Customer Reviews

The Pocket Oxford Greek Dictionary: Greek-English English-Greek

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

 

 

This dictionary is fantastic. The little things are what matter in selecting a translation dictionary: the pages are white and the text is black (making it very easy to read); Each word is not only defined but put into sentences that are also translated. It has 65,000 words, more than most of the other dictionaries, it is paperback and its size lends to easy usage.

I recommend this dictionary over the others available. You won't be disappointed.

I bought this dictionary last year to replace a Collins version now some 20 years old. Although a little large for the actual pocket, it is certainly small and light enough to take with you while traveling. An advantage of the medium size is that the type is not minuscule and you need not squint. After almost one year I have encountered only a handful of words not in the dictionary (mostly technical terms). The translations seem to be accurate, with the commonest synonyms listed first, the spellings are modern, demotic Greek (not katharevousa like my old Collins), the gender of nouns is given, and there is a useful 9-page table of tenses of common verbs at the back (present, aorist active, aorist passive, past particple), which is enough for me not to have to carry around a verbs book as well. I have found no inconsistencies so far in cross-checking the English-Greek against the Greek-English translations. Definitely recommended.

I love this dictionary! It is small enough to fit in my purse, and I find myself referring to it all the time. It includes verb declension charts in the back and next to the Greek words lists other common phrases you might be searching for (which is very very useful)! The Greek student will probably eventually want to get a second larger dictionary for keeping at home because this does not have everything in it. However it does contain enough that I have made it through two years of university level Greek courses and am starting on my third with this as my only dictionary. A wonderful asset for anyone learning the Greek language!

To entitle this dictionary "Greek-English English-Greek" is quite misleading, insofar as the English to Greek part at the end of the book is only about 60 pages long, versus 355 pages for the Greek to English part. Don't buy this dictionary if you need help in translating from English to Greek, it is quite useless. The Greek to English part, however, is satisfactory.

I have been taking modern Greek classes for a year and a half and using on this dictionary to supplement my textbooks. [Note to Word Bird and others: this is not a Greek phrase book for tourists.] I have found it useful and relatively comprehensive, and most of my complaints are minor.
I find the print size a little too small for my middle-aged eyes. Also, the size and particular font used are not the clearest for distinguishing certain letters. E.g., the tails on the sigmas are very short, so they often look like omicrons.
I rely on it mostly for writing, both compositions for class and letters to Greek relatives, so I more often am using the English-to-Greek section. It sometimes is difficult to find Greek translations of English-language idioms. Also, as to be expected, the dictionary is stronger on providing translations of idioms used by British speakers than it is with respect to American idioms.
Finally and most importantly, according to my native Greek professor who reads my writing, some of the Greek vocabulary provided by the dictionary, in both single words and idioms, is out-of-date and/or relatively stuff in its formality. Perhaps the out-of-date words are inevitable leftovers from previous editions. And perhaps the stuffiness comes from it being compiled by a British academic, though this speculation might merely be a product of my American prejudices. In any case, until a younger scholar produces a new Greek-English, English-Greek volume, or until I read something really good about any of the other volumes, this will have to do.

This is a decent, solid dictionary. It has some typos, as in the very first page, but it has the words I need and the greek font it mostly clear. It was a good price, and so I recomend it, although I know better are out there!

There are several definitions to all greek words and so it is extremely difficult to include them all in one book, but Oxford has done it.
I hope everyone finds this as helpful as I have

There are not a lot of choices on the market for Modern Greek dictionaries. This is hands-down the best small-size dictionary you can buy. However, it certainly will not fit into any of my pockets, the format is really too large to be called a pocket dictionary.

I studied and traveled in Greece for a semester and I found this book pretty useful. It was big enough that I didn't carry it everywhere but I used it when completing language assignments. I'm not sure "pocket" is an appropriate descriptor for the book but I knew the size when I got it. It was recommended by my Greek teacher. I found it thorough and helpful. I don't recall running into any words that I couldn't find. Overall, I'd rate it as easy to use and good overall. The only thing that'd make it better would be a slightly more compact size.

The word pocket implies a very compact book capable of being carried around. It's too large for that but it is a very valuable reference which translates English to Greek and Greek to English. For someone like myself (who spoke Greek over 50 years ago) this turns out to be very useful and has been used (both ways) since I received it. My wife has an identical dictionary except hers is Italian - English. She uses hers regularly and has done so for years.