Customer Reviews

Langenscheidt's Pocket Dictionary German: German-English/English-German (Langenscheidt's Pocket Dictionaries)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Although the title is "Pocket Dictionary," this reference actually fills a niche between a bookshelf-sized dictionary and the pocket-sized dictionaries with the tiny print that tourists buy to take on their travels to Europe. At 6-1/8 inches wide x 4 inches tall by 1 inch thick and 11.8 ounces weight, this volume is a bit large and heavy for a man's shirt pocket. However, it has definite advantages of its own. The type is decent sized, the font is crisp and clean, and the paper is bright white, so middle aged folks like myself can read it without a magnifying glass. Blue color coding helps individual words being defined stand out from the text so you can locate your word quickly. The blue coding is also used to make a functional thumb index. The vinyl cover and sewn binding make for good durability. This edition, copyright 2000, is completely revised and features the new German spelling. The listings include not just words, but also many important German and English proper names and abbreviation. In all, the dictionary contains "55,000 references." I am not sure what they mean by "references" in this context, but suffice it to say, there are quite a few words here, not just the common tourist words. At the end of the dictionary there are 24 pages of tables that provide information ranging from German weights and measures to the Cantons of Switzerland to examples of German declension and conjugation.

The verbs conjugations are listed in the dictionary like any other word. I don't know if all are listed but an effort was made to put them in regular dictionary for us people that are to dumb to know that they are verbs at first glance. This is the only dictionary, I have seen, of its size to do this.

Even the larger Langenscheidt's don't have this feature.

I am a fan of the Langenscheidt pocket dictionaries. They are amazingly informative for such a small format. The symbols, definitions, pronunciation, and forms of the words are just enough to help you understand the meaning of the word you are looking up while still keeping the book in a size you really can put in a (big) pocket. The German-English in the front and the English-German is in the back.

There are extra helps with proper names, irregular verbs, abbreviations, and guides to pronunciation in both languages. Reading them before you start using the dictionary will pay dividends in helping you get full value from it. If for nothing else you will know what is there and what is available when specific question presents itself.

The vinyl covers are great and very durable and the binding stands up to years of use. I can't praise this series of dictionaries enough.

reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

The book has a lot of vocab words and I found it very helpful in my college German class. It's pretty small, but still contains a lot of information. Very useful.

I was reading some books (Vonshtain's work in particular) and was motivated to learn other languages; Hebrew then German, etc. This dictionary proved to be very helpful just like I expected it to be. No remorse feelings-great buy!

This dictionary, while not containing the greatest number of words, is very portable. It helped me out in Germany. It contains a good set of words, and has a helpful list of abrivations. I really like the plastic cover, which makes this thing almost indestructible. It's not pocketable, but goes great in a backpack or camera bag. It might be a bit out of date by now, with new spelling rules and the Euro, but it's still a great resource. I would recommend it for students and travelers.

Despite its surprising heft, this dictionary is worth taking abroad. I am continually surprised at how much this little volume has to offer. I usually look in this dictionary first and then look to a larger desk sized dictionary if I can't find what I'm looking for--which is rare.

In fact, I bought this dictionary for a year long intensive German reading course as a supplement to my desk dictionaries and I actually prefer this pocket dictionary to the mid-sized hardback desk dictionary put out by Harper Collins.

Dual column layout means this dictionary packs in twice the number of definitions than one would expect--over 55,000 in fact. Color-coded and entries with italicized grammatical information and decently sized font makes it easy on the eyes, which is a must for my middle aged eyes.

Vinyl cover and good quality, sturdy paper makes it both durable and amenable to travel. The inside cover gives just enough room to write notes. The useful Appendix contains conjugation and declension examples, a list of irregular verbs with past tense & past participles, currency, weights & measures tables with conversion charts, along with lists of commonly used abbreviations, Swiss cantons, and the list goes on. In sum, this is a must have portable dictionary. Its modest price will pay for itself a thousand times over.

As many people have pointed out, the size of this dictionary will not fit easily in most pockets. If you're wearing cargo pants, it will fit quite comfortably, but other than that, chances are it's too big.

Carrying on, it's an excellent dictionary. Thousands and thousands of words are easily found and translated. The use of a bold blue for words and the solid white paper (meaning color doesn't leak through, which can be quite confusing when you see too MUCH) is very convenient. For extensions and different versions, they do a squiggly then bold, making it easier still to find exactly what you're looking for. Chances are, if it's a common word, it's there. You can translate from German to English, or from English to German, which is a great advantage and is both helpful and useful.

However, German is a language that loves to combine words. This is for simpler, more basic needs. Long, complex words need to be broken down, which means that it can take a very long time to translate. This is not a flaw regarding the dictionary (because there are countless possibilities, after all), but a comment. For long combo words, you just have to find the smaller words hidden in the line-long phrase.

All in all, this dictionary is incredibly useful. If you're looking for a practical, easy-to-use German-English/English-German dictionary, you're looking at the right book. Despite the little things that make the rating slightly lower (let's be fair, after all), this IS the best dictionary to buy. It's small, compact, easy to use, and wonderful!

Buy this now.

We found this book in its original hardbook edition while in Berlin last year. It was in the apartment we rented. We were thrilled to find it in a compact and flexible edition. All words are in there--makes it easier to understand others; easier to learn some of the langugage. Plenty of every-day words makes it very handy.

A fabulous dictionary, which includes a lot of idiomatic phrases with the formal definitions.