Customer Reviews

Dutch Dictionary: Dutch-English, English-Dutch

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

 

 

Among the Dutch dictionaries available in the U.S., this is one of the most comprehensive and useful that I've found, in spite of its shortcomings. This dictionary is admittedly rather out of date, so modern words and spellings are lacking. The print is also somewhat hard to read, and no pronunciations are provided for Dutch words. Finally, this dictionary is mainly best as an aid for translating from Dutch to English, since the English-Dutch section is limited. Still, it contains numerous examples of idiomatic expressions and word usages often lacking in concise dictionaries. Given its reasonable price, I think this is a useful reference for an English-speaking student of Dutch to own, although he or she will likely wish to complement it with a source for more modern vocabulary and slang.

I'm still looking for a good modern Dutch / English dictionary. This was written just after World War II and hasn't been updated. It's thorough and probably a good dictionary for its time, but hardly relevant now!

Having lived in Holland for six years and now running a small business l have found this book usefull in writing letters and so forth. However l have found an error which leads me to think that there may be more than the one. The book translates `Pissebed` and `Paardenbloem` both as meaning Dandelion. This is incorrect. Pissebed means Woodlouse, Paardenbloem means Dandelion. Woodlouse is further translated as Houtluis which may be so , however l have never heard anyone name a woodlouse anything but a Pissebed.

Not one iota of pronunciation nor usage is given. Definitely not for beginners. I feel lucky I found an excellent dictionary of Dutch-my mother tongue after purchasing this one.

There's nothing exceptionally wrong with the dictionary, it's just not user friendly, and takes time to get used to.
It quite comprehensive, but has some terms missing, especially newer or more colloquial ones.
It's main drawback is that it pushes many terms as subterms of a 'main' word, so you don't always find a word where you expect it to be.
On the other hand it has a rich set of very good examples and pragmatic experssions. This is especially useful with words that are used differently in Dutch (compared to English).
In summary, this is actually quite good a dictionary, you just have to get used to it.

For your information:
For some time the Dutch woodlouse had to share it's name with the dandelion.
The plant, now better known as paardenbloem (horse flower), was used, just as its animal namesake, to increase urination. Similar names can be found in different languages.

English: pissabed
French: pissenlit
Spanish: meacamas
Flemish Dutch: piesbloem

Dandelion root is a registered drug in Canada, sold as a diuretic.

As another reviewer said, it's a bit out of date. Worse, Amazon's claimed publication date (1982) is actually a reprint date. It was first published in 1949 and has not been updated.