NTC's Compact Korean and English Dictionary [Paperback]

B.J. Jones (Author), Gene Rhie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 11, 1995 | ISBN-10: 0844283614 | ISBN-13: 978-0844283616 | Edition: 1

Includes 20,000 entries with Korean words in romanized Korean and Korean characters.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Korean

About the Author

McGraw-Hill authors represent the leading experts in their fields and are dedicated to improving the lives, careers, and interests of readers worldwide

Product Details

• Paperback: 394 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (January 11, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0844283614
• ISBN-13: 978-0844283616
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #388,140 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #53 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Korean
  • #69 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > Instruction > Korean
  • #76 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > Korean

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Romanized hangeul: YUCK! Short entries without examples., May 20, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: NTC's Compact Korean and English Dictionary (NTC Language Dictionaries) (Hardcover)

In the process of learning seven languages I've used many dictionaries and this is the worst I've ever seen. This is a real shame because it's the only Korean-English dictionary I've seen directed towards a native English speaker learning Korean. Those directed towards Koreans completely ignore issues a native English speaker might have. The completely romanized format is very frustrating. It's fine for English to Korean, but useless if you want to look up a Korean word. Most students of Korean learn hangeul within the first week of a Korean language course, so learning romanization is just an annoying step backwards. And for those who haven't learned the very simple hangeul, why force them to learn how to romanize a Korean word they might see on a sign or in a menu when that energy would be better spent learning how to look the word up directly in hangeul. The entries themselves are so short, so devoid of examples and consideration of idiomatic meanings to be almost useless. I know this is meant to be a very basic dictionary, but it has been stripped too far. Context must be taken into particular consideration with the Korean language, because of its notoriously case specific nature.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too expensive and ineffective, January 19, 2000

By 

Minerva Rheault - See all my reviews

This review is from: NTC's Compact Korean and English Dictionary (Paperback)

English-Korean is all right, but the Korean-English section is terribly confusing. Since the dictionary uses hangul, why are the Korean words alphabetized according to the romanizations? For a beginning Korean student, learning the hangul alphabetical order is challenge enough. Add a seemingly erratic romanization (there is no one standard system of writing Korean words in Roman letters), and you have a very confused student! For this much money, find a dictionary that is strictly hangul without confusing romanizations.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Romanizing Korean is a bad habit, March 22, 2003

By 

Robertson Thomas (Hapcheon, Gyeongnam, South Korea) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: NTC's Compact Korean and English Dictionary (NTC Language Dictionaries) (Hardcover)

I second Minerva Rheault's motion: Romanizing Korean is not a good idea. However, my objection is somewhat different--any serious student of the Korean language will eventually look up items which are not in this dictionary. The sooner that student learns the Korean alphabet, the better.

Would you serve a drink to an alcoholic?
If not, then don't serve Romanization to a student of the Korean language.