Customer Reviews

Cassell's German Dictionary: German-English, English-German

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I'm very sorry to see a couple previous reviews that seemed to expect more of a conversational or technical dictionary. Cassell's is unquestionably the best for reading essays, stories, novels and poetry (until you have enough knowledge to need only occasional reference to an all-German dictionary like Wahrig's for the occasional mysterious word). There is a British bias, mostly in the English-to-German part, but it seems quite modest. I've used my copy (of a previous edition) for more than 30 years. This is an essential tool for any English speaker studying German in school, college, or independently. I'd rate it at least one "star" better than comparable Langenscheidt or Oxford/Duden products.

I'm currently taking a Survey of Theological German course at a small, liberal arts college. I fought with smaller dictionaries for weeks, but could never find the words I needed. After consulting with the Professor, he told me to throw the others out, and go buy a Cassell's. This dictionary is absolutely indisposable -- it provides me with the old meanings I need for this class (and can't find anywhere else!), but proves equally useful with modern idioms.

I have studied a lot of languages, and so I've bought a lot of dictionaries. This is by far the best one I have ever used. It goes way beyond the basics, has plenty of idiom, and even archaic words/phrases, all of which is great for the beginner/intermediate student and essential to advanced ones. If you buy this dictionary, you won't need any others. It's worth the price.

I took it to Defense Language Institute (for a year) and subsequently to Hamburg, GE, (for nearly three years). I found it extremely helpful and light-weight enough that it was not a burden. I still make frequent reference to it nine years after I left Deutschland. It was so much a part of my life in Germany I am ordering it for a friend about to do a year of study there.

In taking care of daily conversational idioms and phrases, this "Cassell's German Dictionary" did not forget technical and professional terms. It is complete in every sense a dictionary in its class should be. Invaluable pronounciation guides featured in both English and German: thus making it a suitable learning tool for either an English native or a German one.
What makes this lexicon so endearing is the way it simplified all those complex verbs, which are notorious barriers for anyone learning German grammar. Also, with over 1,430 pages, the listed price of this dictionary is very reasonable.
However, potential buyers may be greatly discouraged by the fact that this dictionary has not been updated since 1978. Except for antique-geeks, nobody would fancy buying a dictionary that is older than him or her.

If you're an advanced student of German, you need different dictionaries for different purposes. Those who complain that Cassell's is out-of-date are correct; it shouldn't be anyone's first choice for contemporary German (get the Collins unabridged or the Oxford-Duden unabridged for those purposes). But if you're trying to read or translate literary German, Cassell's will be indispensable. None of the more recent dictionaries, great as they are, go as deep or are as complete when it comes to the literary resources of German from, say, the 1720's up through the early 1970's. A slight British bias in Cassell's English definitions is not a problem as long as you're on guard for the few times when it could throw the unwary off track.

This dictionary comes in very handily when translating letters from my family and friends in Germany.

Cassell's is the best German-English dictionary that I have ever used. It went to Germany with me, and made my trip more enjoyable. It is a must for anyone serious about learning German.

I transcribe and translate a lot of 19th century church records and civil documents as part of my genealogy hobby. Ernest Thode's German - English Genealogy Dictionary is my main resource for everyday use, but when something unusual ( and therefore very interesting ) comes along, I need the added vocabulary found in Cassell's German-English, English-German Dictionary. Other reviews mention this dictionary is out of date, but for my purposes, that is a feature, not a drawback.
The English to German section is helpful if I suspect the meaning of a phrase, but can not read the old German script. By back-translating, I can often decipher the words in question. I also like the list of common abbreviations and the table of conversions for weights and measures in the center of the dictionary. The black page edging makes this section easy to locate and use. I'm glad I bought this dictionary, and recommend it to others.

This is an excellent dictionary for an intermediate to advanced learner of German. I agree with other reviewers that it is out-of-date, so I supplement it with an all-German dictionary. Where I find it particularly helpful is with phrases or Funktionsverbgefüge. Look up a noun, and it seems to have practically all the idiomatic phrases associated with that word. For example: Vorteil has ~ abgewinnen, ~ bedacht sein, ~ ausnützen, ~ bringen...and lots more, all translated with the exact equivalent phrase in English. This would make it similarly indispensible for a German learner of English. I can't recommend this marvellous book enough.