Customer Reviews

Larousse Concise Dictionary: French-English/English-French (French Edition)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have been intensely studying French for almost 3 years now, including about 16 weeks in a language school in France plus hundreds of hours practicing with young French people in my home town. I own quite a number of the Larousse dictionaries in their various sizes.

Even for travel, I find the pocket dictionary to be extremely frustrating, bordering on useless. It has a very small number of words in it, and with the words it covers, there is typically only one sense or explanation given, whereas many French words have many meanings. More often than not, I would waste time with the pocket dictionary and ultimately give up, having learned little or nothing about what I was seeking.

The Concise dictionary, on the other hand, is more similar to the much larger hardback Larousse dictionaries than it is to the pocket. I can find most everything I seek in it, and the various senses of words are generally well explained.

Granted, this dictionary is too large to fit in your pocket and probably too large to fit in a purse, however it will easily fit in a backpack or in a carryon or suitcase or rental car. I use it constantly.

Even though a dictionary is small enough to fit in your pocket, if it won't help you to learn the language than it is useless. That is my opinion of the pocket version; easy to carry but of very limited utility.

If you really want to learn French and if you go to French speaking places for that reason, forget about the pocket version and bring this one, which is a good compromise between something you can easily carry and something that you will actually find useful.

Now I have papa bear, momma bear, and baby bear. The three sizes of Larousse dictionaries. They are all superb. You can't lug the large Larousse around with you everywhere and the baby larousse won't cut it at times on a difficult translation. So, this is right in the middle of that range. There aren't many times when this won't cut it. Recommended.

Though this is a very nice book, I prefer the old version of Cassell's to this one. The Cassell's version had a lot more examples of use in the translated terms.The Cassell's version also seemed a little more "user-friendly" in terms of the layout of the book. I purchased this for my high school daughter and middle school son to use in their French classes. I also highly recommend the 501 verbs book for anyone studying French at those levels. (I made it through 3 years of college French with 501 verbs and the Cassell's books).

This is one of the best dictionaries on the market. The selection of words is great, and the layout is easy to read and easy to carry. I've used this book a lot and will continue to buy Larousse books!

I like using the dictionary because it's completed by words classifications and pronunciations. Also it provides conjugations which are very important in learning French. It also gives information about measurement that is used in economics and maths. So, if you are new learner of French, I suggest to use this dictionary.

I purchased this dictionary because I was studying for an upcoming exam- it was a translation exam and I was allowed to have only one dictionary at my side. This was it ! I passed in no small part due to the ease-of-use and the clarity of the definitions.

The typeface is easy to read and the multiple definitions are clear and easy to understand. I found the translations to be helpful even when facing idioms and proverbs in reading. The number of entries is very good for a dictionary this size- it's certainly not pocket-sized, but it's not a brick, either. It's a perfect student dictionary for levels beginner through intermediate (advanced students may, of course, need something more specialized.)

Highly recommended !

Great IPA for vocal music majors

I bought this product for a Voice Diction class I am taking. It was surprisingly hard to find dictionaries with accurate IPA for as many languages as I needed (German, French, Italian, Hebrew, Russian...etc). Larousse had a great product so I bought three of them and intend on getting more when I need them. If any of you vocal music majors out there need the dictionary for the IPA and as a guide to pronunciation, this is a great product and I highly recommend. Thanks!

bought this for girl-friend and I think the books is okay. didn't see it for my self though. but she likes it. and she finds every word she's looking in it. so I recommend this one :)

This is a very useful book for those who want a quick French/English dictionary. Larousse is one of the best.

As a student of both English and French languages, this seems to be the perfect dictionary for me. If I don't know a word in a language, I take a look at the other and vice-versa.

Comme un étudiant autant d'anglais que de français, ça me semble le dictionnaire parfait, peut-être. Si je ne connais pas un mot dans une langue, je le cherche dans l'autre et vice versa. Voilà!

Paulo, from/du Brazil/Brésil