Customer Reviews

Collins Gem Spanish Dictionary, 4th Edition

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3 star:		(1)
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I am a Spanish native speaker. I have used this dictionary for about 10 years when I travel. It has a lot of expressions besides the definitions.

Of course this doesn't substitute a big one for your desk (like Oxford's), but it is a very good pocket-size one.

I believe a good pocket dictionary needs to be an aid in conversation, a powerhouse of common words most likely encounter at the 'street level' to include a good mix of verbs, nouns, adjectives and a reliable, durable binding. This Collin's Gem is a fantastic resource providing a GIANT `useful' vocabulary in a durable 'itsy-bitsy' volume. This is a GREAT choice for a pocket dictionary!

I traveled with two dictionaries for an over two years stay in the very challenging environments of Panama and Costa Rica. Only my 'Pocket Gem' survived (and continued to serve me years after). I was so impressed that I purchased two others. The cover is plastic; the binding is glued but amazingly durable under many conditions. The paper withstands heavy use and the print, albeit small, is clear and fully saturated. It is palm sized and will actually fit in your pocket which is perfect for remaining discrete where you don't want to look too lost or too much like a tourist.

I found that I could locate 90%+ of the words I needed. The words I couldn't locate where for more obscure or outdated modes of speaking; exotic words better suited for a desk reference. The real challenge is differing dialects by region, yet I was able to communicate very well 'straight out of the book' using the over 70,000 vocabulary translations. This is a good choice for a pocket Spanish dictionary: good vocabulary, construction and size.

NOTE: My volume only cost 1.95 British Pounds. $5-$10 is fair.

I bought this dictionary because I love the French one, but I was disappointed with this one. It has most of the words I look up but in the english to spanish section it doesn't tell you the gender of the word, so you have to look it up in the spanish section. I assume that the author expected the user to know, or be able to figure out the gender, but speaking more french than spanish, I am never sure. Otherwise, a nice little dictionary that nearly replaces a bigger one.