Customer Reviews

Pocket Spanish Dictionary: Spanish-English, English-Spanish (Spanish Edition)

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

 

 

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 pocket. The Spanish-English in the front and the English-Spanish is in the back. There is also material in the front and the back of the book that provide helps for the non-native speaker of either language. In other words, English speakers get some help in conjugating Spanish, Spanish speakers get helps on spelling English words. There is extra material on how to spell certain English words and irregular verbs. These are just a few of the helps.

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

I've been studying Spanish when I have time. I took two years of classes when I was in school, but that was from 1998-2000. Working with mainly Spanish-speakers for the last 4 years, I've been trying to get fluent in the language. Aside from My Spanish Coach for Nintendo DS (which I highly recommend), my other main tool for now is this dictionary. When I was studying Japanese, I had the Langenscheidt Japanese dictionary, and it was great. This Spanish one is just as good, maybe a little better! There are tons of common and uncommon words, and even some that I wasn't expecting in here (like a certain word to describe when someone's...well, in the mood).

The format is very organized, easy to read, and the words aren't stupidly small for a book of this size. Honestly, I don't know what more to say other than that I love this dictionary and it's helped expand my vocabulary a bit, though that kinda goes without saying. I also appreciated the dozens of verb conjugation charts on the last couple of pages. They didn't have to put those here, but did, and they're fairly commonly used verbs too. Aside from just the definition of the word for the dictionary portion, there are usually different ways of using the word or different sentences to give you an example of when you'd use which form. This is more than just a standard 'this word is this in Spanish' dictionary.

There's nothing bad here- this is a steal at the price and is an excellent companion for anyone studying Spanish, or sometimes needs to know how to say a word when they're out and about, but don't feel like carrying a bigger book around.

I wanted a portable dictionary for studying abroad without compromising on the content. This Pocket Spanish dictionary has the complete lexicons for English and Spanish, as well as idioms, conjugation rules/tables, tenses and other miscellanea in the back. The pages are simple to flip through, and the text is easily discernible via black/blue color, bold, italics, etc. The cover is made of a very sturdy material so the pages won't get crumpled into a big mess if you carry this in your bag. I highly recommend this book!

This little dictionary is awesome! The binding is a plastic making it much more durable than those paper bound versions. Also, the size is great for a traveler. A must buy for the aficionado de español!

The dictionary is protected by a plastic cover which allows one to carry it along without worries of damage to the pages, as are all Langenscheidt dictionaries (I have the French/Chinese ones as well). Definitions are clear and concise. A great dictionary is essential for the Spanish learner.

I'm studying abroad in Costa Rica and bought this right before I left. It makes a great travel dictionary, and it has a protective cover so it's durable. There has been only a couple of words that I haven't found in it.

This 672-page dictionary is very handy, attractive, and readable. The blue headwords are a nice feature. It is a little smaller than a standard/small-size paperback, and with thin pages, it is slimmer than the 672 pages suggest, even with the very nice vinyl cover. It is about .25"/.6 cm slimmer and narrower, and .75"/1.9 cm shorter than a 569-page paperback edition of La Fiesta del Chivo. I ordered mine a few months ago and have been using it regularly. For my needs, I find that too many of the Spanish words I look up are not there -about a third or greater. I need a cargo-pocket edition. The book may be more useful to those looking up English words, but I can't evaluate that. Note that of the pages with entries, 376 are dedicated to English words and 253 to Spanish ones. This may be standard for US editions -or editions sold here; but it's part of my problem. I'm sure a reverse mix would have made this a keeper, and perhaps even a more-balanced mix would have been adequate. I should note that I am quite fluent in Spanish and read about a book a month; so the words I look up are not your everyday ones. This pocket edition would probably be very appropriate for a traveler, or a high school or undergraduate student, though I'd guess not a Spanish major at any level. Unless compactness, and look and feel are your priorites. A final note is that I was able to buy a copy for under $5 from an Amazon seller. If I had paid more, I may have returned it; but for the price, it was still a very good buy that will make a nice gift when I find the appropriate Langenscheid. Saludos (which, by the way, is not in this pocket edition, jumping from salubridad to salvo) y suerte (which is).

WE were under a short time frame for the 2 books - they got them to us in plenty of time and in great condition

Just barely fits in the back pocket of my Levi's 569 jeans with the top sticking out, and worth every cubic centimeter. This compact golden tome has virtually everything one could need. I love that you can look up an unfamiliar word and discover that it is actually a conjugated form of a verb, not a noun or adjective. This is possible because they give participles of irregular verbs their own alphabetic listing. Brilliant! They also show how words are used in the context of idiomatic collocations. For example, most pocket dictionaries simply translate "bueno" as "good", and "primeras" as "first". But the Langenscheidt tells you that they can also mean "without warning" when combined with each other as in "de buenas a primeras". There is no way I'd have figured that one out by looking up the individual words. I own 4 other pocket dictionaries and a big hardbound Harper Collins desk reference, but I hardly ever use them. If you can only own one dictionary, this is the one!

The book came fast, in good shape and saved me from having to drive to the mall. It's the best dictionary of it's type I know of. It lists every word I've ever needed to speak spanish It's little and very convenient to use because the words are in blue and the translations in black. I've used it for 7 years for myself to speak w/ my latino gardner and now I've bought the second copy for him to use to learn english better.