Collins Gem Portuguese Dictionary [Hardcover]

HarperCollins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1994 | Series: Collins Gem

This dictionary has been expanded and updated to provide increased contemporary coverage of Portuguese. Over 40,000 references and 70,000 translations, including business and computing terms, ensure wide-ranging, practical coverage of Portuguese and English. The emphasis of this dictionary is contemporary usage of Portuguese and the book includes thousands of constructions and idioms and vocabulary to help the reader understand newspapers, magazines and literature in Brazilian and Peninsular Portuguese. Common abbreviations and acronyms are explained and translated and pronunciation is given in the International Phonetic Alphabet.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Portugese --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Publisher

More than 39,000 entries and 70,000 translations.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 623 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers; 2nd Revised edition (January 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0004587138
• ISBN-13: 978-0004587134
• Product Dimensions: 4.4 x 3.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,305,273 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #11 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Polyglot
  • #26 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Portuguese
  • #33 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Reference > Foreign Languages > Instruction > Portuguese

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential and suprisingly comprehensive., March 23, 2001

By 

Christopher Wanko "-C" (Nutley, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Collins Gem Portuguese Dictionary English-Portuguese, Portuguese-English (Paperback)

Translation dictionaries usually have to compromise between size and completeness. The GEM series from Collins is particularly good at maximizing information content in small spaces, and this dictionary is no exception.

It has English, Continental Portuguese, and Brazilian Portuguese pronounciation guides in the front. I've seen other guides; these are effective and accurate.

The word lists are suprising; many words are included and omissions (due to size constraints) are very infrequent. Particularly important or useful words are set off with bolding and a typeface change, a helpful touch.

The back has conjugation tables, quick references to phrases and category lists (months, days, numbers, etc.) It's small enough to keep in a jacket pocket, but you'll wear it out from constant use.

Tip: be on the lookout for Palm Pilot versions of Collins Gems. They have one for Spanish-English, and it's nearly as good as the actual book.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The only English<->Portuguese dictionary worth owning, March 22, 2001

By 

Christopher Wanko "-C" (Nutley, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Collins Gem Portuguese Dictionary English-Portuguese, Portuguese-English (Paperback)

Collins makes great pocket dictionaries. They have a handheld version of their Spanish Pocket Gem that sets the bar for handheld dictionaries, so buying the Portuguese Pocket Gem (paperback) was a no-brainer.

It lists colloquialism, slang, pejoratives, sets important words off from others with bolding, has verb tables in the back, has a pronounciation guide for both Continental and Brazilian Portuguese as well as English (so Portuguese speakers can find the book useful as well), and so much more.

The translations and definitions are very accurate and extremely helpful, and the pronounciation of each word is essential to students of either language.

An exemplary representative of the Gem dictionary series.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good enough for a pocket dictionary, December 1, 2002

By 

Michael Hopkins (England, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Collins Gem Portuguese Dictionary English-Portuguese, Portuguese-English (Paperback)

In general Collins English-Portuguese Portuguese-English dictionaries are quite good. The larger sizes cater better for both European and Brazilian variants. In this they are comparable to Nitti and Ferreira's book on Portuguese verbs and Manuela Cook's Portuguese course, in particular the new one, 2002, Hodder & Stoughton Teach Yourself series. They form a trio I would strongly recommend to anyone who wants to learn a Portuguese that can be used in Portugal, Brazil, some African countries, or anywhere else in the world where Portuguese is spoken.