20 +68,20 @@ _zstd_ZstdDict___init__(PyObject *self, PyObject *args, PyObject *kwargs)
     int is_raw = 0;
 
     fastargs = _PyArg_UnpackKeywords(_PyTuple_CAST(args)->ob_item, nargs, kwargs, NULL, &_parser,
-            /*minpos*/ 1, /*maxpos*/ 2, /*minkw*/ 0, /*varpos*/ 0, argsbuf);
+            /*minpos*/ 1, /*maxpos*/ 1, /*minkw*/ 0, /*varpos*/ 0, argsbuf);
     if (!fastargs) {
         goto exit;
     }
     dict_content = fastargs[0];
     if (!noptargs) {
-        goto skip_optional_pos;
+        goto skip_optional_kwonly;
     }
     is_raw = PyObject_IsTrue(fastargs[1]);
     if (is_raw < 0) {
         goto exit;
     }
-skip_optional_pos:
-    return_value = _zstd_ZstdDict___init___impl((ZstdDict *)self, dict_content, is_raw);
+skip_optional_kwonly:
+    return_value = _zstd_ZstdDict_new_impl(type, dict_content, is_raw);
 
 exit:
     return return_value;
@@ -204,4 +202,4 @@ _zstd_ZstdDict_as_prefix_get(PyObject *self, void *Py_UNUSED(context))
 
     return return_value;
 }
-/*[clinic end generated code: output=59257c053f74eda7 input=a9049054013a1b77]*/
+/*[clinic end generated code: output=bfb31c1187477afd input=a9049054013a1b77]*/
diff --git a/Modules/_zstd/compressor.c b/Modules/_zstd/compressor.c
index 355a27d2734..f794acbc19c 100644
--- a/Modules/_zstd/compressor.c
+++ b/Modules/_zstd/compressor.c
@@ -1,7 +1,4 @@
-/*
-Low level interface to Meta's zstd library for use in the compression.zstd
-Python module.
-*/
+/* Low level interface to the Zstandard algorthm & the zstd library. */
 
 /* ZstdCompressor class definitions */
 
@@ -21,7 +18,6 @@ class _zstd.ZstdCompressor "ZstdCompressor *" "&zstd_compressor_type_spec"
 #include "buffer.h"
 #include "zstddict.h"
 
-#include <stdbool.h>              // bool
 #include <stddef.h>               // offsetof()
 #include <zstd.h>                 // ZSTD_*()
 
@@ -42,9 +38,6 @@ typedef struct {
 
     /* Compression level */
     int compression_level;
-
-    /* __init__ has been called, 0 or 1. */
-    bool initialized;
 } ZstdCompressor;
 
 #define ZstdCompressor_CAST(op) ((ZstdCompressor *)op)
@@ -122,7 +115,7 @@ _zstd_set_c_parameters(ZstdCompressor *self, PyObject *level_or_options,
                 self->compression_level = value_v;
             }
             else if (key_v == ZSTD_c_nbWorkers) {
-                /* From zstd library doc:
+                /* From the zstd library docs:
                    1. When nbWorkers >= 1, triggers asynchronous mode when
                       used with ZSTD_compressStream2().
                    2, Default value is `0`, aka "single-threaded mode" : no
@@ -189,8 +182,8 @@ _get_CDict(ZstdDict *self, int compressionLevel)
             _zstd_state* const mod_state = PyType_GetModuleState(Py_TYPE(self));
             if (mod_state != NULL) {
                 PyErr_SetString(mod_state->ZstdError,
-                    "Failed to create ZSTD_CDict instance from zstd "
-                    "dictionary content. Maybe the content is corrupted.");
+                    "Failed to create a ZSTD_CDict instance from "
+                    "Zstandard dictionary content.");
             }
             goto error;
         }
@@ -318,20 +311,34 @@ load:
     return 0;
 }
 
+/*[clinic input]
+@classmethod
+_zstd.ZstdCompressor.__new__ as _zstd_ZstdCompressor_new
+    level: object = None
+        The compression level to use. Defaults to COMPRESSION_LEVEL_DEFAULT.
+    options: object = None
+        A dict object that contains advanced compression parameters.
+    zstd_dict: object = None
+        A ZstdDict object, a pre-trained Zstandard dictionary.
+
+Create a compressor object for compressing data incrementally.
+
+Thread-safe at method level. For one-shot compression, use the compress()
+function instead.
+[clinic start generated code]*/
+
 static PyObject *
-_zstd_ZstdCompressor_new(PyTypeObject *type, PyObject *Py_UNUSED(args), PyObject *Py_UNUSED(kwargs))
+_zstd_ZstdCompressor_new_impl(PyTypeObject *type, PyObject *level,
+                              PyObject *options, PyObject *zstd_dict)
+/*[clinic end generated code: output=cdef61eafecac3d7 input=92de0211ae20ffdc]*/
 {
-    ZstdCompressor *self;
-    self = PyObject_GC_New(ZstdCompressor, type);
+    ZstdCompressor* self = PyObject_GC_New(ZstdCompressor, type);
     if (self == NULL) {
         goto error;
     }
 
-    self->initialized = 0;
-    self->dict = NULL;
     self->use_multithread = 0;
 
-
     /* Compression context */
     self->cctx = ZSTD_createCCtx();
     if (self->cctx == NULL) {
@@ -346,6 +353,37 @@ _zstd_ZstdCompressor_new(PyTypeObject *type, PyObject *Py_UNUSED(args), PyObject
     /* Last mode */
     self->last_mode = ZSTD_e_end;
 
+    if (level != Py_None && options != Py_None) {
+        PyErr_SetString(PyExc_RuntimeError, "Only one of level or options should be used.");
+        goto error;
+    }
+
+    /* Set compressLevel/options to compression context */
+    if (level != Py_None) {
+        if (_zstd_set_c_parameters(self, level, "level", "int") < 0) {
+            goto error;
+        }
+    }
+
+    if (options != Py_None) {
+        if (_zstd_set_c_parameters(self, options, "options", "dict") < 0) {
+            goto error;
+        }
+    }
+
+    /* Load Zstandard dictionary to compression context */
+    self->dict = NULL;
+    if (zstd_dict != Py_None) {
+        if (_zstd_load_c_dict(self, zstd_dict) < 0) {
+            goto error;
+        }
+        Py_INCREF(zstd_dict);
+        self->dict = zstd_dict;
+    }
+
+    // We can only start GC tracking once self->dict is set.
+    PyObject_GC_Track(self);
+
     return (PyObject*)self;
 
 error:
@@ -373,67 +411,6 @@ ZstdCompressor_dealloc(PyObject *ob)
     Py_DECREF(tp);
 }
 
-/*[clinic input]
-_zstd.ZstdCompressor.__init__
-
-    level: object = None
-        The compression level to use, defaults to ZSTD_CLEVEL_DEFAULT.
-    options: object = None
-        A dict object that contains advanced compression parameters.
-    zstd_dict: object = None
-        A ZstdDict object, a pre-trained zstd dictionary.
-
-Create a compressor object for compressing data incrementally.
-
-Thread-safe at method level. For one-shot compression, use the compress()
-function instead.
-[clinic start generated code]*/
-
-static int
-_zstd_ZstdCompressor___init___impl(ZstdCompressor *self, PyObject *level,
-                                   PyObject *options, PyObject *zstd_dict)
-/*[clinic end generated code: output=215e6c4342732f96 input=9f79b0d8d34c8ef0]*/
-{
-    if (self->initialized) {
-        PyErr_SetString(PyExc_RuntimeError, "reinitialization not supported");
-        return -1;
-    }
-    self->initialized = 1;
-
-    if (level != Py_None && options != Py_None) {
-        PyErr_SetString(PyExc_RuntimeError, "Only one of level or options should be used.");
-        return -1;
-    }
-
-    /* Set compressLevel/options to compression context */
-    if (level != Py_None) {
-        if (_zstd_set_c_parameters(self, level, "level", "int") < 0) {
-            return -1;
-        }
-    }
-
-    if (options != Py_None) {
-        if (_zstd_set_c_parameters(self, options, "options", "dict") < 0) {
-            return -1;
-        }
-    }
-
-    /* Load dictionary to compression context */
-    if (zstd_dict != Py_None) {
-        if (_zstd_load_c_dict(self, zstd_dict) < 0) {
-            return -1;
-        }
-
-        /* Py_INCREF the dict */
-        Py_INCREF(zstd_dict);
-        self->dict = zstd_dict;
-    }
-
-    // We can only start tracking self with the GC once self->dict is set.
-    PyObject_GC_Track(self);
-    return 0;
-}
-
 static PyObject *
 compress_impl(ZstdCompressor *self, Py_buffer *data,
               ZSTD_EndDirective end_directive)
@@ -469,7 +446,7 @@ compress_impl(ZstdCompressor *self, Py_buffer *data,
     }
 
 
-    /* zstd stream compress */
+    /* Zstandard stream compress */
     while (1) {
         Py_BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS
         zstd_ret = ZSTD_compressStream2(self->cctx, &out, &in, end_directive);
@@ -533,7 +510,7 @@ compress_mt_continue_impl(ZstdCompressor *self, Py_buffer *data)
         goto error;
     }
 
-    /* zstd stream compress */
+    /* Zstandard stream compress */
     while (1) {
         Py_BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS
         do {
@@ -642,14 +619,14 @@ _zstd.ZstdCompressor.flush
 
 Finish the compression process.
 
-Flush any remaining data left in internal buffers. Since zstd data consists
-of one or more independent frames, the compressor object can still be used
-after this method is called.
+Flush any remaining data left in internal buffers. Since Zstandard data
+consists of one or more independent frames, the compressor object can still
+be used after this method is called.
 [clinic start generated code]*/
 
 static PyObject *
 _zstd_ZstdCompressor_flush_impl(ZstdCompressor *self, int mode)
-/*[clinic end generated code: output=b7cf2c8d64dcf2e3 input=a766870301932b85]*/
+/*[clinic end generated code: output=b7cf2c8d64dcf2e3 input=0ab19627f323cdbc]*/
 {
     PyObject *ret;
 
@@ -717,10 +694,9 @@ ZstdCompressor_clear(PyObject *ob)
 static PyType_Slot zstdcompressor_slots[] = {
     {Py_tp_new, _zstd_ZstdCompressor_new},
     {Py_tp_dealloc, ZstdCompressor_dealloc},
-    {Py_tp_init, _zstd_ZstdCompressor___init__},
     {Py_tp_methods, ZstdCompressor_methods},
     {Py_tp_members, ZstdCompressor_members},
-    {Py_tp_doc, (char*)_zstd_ZstdCompressor___init____doc__},
+    {Py_tp_doc, (void *)_zstd_ZstdCompressor_new__doc__},
     {Py_tp_traverse,  ZstdCompressor_traverse},
     {Py_tp_clear, ZstdCompressor_clear},
     {0, 0}
diff --git a/Modules/_zstd/decompressor.c b/Modules/_zstd/decompressor.c
index dc3e90a22d8..852b796a872 100644
--- a/Modules/_zstd/decompressor.c
+++ b/Modules/_zstd/decompressor.c
@@ -1,7 +1,4 @@
-/*
-Low level interface to Meta's zstd library for use in the compression.zstd
-Python module.
-*/
+/* Low level interface to the Zstandard algorthm & the zstd library. */
 
 /* ZstdDecompressor class definition */
 
@@ -48,9 +45,6 @@ typedef struct {
     /* For ZstdDecompressor, 0 or 1.
        1 means the end of the first frame has been reached. */
     bool eof;
-
-    /* __init__ has been called, 0 or 1. */
-    bool initialized;
 } ZstdDecompressor;
 
 #define ZstdDecompressor_CAST(op) ((ZstdDecompressor *)op)
@@ -81,8 +75,8 @@ _get_DDict(ZstdDict *self)
             _zstd_state* const mod_state = PyType_GetModuleState(Py_TYPE(self));
             if (mod_state != NULL) {
                 PyErr_SetString(mod_state->ZstdError,
-                                "Failed to create ZSTD_DDict instance from zstd "
-                                "dictionary content. Maybe the content is corrupted.");
+                                "Failed to create a ZSTD_DDict instance from "
+                                "Zstandard dictionary content.");
             }
         }
     }
@@ -265,8 +259,8 @@ load:
                 finish
 
     ZSTD_decompressStream()'s size_t return value:
-      - 0 when a frame is completely decoded and fully flushed, zstd's internal
-        buffer has no data.
+      - 0 when a frame is completely decoded and fully flushed,
+        zstd's internal buffer has no data.
       - An error code, which can be tested using ZSTD_isError().
       - Or any other value > 0, which means there is still some decoding or
         flushing to do to complete current frame.
@@ -311,7 +305,7 @@ decompress_impl(ZstdDecompressor *self, ZSTD_inBuffer *in,
         }
 
         /* Need to check out before in. Maybe zstd's internal buffer still has
-           a few bytes can be output, grow the buffer and continue. */
+           a few bytes that can be output, grow the buffer and continue. */
         if (out.pos == out.size) {
             /* Output buffer exhausted */
 
@@ -373,7 +367,7 @@ stream_decompress(ZstdDecompressor *self, Py_buffer *data, Py_ssize_t max_length
 
     /* Check .eof flag */
     if (self->eof) {
-        PyErr_SetString(PyExc_EOFError, "Already at the end of a zstd frame.");
+        PyErr_SetString(PyExc_EOFError, "Already at the end of a Zstandard frame.");
         assert(ret == NULL);
         return NULL;
     }
@@ -530,17 +524,30 @@ error:
 }
 
 
+/*[clinic input]
+@classmethod
+_zstd.ZstdDecompressor.__new__ as _zstd_ZstdDecompressor_new
+    zstd_dict: object = None
+        A ZstdDict object, a pre-trained Zstandard dictionary.
+    options: object = None
+        A dict object that contains advanced decompression parameters.
+
+Create a decompressor object for decompressing data incrementally.
+
+Thread-safe at method level. For one-shot decompression, use the decompress()
+function instead.
+[clinic start generated code]*/
+
 static PyObject *
-_zstd_ZstdDecompressor_new(PyTypeObject *type, PyObject *args, PyObject *kwds)
+_zstd_ZstdDecompressor_new_impl(PyTypeObject *type, PyObject *zstd_dict,
+                                PyObject *options)
+/*[clinic end generated code: output=590ca65c1102ff4a input=213daa57e3ea4062]*/
 {
-    ZstdDecompressor *self;
-    self = PyObject_GC_New(ZstdDecompressor, type);
+    ZstdDecompressor* self = PyObject_GC_New(ZstdDecompressor, type);
     if (self == NULL) {
         goto error;
     }
 
-    self->initialized = 0;
-    self->dict = NULL;
     self->input_buffer = NULL;
     self->input_buffer_size = 0;
     self->in_begin = -1;
@@ -562,6 +569,26 @@ _zstd_ZstdDecompressor_new(PyTypeObject *type, PyObject *args, PyObject *kwds)
         goto error;
     }
 
+    /* Load Zstandard dictionary to decompression context */
+    self->dict = NULL;
+    if (zstd_dict != Py_None) {
+        if (_zstd_load_d_dict(self, zstd_dict) < 0) {
+            goto error;
+        }
+        Py_INCREF(zstd_dict);
+        self->dict = zstd_dict;
+    }
+
+    /* Set option to decompression context */
+    if (options != Py_None) {
+        if (_zstd_set_d_parameters(self, options) < 0) {
+            goto error;
+        }
+    }
+
+    // We can only start GC tracking once self->dict is set.
+    PyObject_GC_Track(self);
+
     return (PyObject*)self;
 
 error:
@@ -595,55 +622,6 @@ ZstdDecompressor_dealloc(PyObject *ob)
     Py_DECREF(tp);
 }
 
-/*[clinic input]
-_zstd.ZstdDecompressor.__init__
-
-    zstd_dict: object = None
-        A ZstdDict object, a pre-trained zstd dictionary.
-    options: object = None
-        A dict object that contains advanced decompression parameters.
-
-Create a decompressor object for decompressing data incrementally.
-
-Thread-safe at method level. For one-shot decompression, use the decompress()
-function instead.
-[clinic start generated code]*/
-
-static int
-_zstd_ZstdDecompressor___init___impl(ZstdDecompressor *self,
-                                     PyObject *zstd_dict, PyObject *options)
-/*[clinic end generated code: output=703af2f1ec226642 input=8fd72999acc1a146]*/
-{
-    /* Only called once */
-    if (self->initialized) {
-        PyErr_SetString(PyExc_RuntimeError, "reinitialization not supported");
-        return -1;
-    }
-    self->initialized = 1;
-
-    /* Load dictionary to decompression context */
-    if (zstd_dict != Py_None) {
-        if (_zstd_load_d_dict(self, zstd_dict) < 0) {
-            return -1;
-        }
-
-        /* Py_INCREF the dict */
-        Py_INCREF(zstd_dict);
-        self->dict = zstd_dict;
-    }
-
-    /* Set option to decompression context */
-    if (options != Py_None) {
-        if (_zstd_set_d_parameters(self, options) < 0) {
-            return -1;
-        }
-    }
-
-    // We can only start tracking self with the GC once self->dict is set.
-    PyObject_GC_Track(self);
-    return 0;
-}
-
 /*[clinic input]
 @critical_section
 @getter
@@ -685,7 +663,7 @@ _zstd_ZstdDecompressor_unused_data_get_impl(ZstdDecompressor *self)
 _zstd.ZstdDecompressor.decompress
 
     data: Py_buffer
-        A bytes-like object, zstd data to be decompressed.
+        A bytes-like object, Zstandard data to be decompressed.
     max_length: Py_ssize_t = -1
         Maximum size of returned data. When it is negative, the size of
         output buffer is unlimited. When it is nonnegative, returns at
@@ -711,7 +689,7 @@ static PyObject *
 _zstd_ZstdDecompressor_decompress_impl(ZstdDecompressor *self,
                                        Py_buffer *data,
                                        Py_ssize_t max_length)
-/*[clinic end generated code: output=a4302b3c940dbec6 input=830e455bc9a50b6e]*/
+/*[clinic end generated code: output=a4302b3c940dbec6 input=6463dfdf98091caa]*/
 {
     PyObject *ret;
     /* Thread-safe code */
@@ -769,11 +747,10 @@ ZstdDecompressor_clear(PyObject *ob)
 static PyType_Slot ZstdDecompressor_slots[] = {
     {Py_tp_new, _zstd_ZstdDecompressor_new},
     {Py_tp_dealloc, ZstdDecompressor_dealloc},
-    {Py_tp_init, _zstd_ZstdDecompressor___init__},
     {Py_tp_methods, ZstdDecompressor_methods},
     {Py_tp_members, ZstdDecompressor_members},
     {Py_tp_getset, ZstdDecompressor_getset},
-    {Py_tp_doc, (char*)_zstd_ZstdDecompressor___init____doc__},
+    {Py_tp_doc, (void *)_zstd_ZstdDecompressor_new__doc__},
     {Py_tp_traverse, ZstdDecompressor_traverse},
     {Py_tp_clear, ZstdDecompressor_clear},
     {0, 0}
diff --git a/Modules/_zstd/zstddict.c b/Modules/_zstd/zstddict.c
index 47bc8a84ca2..264946e8da2 100644
--- a/Modules/_zstd/zstddict.c
+++ b/Modules/_zstd/zstddict.c
@@ -1,7 +1,4 @@
-/*
-Low level interface to Meta's zstd library for use in the compression.zstd
-Python module.
-*/
+/* Low level interface to the Zstandard algorthm & the zstd library. */
 
 /* ZstdDict class definitions */
 
@@ -25,17 +22,35 @@ class _zstd.ZstdDict "ZstdDict *" "&zstd_dict_type_spec"
 
 #define ZstdDict_CAST(op) ((ZstdDict *)op)
 
+/*[clinic input]
+@classmethod
+_zstd.ZstdDict.__new__ as _zstd_ZstdDict_new
+    dict_content: object
+        The content of a Zstandard dictionary as a bytes-like object.
+    /
+    *
+    is_raw: bool = False
+        If true, perform no checks on *dict_content*, useful for some
+        advanced cases. Otherwise, check that the content represents
+        a Zstandard dictionary created by the zstd library or CLI.
+
+Represents a Zstandard dictionary.
+
+The dictionary can be used for compression or decompression, and can be shared
+by multiple ZstdCompressor or ZstdDecompressor objects.
+[clinic start generated code]*/
+
 static PyObject *
-_zstd_ZstdDict_new(PyTypeObject *type, PyObject *Py_UNUSED(args), PyObject *Py_UNUSED(kwargs))
+_zstd_ZstdDict_new_impl(PyTypeObject *type, PyObject *dict_content,
+                        int is_raw)
+/*[clinic end generated code: output=3ebff839cb3be6d7 input=6b5de413869ae878]*/
 {
-    ZstdDict *self;
-    self = PyObject_GC_New(ZstdDict, type);
+    ZstdDict* self = PyObject_GC_New(ZstdDict, type);
     if (self == NULL) {
         goto error;
     }
 
     self->dict_content = NULL;
-    self->initialized = 0;
     self->d_dict = NULL;
 
     /* ZSTD_CDict dict */
@@ -44,6 +59,36 @@ _zstd_ZstdDict_new(PyTypeObject *type, PyObject *Py_UNUSED(args), PyObject *Py_U
         goto error;
     }
 
+    /* Check dict_content's type */
+    self->dict_content = PyBytes_FromObject(dict_content);
+    if (self->dict_content == NULL) {
+        PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError,
+                        "dict_content argument should be bytes-like object.");
+        goto error;
+    }
+
+    /* Both ordinary dictionary and "raw content" dictionary should
+       at least 8 bytes */
+    if (Py_SIZE(self->dict_content) < 8) {
+        PyErr_SetString(PyExc_ValueError,
+                        "Zstandard dictionary content should at least 8 bytes.");
+        goto error;
+    }
+
+    /* Get dict_id, 0 means "raw content" dictionary. */
+    self->dict_id = ZSTD_getDictID_fromDict(PyBytes_AS_STRING(self->dict_content),
+                                            Py_SIZE(self->dict_content));
+
+    /* Check validity for ordinary dictionary */
+    if (!is_raw && self->dict_id == 0) {
+        char *msg = "Invalid Zstandard dictionary and is_raw not set.\n";
+        PyErr_SetString(PyExc_ValueError, msg);
+        goto error;
+    }
+
+    // Can only track self once self->dict_content is included
+    PyObject_GC_Track(self);
+
     return (PyObject*)self;
 
 error:
@@ -72,83 +117,15 @@ ZstdDict_dealloc(PyObject *ob)
     Py_DECREF(tp);
 }
 
-/*[clinic input]
-_zstd.ZstdDict.__init__
-
-    dict_content: object
-        A bytes-like object, dictionary's content.
-    is_raw: bool = False
-        This parameter is for advanced user. True means dict_content
-        argument is a "raw content" dictionary, free of any format
-        restriction. False means dict_content argument is an ordinary
-        zstd dictionary, was created by zstd functions, follow a
-        specified format.
-
-Represents a zstd dictionary, which can be used for compression/decompression.
-
-It's thread-safe, and can be shared by multiple ZstdCompressor /
-ZstdDecompressor objects.
-[clinic start generated code]*/
-
-static int
-_zstd_ZstdDict___init___impl(ZstdDict *self, PyObject *dict_content,
-                             int is_raw)
-/*[clinic end generated code: output=c5f5a0d8377d037c input=e6750f62a513b3ee]*/
-{
-    /* Only called once */
-    if (self->initialized) {
-        PyErr_SetString(PyExc_RuntimeError, "reinitialization not supported");
-        return -1;
-    }
-    self->initialized = 1;
-
-    /* Check dict_content's type */
-    self->dict_content = PyBytes_FromObject(dict_content);
-    if (self->dict_content == NULL) {
-        PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError,
-                        "dict_content argument should be bytes-like object.");
-        return -1;
-    }
-
-    /* Both ordinary dictionary and "raw content" dictionary should
-       at least 8 bytes */
-    if (Py_SIZE(self->dict_content) < 8) {
-        PyErr_SetString(PyExc_ValueError,
-                        "Zstd dictionary content should at least 8 bytes.");
-        return -1;
-    }
-
-    /* Get dict_id, 0 means "raw content" dictionary. */
-    self->dict_id = ZSTD_getDictID_fromDict(PyBytes_AS_STRING(self->dict_content),
-                                            Py_SIZE(self->dict_content));
-
-    /* Check validity for ordinary dictionary */
-    if (!is_raw && self->dict_id == 0) {
-        char *msg = "The dict_content argument is not a valid zstd "
-                    "dictionary. The first 4 bytes of a valid zstd dictionary "
-                    "should be a magic number: b'\\x37\\xA4\\x30\\xEC'.\n"
-                    "If you are an advanced user, and can be sure that "
-                    "dict_content argument is a \"raw content\" zstd "
-                    "dictionary, set is_raw parameter to True.";
-        PyErr_SetString(PyExc_ValueError, msg);
-        return -1;
-    }
-
-    // Can only track self once self->dict_content is included
-    PyObject_GC_Track(self);
-    return 0;
-}
-
 PyDoc_STRVAR(ZstdDict_dictid_doc,
-"ID of zstd dictionary, a 32-bit unsigned int value.\n\n"
-"Non-zero means ordinary dictionary, was created by zstd functions, follow\n"
-"a specified format.\n\n"
-"0 means a \"raw content\" dictionary, free of any format restriction, used\n"
-"for advanced user.");
+"the Zstandard dictionary, an int between 0 and 2**32.\n\n"
+"A non-zero value represents an ordinary Zstandard dictionary, "
+"conforming to the standardised format.\n\n"
+"The special value '0' means a 'raw content' dictionary,"
+"without any restrictions on format or content.");
 
 PyDoc_STRVAR(ZstdDict_dictcontent_doc,
-"The content of zstd dictionary, a bytes object, it's the same as dict_content\n"
-"argument in ZstdDict.__init__() method. It can be used with other programs.");
+"The content of a Zstandard dictionary, as a bytes object.");
 
 static PyObject *
 ZstdDict_str(PyObject *ob)
@@ -266,9 +243,8 @@ static PyType_Slot zstddict_slots[] = {
     {Py_tp_getset, ZstdDict_getset},
     {Py_tp_new, _zstd_ZstdDict_new},
     {Py_tp_dealloc, ZstdDict_dealloc},
-    {Py_tp_init, _zstd_ZstdDict___init__},
     {Py_tp_str, ZstdDict_str},
-    {Py_tp_doc, (char*)_zstd_ZstdDict___init____doc__},
+    {Py_tp_doc, (void *)_zstd_ZstdDict_new__doc__},
     {Py_sq_length, ZstdDict_length},
     {Py_tp_traverse, ZstdDict_traverse},
     {Py_tp_clear, ZstdDict_clear},
diff --git a/Modules/_zstd/zstddict.h b/Modules/_zstd/zstddict.h
index e82498f5dd1..e8a55a3670b 100644
--- a/Modules/_zstd/zstddict.h
+++ b/Modules/_zstd/zstddict.h
@@ -1,12 +1,8 @@
-/*
-Low level interface to Meta's zstd library for use in the compression.zstd
-Python module.
-*/
+/* Low level interface to the Zstandard algorthm & the zstd library. */
 
 #ifndef ZSTD_DICT_H
 #define ZSTD_DICT_H
 
-#include <stdbool.h>              // bool
 #include <zstd.h>                 // ZSTD_DDict
 
 typedef struct {
@@ -23,9 +19,6 @@ typedef struct {
     PyObject *dict_content;
     /* Dictionary id */
     uint32_t dict_id;
-
-    /* __init__ has been called, 0 or 1. */
-    bool initialized;
 } ZstdDict;
 
 #endif  // !ZSTD_DICT_H