Customer Reviews

Oxford-Duden German Dictionary: German-English / English-German

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This dictionary is perfect whether learning English or German. The Pages are three-column, allowing for an incredibly large amount of entries. The Headwords being blue will be likeable depending on the person. I personally don't care much, except that usually colored type fades away more quickly than black. This big bad book is almost four inches thick, so it is definitely a desk or shelf item. That being said, the book's bulk makes it a bad idea to shelf it vertically, as the weight of the pages will pull at the upper binding. It is best for this one to lay flat to avoid premature binding separation. This is the most comprehensive German English Dictionary I have seen, definitely worth the price.

I was looking for a recently edited German dictionary that contained the changes since the "Rechtschreibreform". This was one of the few available. In the past I have used the Langenscheidt, Cassells, AMSCO. This is my first Oxford Duden and I am very pleased with it. The print, with the word being defined in blue, makes it attractive and easy to use. It also contains modern, new words now in usage. The only disadvantage is the phonetic pronunciation for the German is missing, it is there for the English words. The dictionary not only has the new spelling of words, it also contains the old spelling.

If there is a word in the German language, this venerable tome has it. It is a constant reference and I find the section on business correspondence especially helpful when I am looking for the corrent way to phrase a request/order just so. My edition, published in 2001, does not have the section on internet-lingo, but that just adds to it's versatility.

If you are taking German at the intermediate/advanced college level, buy this dictionary. Use it as a doorstop when not actively perusing...it's certainly heavy enough! :-)

I recently purchased this dictionary because I am resuming my studies of German. I speak German well, but not as well as I used to, and not as well as I could. So I purchased this dictionary. It is detailed, clear, and easy to use. (It is hefty, so it would probably not do too well on a trip.) The pronouncing CD is a wonder in and of itself. Overall, this volume has given my studies a real jolt.

Excellent English - German dictionary if you use British English. I would not have bought it if it had been advertised on Amazon as featuring British English, not American. The name "Oxford" should have been a clue to me. Too bad....

I bought this book because I needed a full-fledged German-English dictionary with all the trimmings, including a pronunciation guide. When I received this dictionary, my heart sunk. I wanted to like this book -- it was the right price, and it had many features. But in the end, I must give it a negative review. First, the pages are extremely thin. If you're like me and you tend to have sweaty palms, the pages will quickly warp and even dissolve! Second, the pronunciation is incomplete. The dictionary does not give pronunciation for prefixes. For example, I wanted to know how Geograph is pronounced. The dictionary will tell you how to pronounce -graph but what about the prefix Geo? Its pronunciation was nowhere to be found. Is it pronounced Jee-oh like in English or Gay-oh? I had to look elsewhere for the answer. Third, the included software is useless. It requires the disc to be in your optical drive in order for it to run, and it pronounces many words incorrectly. For example, the software pronounces the word Champignon (type of mushroom) with a hard K sound.

Unfortunately, bad/missing pronunciation in a six pound dictionary is a shortcoming that I am unable to overlook.

I am fluent in English (native language) and German and decided I needed a good dictionary. I am a translator and English teacher, and I find this dictionary is the best one I've seen so far for general English. Not as complete as the Oxford dictionary by itself, but probably the most complete you can own, with excellent usage descriptions, grammar explanations, etc. It's also way cheaper in the U.S. than in Europe. Great buy!

This dictionary is fine and complete (not as complete though as the Langenscheidt Encyclopaedic Muret-Sanders, which comes in for volumes!). The only major, major problem I see is the blue ink used for entries, which makes it quite annoying and difficult to read. This might be interesting for children (who usually like books with colors...), but it is totally unnecessary otherwise. This is all the more unfortunate since it seems that the Collins (another fine English-German dictionary) is also using the same damned blue ink. Please, please let's keep it black!

German Dictionary: German-English / English-German is very helpful for my teenage son, he loves it! It's easy to read, perfect while learning the german language in school.

poor quality paper gives tha feel that the pages will easily tear and the dictionary is not built to last. The words are highlighted in blue rather than the usual darker black and this makes it more difficult to sort them out.
The book seems to be more designed for its prettiness than for its functionality.
word spacing could be better.