Product Description
Merriam-WebsterÆs Spanish-English Dictionary is a completely new dictionary designed to meet the needs of English and Spanish speakers in a time of ever-expanding communication among the countries of the Western Hemisphere. It is intended for language learners, teachers, office workers, tourists, business travelersùanyone who needs to communicate effectively in the Spanish and English languages as they are spoken and written in the Americas. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (63)

Really helps your HS student with Spanish I
This was not required for my daughter's Spanish 1 class, but she says it regularly comes in handy with the homework.The price was quite low, and she's getting a lot out of.A great buy.

Perfect for student
I purchased this book for my daughter who is a freshman inhigh school. It was just what she needed for her Spanish II class. Price was great and shipped very quickly.

Friend loves it
I bought this as a gift for a friend from Mexico trying to improve her grasp of the English language. She reports it has been very helpful and I have noticed a big improvement in her use of English.

Merriam-Webster's Spanish-English Dictionary
Very reasonably priced and exactly what I wanted. Condition was very good, as it was a used paperback.

A Great Guide for Gringos
Has everything you might ask for:
*compact enough to br easily handled, but large enough for easy reading in a dim light.
*clear listing of part-of-speech, gender of nouns, plurals, hints on conjugation of verbs.
*listing of inflected forms and guide to root form
*excellent outlne of grammar and usage
*helpful hints on pronunciation ... Read more

Product Description
A Value-Priced Spanish-English Dictionary for Students Ideal for English and Spanish speakers, this bidirectional dictionary defines the core vocabularies of Latin-American Spanish and American English. Over 40,000 entries and 50,000 translations Spanish-to-English and English-to-Spanish sections Conjugation of Spanish Verbs Irregular English Verbs Value-priced or budget-conscious parents and teachers ... Read more

Customer Reviews (18)

extremely useful
I am an ESL teacher, and this book is clear, concise, and pretty well complete.I have found, however, that not all the English to Spanish words are the most common and familiar to my students.

Friend from Mexico loves it
I have a friend from Mexico that is now living in the USA and trying to learn better English. She loves it and uses it often. And her English has been improving each day. That is good enough for me

Had to have it for school . . .
My son HAD to have this for 6th grade Spanish, so I came to the place with the best prices and delivery.Awesome on both of those points, as always.The book itself could be a sturdier paperback, since it will take a lot of abuse, but that isn't the fault of the seller - just a bad call on the physical construction materials.

Quick Study
I use my Spanish to English dictionary with my studies.I has become a valuable member to the team.

Great product for a great price!!
You can't beat the price for this dictionary. I did not want to spend $10 for one at the bookstore. ... Read more

Product Description
The largest mass market Spanish/English, English/Spanish dictionary available3.3 million Signet copies in printIncludes over 70,000 entriesMore thatn 3,000 entries have been addes, expanded, or rewritten to reflect contemporarySpanish vocabulary ... Read more

Customer Reviews (37)

Great, comprehensive product
I bought this for my middle school student who's just starting to learn Spanish.It's very "user friendly" and should last him through his entire Spanish education.

My opinion
I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of this dictionary.I was nervous about getting a dictionary on line, unable to look at it.But its description is true.It is excellent.Maravilloso.

Spanish dictionary
The Spanish dictionary arrived in the time that was specified and was in excellent condition.

Friend loves it
I bought this for a friend from Mexico who is learning English and trying to get a GED. She says this has been very helpful to her.

It's a thick book because it has a lot of words, but it's not very durable.
This thick book (about 1360 pages) is full of many Spanish and English words from each language.The first half consists of Spanish words with the English equivalents, and the second half is English words with the Spanish words that mean the same thing.Some basic grammar tools and the alphabets for each language are also included in the book.Now, there are no definitions for the words, just the translations for the other language.However, after using this almost every day for an entire year, the book wore out very quickly.The cover broke and the book fell apart, and even after taping it back together, it fell apart again.The bottom line is that although it is very good for looking up words for either language, it falls apart rather easily and isn't durable at all. ... Read more

Product Description
Merriam-Webster's French-English Dictionary is a completely new dictionary designed to meet the needs of English and French speakers throughout the world. It is intended for language learners, teachers, office workers, tourists, business travelers -- anyone who needs to communicate effectively in the French and English languages as they are spoken and written today. This dictionary provides up-to-date coverage of French words and phrases as they are spoken in France and in other European countries, and special care has been taken to include the unique terminology of French-speaking Canada as well. The English vocabulary and spellings included here reflect North American usage and are primarily those of American English, but British terms and spellings commonly used in Canada are also included. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Great service!!
It was so easy; I ordered it and got it on the predicted date, not a day later. It was great, and the book was not damaged or old. I'll be doing business with this provider in the future.

Great value for students
This dictionary goes both ways, French to English and English to French.The dimensions are 7" x 4" x 1.5", fairly compact and light, and easy to carry in a backpack.My daughter is taking French, and she's found this a perfect companion for her.

Best and Only Canadian French to English (and vice versa) on the market
For its size and price, I was impressed.Its inclusion of Canadian terms missed a few significant ones, but was nonetheless quite good.Its "International French" words and terms were just fine for everyday use.I bought 4 copies.

Worthwhile purchase
My need for a French Dictionary determined the quality of this review.It's an adequate solution to my need fortranslating copy and for finding the correct word in French. So, three stars shows that it's O. K., butnot superb.

Keep looking
There's nothing special about this dictionary and I don't find the pronunciation symbols very helpful. Keep looking for a better dictionary. ... Read more

Product Description
The English/Spanish version of the second edition of the best-selling and well loved Oxford Picture Dictionary, features over 4,000 words and phrases in both languages illustrated with all new vibrant, crystal-clear artwork. The topics, based on extensive input from teachers and students, have been thoroughly updated to meet the needs of today's English language learners. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (44)

review of pictionary spanish-English
Several pictionaries were purchased to use with Spanish speaking English learners. The students using this book are very satisfied with the content of the books. We were happy to find used ones in such great condition.

Toni
wister

Valuable resource with relevant photos
This is a very valuable resource for teaching adult students ESL.The pictures are up to date and many of the terms especially about internet and computers are relevant.

The book is loaded with everyday language vocabulary.I also like that it has suggested uses for many of the vocab.

Very valuable.Very happy with the amount of words in this book.

Learning Spanish
Great book to help review worlds that are used in common day to day conversation. Easy to follow and the pictures help out.Great product, would recommend for beginners.

Good for learning English or Spanish
I bought two of the Oxford Picture Dictionaries.One was for my husband who is trying to learn Spanish and the other for my daughter-in-law who is Mexican and is trying to learn English.They both were excited to get them for Christmas this year.The pictures seem to make the words more understandable.I actually got the recommendation to buy this dictionary from another Mexican friend of mine who is trying to learn English and it was recommended by her teacher for the class to buy.

Could not teach without this
This is the best book for teaching English to refugees. I have been teaching for a few years and every student that uses this book wants one for themselves. Love it, could not teach without it. ... Read more

Product Description
BarronÂ's is now taking a comprehensive approach to foreign-language reference volumes, this definitive Spanish-English dictionary and a companion French-English dictionary being to prime examples. This book features 100, 000 entries with translations, and makes an ideal reference book for schools, libraries, businesses, and the home bookshelf. Yet its manageable size and reasonable price also makes it a practical learning tool for students taking a Spanish language course. It features:

Product Description
In this compact guide to essential Spanish and English vocabulary, over 40,000 entries include English pronunciations given in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).Bidirectional:English to Spanish and Spanish to English.Includes sections on the conjugation of Spanish verbs, both regular and irregular, irregular English verbs, and Spanish and English numbers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Great pocket espanol guide
This is a very small and very handy Spanish dictionary.It is small enough for a purse or small backpack and easy to use.

Tiny and useful
This book is very small and not too heavy. For the size, it includes a good amount of words. It also includes basic conjugation and grammar rules with examples. The more experienced speaker will probably want a larger book; I used the book to look up words from "100 years of solitude" and didn't have much success. However, this is great for a small dictionary that you really just need on occasion or to look up fairly common words.

Spanish to English Dictionary
Good size to carry in a cargo pant pocket.Very useful and convenient Spanish to English as well as English to Spanish dictionary.

Very helpful
Don't have anything to compare this to since this
is the first one of this kind for me to use.I
did find it very helpful in Managua while trying
to ask questions and explain myself.

Great compact dictionary
For the size (and it is very compact), this is a great little dictionary.It's perfect for traveling, and I found that it worked well in Latin America (includes Lat. Am word uses as well).Highly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
Compiled in collaboration with a team of expert linguists, the Webster's New World concise bilingual dictionaries are the perfect choice for beginning students and advanced speakers as well. Comprehensive and authoritative, yet clear and concise, the dictionaries offer a full array of features, as well as wide-ranging coverage of current expressions. Long-standing favorites in hardcover, the dictionaries will continue to be standard references for years to come -- especially now that they are available in unabridged paperback editions.

• More than 100,000 words, giving wide-ranging coverage of current terms and expressions
• Detailed definitions so the user can understand and translate idiomatically
• Extensive examples of usage, showing how translations of words can vary according to context
• Verb tables, including irregular verbs
• Cross-references from every verb to the appropriate verb table

Customer Reviews (41)

they lied
do not order from these people. i should have had no delivery charge... i'm with prime amazon,,, got a delivery charge, should not have .. told them within 12 hours to cancel the order before it was sent.after seeing the delivery charge. and never got a reply, then got an email saying they sent the order and it wouldnt be there for three weeks... when it should have been in two days.. the other people i ordered from the same day had no shipping snd rec'd the book the next day... Terrible People here

Dictionary
Having a way to help in communications with Italian relatives is a big asset.
Thank You

Webster's New World Italian Dictionary
This book is easy to use.
The font is large and very readable.
It includes many common expressions and various uses of words.
Glad we bought it.

The Greatest Handbook!
This dictionary is the perfect handbook for anyone, at any level, who wants to learn or review Italian.Complete and thorough definitions, pronunciaton guide, a section on verbs and tenses, easy to read.Great price, too.I have studied different languages over the last 40+ years and used many different resources--this ranks with the best.

Multum in Parvo
I have three Italian dictionaries.The magnificent Oxford Paravia hardback sits on a lectern in my writing room.Cassell's is my use-on-the-sofa source.I needed a dictionary for recent trip to Italy and bought this one--the Oxford would need a suitcase to itself, and even the Cassell's is not light (and Kindle, infuriatingly, offers not one single usable Italian dictionary).I bought it with doubts, for I usually dismiss "portable" dictionaries.

It is a magnificent dictionary!Very occasionally I have to go back to the Oxford for an unusual, or old, word, or an unusual meaning.But rarely.For reading modern classic Italian writers, or serious newspapers (Corriere della Sera), or even, usually, Dante this portable comes through almost every time.The typography and the quality of print are excellent; it is easily read even by 66 year old eyes.The "India" paper seems of good quality.The definitions are literate and indicate usage ('colloquial', etc.)Stress is correctly given.There is a good section for irregular verbs (strictly speaking a pure extra in a dictionary).Illustrative phrases, which often reveal the proper preposition or adverb associated with a verb, are frequent.I cannot speak to its "technical" vocabulary, for that is not the kind of Italian I read or speak.

I am highly impressed.This dictionary is cheap and fairly light.I believe that it would suffice on its own for most foreign readers of Italian. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (18)

great dictionary
As a student of French, I found this to be a great product. I do agree with another review I read in that this is geared toward the beginner students. It has great illustrations with the corresponding French word, which makes it fun and easy to learn the language,in addition to the more traditional dictionary format. I am studying to become a French teacher. I wish I could afford to buy enough copies of this for an entire class. I think they would find this really helpful.

Great format, limited vocabulary
The format of this dictionary makes it a real pleasure to use.The fonts are attractive and not too small, and each main entry is highlighted in yellow.Interspersed with the dictionary entries are helpful usage hints, notes about false cognates (faux amis), and several pages of images to illustrate groups of related terms.

However, as others have noted, the vocabulary coverage is limited - moreso than I anticipated based on other reviews.Here are some examples of words I have attempted to look up in the past few days that are not listed: forklift, flamingo, anteater, dribble, drool, knuckle, cowlick, convertible, propel, propeller (though, interestingly, the French word for propeller, hélice, is listed in the French-English section).

I would love to have a more comprehensive dictionary in the same format.As it is, this dictionary is of limited use to me, since a large percentage of the time I have to go to a second source to look up the word I need.

A must have for all French students
I'm in my first semester of French at a university and I decided it would be wise for me to invest in a good dictionary. Online translations and google have always been my primary tools for translating, but because I have a serious addiction to googling useless facts all the time (think of those new [...] commercials where people, like drones, keep reciting useless facts), I knew I needed a physical book to purchase.

With that all said, let me say that this dictionary has definitely exceeded my expectations. The most difficult part about learning a new language is not necessarily having very little knowledge of a foreign vocabulary but rather how to actually correctly form sentences. For example, I turn to page 200 on the English half of the book and come across the entry for the word 'night'. Whereas googling/using free translators will only yield 'nuit', the entry for night yields 'nuit' with three examples of its use in sentences, 'soir' with two examples of its use in sentences, and ways to say in French 'at night', 'to have an early night', 'to have a late night', and 'good night!'. For me, I've always been a person that needs a solutions manual whenever taking a math or science class because I can't stand not knowing if my thought process is the correct one. With the numerous examples provided, this dictionary works in the same way that a solutions manual does (remember, first semester French), I'm always getting practical exposure to French, and from there I can piece together the little (but important!) differences in expressing myself in English and in French.

Is the vocabulary in this book limited? Yes. For very specific words, you probably won't find them in here (I just looked up the word 'shingle' right now to make a point and I was right. It's not in there). However, if this fact really concerns you that much but you still want all of the practical examples provided in this book, I'd recommend just buying two dictionaries - one advanced one and this one here. The textbook and workbook I purchased cost me over [...] (couldn't buy it on Amazon, agh) so what's an extra [...]?

PS. It has a semi-hardcover. Not quite a soft-cover that bends easily like those old, yellowed Merriam-Webster Dictionaries but not quite a hard cover that's hard to maneuver. To me the cover is perfect, and it really adds a nice flare to it.

a book I need
It is the book I need now, though at first I expected there could be more about verb conjugueur.

More of a traveler's dictionary
I understand the gripes of both beginning and advanced students of French.I have taken two elementary French courses so far and this dictionary has been useful for the second half, especially with the illustrations of family relationships, the classroom, the dormitory, among many others, but the use of sentences along with the definitions could really confuse beginning students (as it has me at times) if they are not familiar with French sentence construction to know why the example was written the way it was.

Even though this is not a textbook, there is no mention of verb conjugation, which is extremely important in any language, and also pointing out the big differences between the present, past-tense and imperative.Just looking at this dictionary will result in someone being able to identify objects and speak in incomplete sentences - just enough to be (barely) understood by someone who's fluent.

Sure, the format's easy on the eyes, but the content itself can be confusing to the beginner and not of much help to the advanced (as we've seen on this page).

I knew I should have stuck with Merriam Webster.- Donna Di Giacomo ... Read more

Product Description
Langenscheidt's Pocket Dictionary French contains over 50,000 references. It includes a wealth of colloquial and idiomatic expressions, full grammar details with examples of usage, and conjugation tables. The ideal compact reference work for everyday use. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

a nice informative French-English dictionary.
This dictionary is just the right size for carrying around while visiting France. It contains a lot of good translations and definitions galore. I am glad that I bought it for my next trip to france.

Handy to have!
I bought my sister the pocket dictionary for her birthday. She went to Paris shortly after, and loved having the resource available. I have been using the Japanese version here in Japan, and it has worked out very well for me. It doesn't help you with sentence structure (it's a dictionary, nothing more). These books have an awesome variety of current vocabulary and slang which I found extremely helpful. I would recommend this book to anyone traveling abroad, or just wanting to extend their vocabulary in another language!

Loaded, Compact, and Readable
I bought this dictionary for a recent trip to rural France where few people speak English.This dictionary is very portable and the font type is very readable.It was small enough to carry in a purse or a waist pack.It is divided into two parts:French-English and English-French.I found it very helpful in deciphering road signs, menus, touring sites, brochures, and conversations.I consulted it daily.It contained most of the words that I wanted to translate either in English or French.Now back home, I use it regularly instead of my big French dictionary when reading French news and magazines.It has additional information about basic verb conjugations and a list of conjugations of common verbs.I highly recommend it.

The best French/English dictionary I have ever owned.
This dictionary is the best French/English dictionary I have ever owned (I own 6 of them right now)!It is very user friendly and the size makes it very portable.Whether you're studying French for the first time or you just need to look up a word every now and then, this is the dictionary for you!

The best small English/French dictionary out there A+
I'm a college professor, and I both use this dictionary myself and highly encourage my students to buy it.

It is absolutely the BEST small French-English dictionary I've found, and has many features of larger dictionaries at a reasonable cost (it's also much longer lasting than plain paper back dictionaries, of which I"ve seen many ratty copies--missing 1/2 of the "a" section-- in my career). While some smaller dictionaries offer not much more than one-word definitions for terms (which lead to many mistranslations), Langenscheidt's offers numerous contextual examples that help students choose the correct word, and also shows many idiomatic expressions.

An A+!

(Note: Langenscheidt's offers many sizes of dictionaries.This review applies only to the one list-priced at $13 .95.Some of the smaller versions are as incomplete as other dictionaries).

... Read more

Product Description
Now in print through its various editions for almost a century, the Concise Oxford English Dictionary is one of the most popular choices in Oxford's renowned dictionary line, selected by decades of users for its up-to-date and authoritative coverage of the English language.
This revised eleventh edition of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary presents the most accurate picture of English today. It contains over 240,000 words, phrases, and definitions, providing superb coverage of contemporary English, including rare, historical, and archaic terms, scientific and technical vocabulary, and English from around the world. The revised edition of the dictionary has been updated with hundreds of newwords--including sub-prime, social networking, and carbon footprint--all based on the latest research from the Oxford English Corpus. In addition, the dictionary now features an engaging new center section, with quick-reference word lists (for example, lists of Fascinating Words and Onomatopoeic Words), and a revised and updated English Uncovered supplement, which examines interesting facts about the English language. Sprinkled throughout the text are intriguing Word Histories, detailing the origins and development of numerous words. The volume also retains such popular features as the hundreds of usage notes which give advice on tricky vocabulary and pointers to help you improve your use of English. Finally, the dictionary contains full appendices on topics such as alphabets, currencies, electronic English, and the registers of language (from formal to slang), plus a useful Guide to Good English with advice on grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
Authoritative and up to date, the Concise Oxford English Dictionary offers unsurpassed coverage of English, perfect for anyone who needs a handy, reliable resource for home, school, or office. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

Good news, bad news
Needing a supplement to my aging 1987 Webster, and in particular one reliably giving British usage,I originally bought the Cambridge International Dictionary of English.It's an excellent dictionary, in fact I would say *the* dictionary, for non-native speakers; the entries, explanations and descriptions of usage are wonderfully simple and clear.

But it simply didn't have in it enough of the words I looked up, so I sent it to a friend of mine in Spain who's learning English, and bought the Concise.

I must say at once that it was an immense improvement; in the three months I've had it, there's only been one word I've looked for that wasn't in it ("testudinal", which is found in William Manchester's biography of Winston Churchill: I think it means "relating to tortoises").I don't know if you can count FUBAR, which isn't listed (although SNAFU is).

It's also strong on modern technical terms (such as "blog") and slang expressions (such as "go postal").And whatever one's view of political correctness, one needs to be aware of it to be absolutely certain of avoiding offence.Here again I found the Concise exemplary.

However, I am not so ecstatic about some of the other features.

One is the treatment of pronunciation.I accept that it's better to use the IPA than some half-baked phonetic equivalent, and I'm gradually getting used to it.But "the principle followed is that pronunciations are only given where they are likely to cause problems for the native speaker of English".So if you're not a native speaker -- or you're a child who hasn't yet attained an adult vocabulary -- then, presumably, screw you; you'd be better off with the Cambridge.Further, although US spellings are provided, US pronunciations are not, only RP ones; thus no cognizance is taken (for instance) of the difference between UK ad-'dress and US 'ad-dress.And although two pronunciations of "laboratory" are given, there's no indication of which is which.

I found the Concise unhelpful on some aspects of usage.When did "ætiology" become "aetiology", and when did "B.B.C." become "BBC"?

More alarming is a syntactic sloppiness that pervades the whole thing.Of course every dictionary must strike a balance between prescriptivism and descriptivism*, and by and large the Concise does a good job (as in the entry for "decimate", for example).The policy on possessives is explicitly stated in the usage note for "they": 'It is now widely held that the traditional use of "he" to refer to a person of either sex is outdated and sexist; the alternative, "he or she", can be clumsy.It is now generally acceptable, therefore, to use "they" (with its counterparts "them", "their" and "themselves" instead. [...]'.But this means that "a pupil should leave their coat in the lobby" is acceptable, although it looks very odd to me.I guess I'm just old-fashioned.

"Façade" is presented without the cedilla, even as an alternative spelling, which looks to me outright illiterate.

Among other oddities are the use of "which" instead of "that" in restrictive clauses, and (on the last page) "hyphened" instead "hyphenated".

Some of the entries seem to me slightly off-centre, too, e.g. "legless" is defined as "extremely drunk", which is true as far as it goes. But specifically it means "too drunk to stand"; if you can still stand, you aren't legless, however drunk you are."Rabbit" as a Cockney term is said to come from "rabbit and pork" = "talk", but as a Londoner I've always understood it to be from "rabbit's paw" = "jaw".

But by and large I'm happy with the Concise.

*In this connection, it's perhaps a sign of the times that the spelling "miniscule" has now overtaken "minuscule" (p.1700).

UPDATE

On the subject of the abbreviations and digraphs, I availed myself of the invitation to Ask Oxford, and received from a lady the following kind reply (in part):

"I have checked all editions of the Concise Oxford Dictionary back to 1911, and was interested to find that this publication has never used the ae and oe digraphs*, though they were and still are to be found in the full Oxford English Dictionary.Of course they were never available on standard typewriter keyboards, and rare on early computers, and I suspect that this hastened their decline.In British English there has been a strong trend towards simplification in the past twenty years, and any unnecessary complication is out of favour; to use digraphs would not be considered incorrect, but fussy.

"The same process has affected punctuation, which is now lighter.I see that the initialism 'B.B.C.'appeared thus in the sixth edition of the Concise (1976) but as 'BBC' in the seventh (1982): both were edited by J.B. Sykes."

* I tried to type the ae and oe ligatures, but the Amazon codepage can only manage æ -- the other one comes out as "ae" instead of "oe"!

PM

Not necessarily inferior to full OED
Although, I was disappointed to find that the Concise OED was considerably smaller in height and width dimensions than their foreign language dictionaries (e.g., Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary, or Oxford Spanish Dictionary), it is still pretty good, and in some ways is better than the full Oxford English Dictionary. Take for example the word Paradigm. I'll give just the meanings offered by each dictionary.

-------------------
Concise OED (11th ed., rev.):
Paradigm --
-- 1. a typical example, pattern, or model of something.
-- 2. a world view underlying the theories and methodology of a scientific subject.
-- 3. [Linguistics] a set of items that form mutually exclusive choices in particular syntactic roles. Often contrasted with Syntagm.
-- 4. [Grammar] a table of all the inflected forms of a word.

-------------------
Full OED (2nd ed.):
Paradigm --
-- 1.a. a pattern, exemplar, example.
---- b. attrib. as 'paradigm case', a case or instance to be regarded as representative or typical.
-- 2. Rhet. (In L. form) See quot. Obs.
-- 3.a. An example or pattern of the inflexion of a noun, verb, or other inflected part of speech.
---- b. transf. and fig.
-------------------

In the full OED, each definition is followed by examples that go back even as far as 1483. Only in the last case, 3b, do we find anything approaching definition 2 of the Concise OED (the 'world view' definition). It is in quotes referring to Wittgenstein, Chomsky, Kuhn, etc. They are fascinating, but if you were looking the word up, because you were trying to read something else, instead of a dictionary, then the full OED makes you work too hard the extract the word's most common usage.

Excellent!
Having a thirst for the knowledge and an interest in etymology, the Oxford English Dictionary is the perfect tool to quench my thirst.I highly recommend this dictionary to anyone who has an interest in etymology and wanting to strengthen their vocabulary.

Never received my dictionary
I've never received my product.When I contacted the shipper to tell them, they gave me a delivery verification and that was that.It was never in my mailbox!I did receive the Thesaurus I ordered at the same time.I finally just gave up in frustration.

Sterling Desktop Reference inadequate for learners
As a desktop reference, this dictionary has no peer.Compared to other dictionaries of similar size, it is simply the best by a long shot.It is authoritative enough to have its definitions used in a court of law.The Editors tell us it contains 75,000 root words compared to the usual 25,000 root words, because infrequent and rare words are likely to be crucial in particular contexts when they crop up. No wonder I have never had the frustrating experience of a futile search for a word when using previous editions.

Each succeeding edition brings to it changes in format.The current 11th 2008 revised edition has all supplementary material relocated from the back end to the "Centre Section" after the letter "L". It is not the first dictionary to do this, but its 24-page "Centre Section" makes fascinating reading.

1. English Uncovered.Benefits of data collected by Oxford are divulged.The list of 100 commonest words revealed are "the" #1, "I" #10, to "us" #100. Lists of commonest nouns, verbs and adjectives are included.Interesting trivia includes the words with most meanings as "set" (156), "stand" (104) and "fall" (101).Subtle shifts in spelling include "just deserts" to "just desserts" (58% actual usage); buck naked 53% to butt naked 47%; and"strait-laced" being overwhelmed by 66% actual use of "straight-laced". "Miniscule" changes are overtaking correct forms like "Minuscule".

2. Fascinating words.Absquatulate, adscititious, afreet start this 4 page list."callipygian" having shapely buttocks, "ecdysiast" strip tease performer, "vexillology" study of flags, "toxophilite" archery student, join words like ylem, sudd, flews, stiction, plew and yes, floccinaucinihilipilification and pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.I am fascinated.

3. Collective nouns.The usual "pride" of lions, "fling" of dunlins, "murmuration" of starlings, "school" of whales, is usefully retained, although it could be more exhaustive.

4. Imitative Words.2 pages of onomatopoeias.I have not come across such a list in an Oxford.Vroom, whoosh, zoom.

5. Foreign Words and Phrases. This is an extremely useful list of frequently encountered foreign terms.The absence of a connected pronouncing key is a most regrettable omission, as this is precisely where a pronouncing key would be most appreciated.Nothing fancy, and nobody would argue the inclusion of: a cappella, alfresco, au fait, je ne sais quoi, ménage a trios, schadenfreude, verboten and zeitgeist.Delightful section.

6. Guide to Good English.Same old, same old.

There are more "Usage" bubbles in this edition.After "discreet", a tinted bubble explains the difference with "discrete".It is "Fowler's Modern English Usage" appended to the apposite words.Naturally, there are more words and material with every new edition.I suspect the similar number of pages as the preceding edition was achieved by reducing the font size of the print. For the huge number of entries, there would be no examples of usage in sentences, nor any illustrations.The International Phonetic Transcription is used and is consistent with its increasing popularity over the Merriam Webster pronouncing key.

Etymology is the best I have seen. Curiously, "Viagra", reputed to be a portmanteau of "virility" and "Niagra" (fluids emanating like Niagra Falls is hopeful optimism) in the 10th 2002 edition, reverted to "unknown origin" in the 11th 2008 edition. The commonly encountered "Cialis" (CIncinnati/MinneApoLIS) is not yet recognised by Oxford.

This dictionary sounds almost too good to be true.Bear with me as I explore possible shortcomings.

The Concise Oxford is not for students of English.It is for those who are way, way, way past the early learning stage.This sterling reference work is quite unsatisfactory as a learning tool.It is more of an aide-memoire and for quick reference when wandering into unfamiliar disciplines.The Paperback Oxford or the Oxford Advanced Learner's would better serve students.Collins, Cambridge, Longman, Chambers, MacMillan and other competitors publish dictionaries with the specific aim of educating students, replete with examples of usage, mnemonics, pictures, and so on. Some throw in a thesaurus.

My 2002 Concise Oxford has these supplementary materials, now deleted from this 2008 edition:
1. Countries of the World, capital cities, currencies, etc,
2. Alphabets (Arabic, Hebrew, Greek, Russian),
3. Accents and diacritical marks,
4. Phonetic Alphabet: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie to Zulu,
5. Weights and measures, British and American and metric conversions,
6. Metric prefixes, like nano-, pico-, femto-, atto-,
7. SI units
8. Proofreading marks,
9. List of two letter words, like "mu", "re" (musical note), "ye",
10. Words with Q not followed by U, like tariqa, qiviut,
11. SMS abbreviations, emoticons.

Some dictionaries include a map of the world, Nobel Prize winners, Famous People, Common Proverbs; but this may be going over the top.Really, where else can you realistically expect to find such handy nuggets of critical information at your fingertips other than your desktop dictionary.A small investment of 20 to 30 additional pages to the Concise Oxford will fix these omissions found in various previous editions.

Various previous editions of the Oxford had different combinations of these useful Dictionary-related appendices:
1. The Periodic Table, chemical symbols with atomic numbers and weights, (useful for following "Breaking Bad" TV series),
2. Books of the Bible,
3. Geologic Table, placing words like "Jurassic", "Silurian" in context,
4. Common Geometric formulas,
5. Musical notations, dynamics, indicators and Orchestral layout,
6. States of the United States, capital, informal name (North Dakota, Bismarck, Peace Garden), and similarly for Canada, South Africa, Australia, even India,
7. Braille, Morse Code, Manual alphabet for the hearing impaired,
8. Presidents of the United States of America (the one after this publication is Obama :), and the President after Obama might still make it to the next edition), Kings and Queens of England and the UK, Prime Ministers of important countries
9. The Solar System, principal moons; Taxonomy,
10. Zodiac Signs, Chinese Zodiac (2010 is the year of the Tiger), Wedding Anniversaries, birthstones.

A list of Shakespeare's works, Greek and Roman deities, and a tabulation of military ranks would be welcome.

Compared to 1700 pages, the addition of principal appendices would take up another 20 to 30 pages, tops. Some words make more sense in the context of lists, charts, tables and diagrams, yet we would still be nowhere inching towards an encyclopaedia.

This Concise Oxford is printed in UK.The paper looks cheap compared to older editions with sturdier paper.Yet my yellow marker highlightings cannot be seen from the reverse pages.The binding gets shoddier with each edition.If it remains on the desktop, it will come to little harm.It has a Bargain edition feel to it, and it does not inspire confidence that it will last a lifetime - until the next edition perhaps. Bring it around, as in a school bag, and its gradual destruction is assured.Far cheaper dictionaries from other publishers feel more solid, with paper much more pleasing to touch.

If "Concise" led to the notion that this dictionary is small, check the dimensions, as it is larger than expected.Very few books are two and a half inches thick.I would like to see the inclusion of more supplementary material so it will be the only reference book on my cluttered desktop.

In spite of perceived shortcomings, the Concise Oxford is the one I want to occupy that precious real estate on my desktop.




... Read more

Product Description
This bidirectional dictionary from the editors of Merriam-Webster contains definitions and translations for the core vocabulary and idioms of French and English as they are spoken and written today. This paperback comes packed with information for students, tourists, and business travelers alike. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Review of Merriam-Websters French English Dictionary
This dictionary is handy for it's size, but for the student of French Language , there are many words not included. So it is also not as handy as it could be for translating books etc from French to English. The semi- Thesaurus style included with the translation of each word is very helpful, though

webster's French-English, English-French dictionary
This is a really good dictionary.It gives the word, meaning and various uses, so it is very helpful.It tells you what part of speech it is as well, nouns in French if male or female , verbs transitive or intransitive.

High School French Class
I bought this for my daughter that's in High School French II.She says that the definitions in this dictionary aren't what is in her French book, the meaning is correct it's just not the same meaning as what she would need.This is what she tried to explain to me.So therefore, she barely uses it.It may be a great dictionary for a higher level French class or maybe another use.

Homework Helper
I bought this for my son as required by his French III class.It is useful. Although he goes on line for translations when at home, this book is useful for him when he does his homework away from the house or in the classroom.

Basic Dictionary
I have just started to learn french and I found this to be a useful dictionary. It helps me to get through my classes. My only problem was that on two occassions I was unable to find a few words in it. ... Read more

Product Description
The English/Arabic version of the second edition of the best-selling and well loved Oxford Picture Dictionary, features over 4,000 words and phrases in both languages illustrated with all new vibrant, crystal-clear artwork. The topics, based on extensive input from teachers and students, have been thoroughly updated to meet the needs of today's English language learners. The new bilingual editions have complete second language indexes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (29)

this book is very important for study
åÐÇ ÇáßÊÇÈ ÌÏÇ Ìãíá æÑÇÆÚ Ýí ÊÑÌãÉ ÇáßáãÇÊ ÈÇáÕæÑ æÇáäØÞ Ýí ÈÚÖ ÇáÇÍíÇä æÇäÕÍ ÈÔÑÇÁå

My fault
I bought an English-Arabic Arabic-English book,but when I read in it, I knew that it is more convenient to English people than Arabian ones.So I gave it as a gift to my English teacher.

i like it
i like it, good book for English lang education. the shipped book was new.fast and clean shipping also
thank you

great for ESL, not so much for learning Arabic
I am a volunteer ESL/ABE tutor at a local library and this book is great for explaining words that would be hard to translate without a picture. For example, my student, a native Arabic speaker, was reading a passage on the first Thanksgiving and they didn't know what green beans were. All I had to do was open this book to the appropriate page and there was a picture with green beans and the words in both English and Arabic. It covers everything from family to food to places around town and more. They also sell workbooks to go with the Oxford Picture Dictionaries that are great, too. One downfall is that there are no Arabic pronounciations so it's not good if you're trying to learn Arabic. Overall though, a great book for the price and purpose.

exellent for begining or intermediate level
I recomend this book for begining or intermediat level russian speakers. Very easy book. Pictures help to learn new words a lot! I just feel sorry I didn't buy this book earlier at my begining level. I learned manywords i need living in US. ... Read more

Product Description
Easier to use than a full adult dictionary but much more detailed than a typical children"s reference, this book is a perfect fit for middle school students learning Spanish. The clean, readable layout and eye-catching two-color design will appeal to students and teachers alike.
With more than 22,000 words and phrases and 45,000 translations, the dictionary contains up-to-date vocabulary in both Latin American Spanish and American English, focusing on topics most relevant to students, such as school life, sports, and leisure.
Entries and translations are easy for students to understand, with each sense of a word listed on a new line and no abbrevations: all labels, such as part of speech and noun gender, are written in full. The School Dictionary is packed with other helpful features, including
• 500 thematically grouped illustrations, covering topics such as colors, the human body, and telling time
• usage examples showing the headword in context and extensive usage notes
• a 32-page supplement on Spanish and English grammar
A full-featured reference in a format accessible and appealing to students,
the Larousse School Dictionary is the ideal companion to any introductory
Spanish course. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Item was NEVER shipped
To date, my order that was placed on October 1st has not shipped. The estimated delivery time was 10/08 to 10/26. Today is 10/28. Item status is now showing 'shipping soon'. There's no option for a refund. Seller does not respond to emails.

great
Perfect for any student.This dictionary has multiple color picture pages as well as a complete written dictionary.

Awesome Spanish dictionary
I received this dictionary as a gift 2 years ago.It has been very helpful through my learning process of the spanish language.I carry it with me everywhere...with our many travels to mexico I have had several vendors want to trade my dictionary for what they are selling on the beach.This last vacation; after a desperation of a vendor again requesting my dictionary I gave it to him.Once I returned home I ordered 4 more dictionaries.With the awesome price I plan to spread this dictionary and share will all that cross our paths through our travels in Mexico.

Spanish Teacher: Student Spanish English Dictionary
I was very pleased.I received even better than I expected and it arrived timely.

When communication really matters...
pick up a tool that gets the job done.This is a very good dictionary that goes anywhere, and I use it with housekeeping, pantry, and maintenance staff almost on a daily basis.An added perk is that I am learning more Spanish as we go.I highly recommend it. ... Read more

Product Description
Hundreds of new words are included, such as fakkusu (fax). Japanese terms are shown in roman letters and Japanese characters. The dictionary also includes a selection of Japanese cultural terms and concepts. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (69)

Good for Student
This book was not for me it was for my granddaughter who is taking Japanese in her freshman year in collage. She is very pleased with it.

I love it!
The book is really helpful when trying to figure out what somethings mean for beginners.
there are things that are in the dictionary but it's really nice. it also has English to Japanese at the back.

Great Dictionary
A very good Japanese-English dictionary. Well-organized, thorough. Easy to read and understand. Perfect for a new student of Japanese.

Good for normal talks, but not for slangs, urban terms & dialect.
Random House Japanese-English English-Japanese Dictionary, Is good instrumental Books for Beginners who wanna learn Japanese. This book haves also haves the Japanese ABC ver, it also show one side japanese for like looking for Neko and it said Cat or look for cat and it said Neko. How ever this book is not for japanese terms, Dialects, Slangs or Urban what so evers. Other then that I suggest this if you wanna learn japanese well.

Ok
I bought this at Waldenbooks when it first came out for $22. It was a great buy back then, because I used it a lot. I've outgrown it; however, and there isn't enough in it to make it useful for everyday language. Plus, the writing is hard to read. ... Read more

Product Description
Based on American rather than British English, this is among the first Russian dictionaries revised for the post-Soviet era. Includes new political terminology, new Russian institutions, new countries and republics and new city names. Contains 26,000 entries in the English-Russian section and 40,000 words in the Russian-English section. Irregularities in Russian declensions and conjugations appear at the beginning of each entry. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (89)

Does the job well
This is a well produced reference book on the Russian/ english - English / Russian dynamic.

There are of course many choices on such books in the field.I bought this one and was happy with the choice.

Poor binding, great dictionary
I am a researcher who studied Russian many years in college and continues to do interviews in Russian and use this dictionary in translating my transcriptions. This is the best Russian dictionary I have had and I have had many. My one complaint and the only reason I didn't give the dictionary 5 stars is that the binding is terrible! I have a paperback version and large sections of dictionary fell out in less than 6 months. I have never had a book disintegrate in this way before! It is now a terrible pain to turn the pages which are constantly falling out of the book onto the floor. I then have to reorder a couple hundred pages one by one. This is a true inconvenience which I put up with because the dictionary is so good. I considered buying a hardcover version but now I read in other reviews that the hardcover also falls apart! Such a shame.

Its Great
The Book is in great condition and the Amazon service was great with the delivery problems. Thanks!

Could be better
While, thus far, I've found this dictionary very suitable for my needs (I'm writing an archaeology dissertation and have to read through some Russian documents that have a lot of technical osteological terms), it's not the easiest to use. When one looks up a verb for example in the Engish to Russian section, only the imperfective aspect is given. Thus one has to look up the imperfective verb aspect in the Russian to English section to find the perfective aspect. In addition, for nouns ending in the soft sign, the English to Russian section does not give whether that noun is masculine or feminine. In order to ascertain this, again one must consultthe Russian to English section. The lack of a Cyrillic Alphabet in Alphabetical order for quick reference is also frustrating. And I'm sure the lack of a Latin Alphabet in Alphabetical order is likewise frustrating for native Russian speakers.

Great buy !
Fantastic purchase!!!

This dictionary is exactly what I was looking for! Complete reference book for those who start learning Russian and even for more experienced speakers. It shows words in context, examples (plural, verb's conjugaison, etc.), familiar expressions translations, and so on.

I asked my teacher if he knew this dictionary. Here's his answer: "Awesome choice. I burned through three copies of the Katzner. Only problem? The pages will start to fall out in about three to five months."

That says it all !!! ... Read more

Product Description
Compiled in collaboration with a team of expert linguists, the Webster's New World concise bilingual dictionaries are the perfect choice for beginning students and advanced speakers as well.Comprehensive and authoritative, yet clear and concise, the dictionaries offer a full array of features, as well as wide-ranging coverage of current expressions. Long-standing favorites in hardcover, the dictionaries will continue to be standard references for years to come -- especially now that they are available in unabridged paperback editions.

• More than 100,000 words, giving wide-ranging coverage of current terms and expressions
• Detailed definitions so the user can understand and translate idiomatically
• Extensive examples of usage, showing how translations of words can vary according to context
• Verb tables, including irregular verbs
• Cross-references from every verb to the appropriate verb table

Customer Reviews (16)

Good dictionary for the money
Bought this for my college level German 3 course and it has definitely come in handy. Only qualm I have with it is that it does not tell you the gender of the nouns, which is a problem when writing essays. I would definitely recommend this to German students.

Very detailed translation dictionary.
This dictionary is very detailed and the seller was selling it at a great price that was also in great condition.

Webster's New World German Dictionary:German/English-English/German
This was purchased for my husband who had forgotten lots of the German he'd learned while in Germany for Uncle Sam and he wanted to re-learn or get help with it.We both think it is one of the best German-English dictionaries anywhere.

Comprehensive
Good thick German-English Dictionary.Bought it for my wife to go to Germany with on a school trip.She appreciated it.

Ausgezeichnet! Formidable! Excelente! Eccezionale!
I have this dictionary in four languages, and it's absolutely my favorite in each!Apart from the excellent physical characteristics (size, paper quality, and font), what really makes this dictionary exceptional are the examples and suggestions.

Here's one, selected at random.I pick up my Italian dictionary and it falls open to the Italian word "moglie."First comes the English "wife," then the Italian expression for "to get married," and last but not least, the Italian proverb which translates "never interfere between husband and wife."Nice.I next thumb to the English-Italian, and look up "wife." First there's "moglie," then the Italian translation for "the wife," and finally there's the Italian for, "it's just an old wive's tale."I love it.

Are there judgment calls?Sure, thousands of 'em.What else?I've long held that translation of literature is itself an art-form, and I'm starting to think the same for dictionary-writing!

For my money, Webster's New World is head and shoulders.Try it, and you'll agree. ... Read more

Product Description
The Larousse pocket dictionaries have been fully updated inside and out. These are the bestselling dictionaries in the bilingual line and were last updated in 2007. The practical, portable references are great for people who are learning a language or who are traveling but want more than a phrasebook.

Each Includes:
More than 55,000 entries with 80,000 translations
Updated vocabulary in all subject areas
Usage examples showing words in context to ensure accurate Translation and give a clear picture of how they are used
Idioms, abbreviations, and acronyms
A Helpful pronunciation guide ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

I definetely recommend this Portuguese dictionary
My budget (like many others) is extremely tight and I had to take Portuguese 101-102 at school this semester. I was looking not only for a dictionary that was good, with a perfect size (I commute so it is important for me to stay as light as possible) but also not too expensive or at least a good dictionary that I could afford and I found it.

Buying books in Amazon has always been a wonderful option and experience for me. I can get a hint from other customer's review, I get the description details of the product, and the prices are competitive, I never had a problem in any of my orders.

Very poor
I bought this book long time ago, my credit card was charged right away but I never received the book, I am about to call the bank and ask for a dispute in my credit card as I don't have the dictionary, it was never sent to me....

A dictionary for today's modern world
This is an excellent, versatile dictionary covering both Brazilian and European usage and spelling. It is very useful for the traveler in Portuguese speaking countries and communities. The dimensions are right, for a good size pocket or your suitcase. Entries are what you need. Translations are practical, to the point. I have always found the word I was looking for. In approach and coverage it will have a good partner in Manuela Cook's Teach Yourself Portuguese 2002 course. They both address the needs of today's modern world. An excellent buy!

Great Dictionary ever!
This dctionary is the one that I have been looking for in time!I use to practice my Portuguese and Brazilians as well as Portuguese have told me how much I have been improving with my Portuguese since day one that I started to use this Larrouse Dictionary for English and Portugese speakers.It really does work and think that you should buy it definately! ... Read more

Product Description
BarronÂ's is now taking a comprehensive approach to foreign-language reference volumes. This definitive German-English dictionary features 100, 000 entries with translations, and makes an ideal reference book for schools, libraries, businesses, and the home bookshelf. Yet its manageable size and reasonable price also makes it a practical learning tool for students taking a German language course. It features:

Product Description
With the tremendous success of the Olympics in China, and with the spectacular growth of Chinese economic and political influence around the world, a reliable dictionary of Chinese is more valuable than ever. Now Oxford announces a new edition of our highly popular Pocket Oxford Chinese Dictionary, offering a wealth of lexical information in an affordable paperback format.

Authoritative and up-to-date, this fourth edition of the Pocket Oxford Chinese Dictionary covers over 90,000 words and phrases, and over 130,000 translations of contemporary Chinese and English, with hundreds of brand-new words added to both languages. More than just a dictionary, this handy reference book also includes brand new sections on culture and communication, giving you the tools you need to communicate effectively and understand aspects of another culture. The section on culture offers lively and useful information on life in the Chinese-speaking world. The communication supplement gives help with all types of correspondence, including example letters, emails and résumés. This dictionary is ideal for English and Chinese learners alike, with Chinese simplified and traditional characters as well as Pinyin romanization used throughout. You can quickly find the character you need by looking up by Pinyin or using the radical index. Mandarin pronunciations are provided in Pinyin.

The new edition of the Pocket Oxford Chinese Dictionary is the perfect reference for anyone needing an affordable, portable Chinese dictionary. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good Chinese Dictionary
I'm very happy with this purchase, it's much nicer than I thought it would be. ... Read more