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Pons: Basisworterbuch Deutsch Als Fremdsprache

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The words chosen to be included in this German-German dictionary are from the Zertifikat-Deutsch list. They are the words we would expect our students to know by the time they are in the upper-level classes, whether at the high school level (or, I suppose) the university level. One of many attractive features in this book is the specific information given for each word: verbs have the entire form in all the tenses clearly written out, nouns have the spellings of the plurals as well as the various endings needed for the cases, adjectives have the spellings for the comparative and the superlative. Besides the amusing drawings to illustrate some vocabulary, idiomatic uses of verb-preposition combinations are elaborated upon. Stress-marks are used on all words to assist in the pronunciation of the vocabulary. The layout is clean and unclutterd, with one column on each page, the key words in green and the whiteness of the paper lends an overall crispness to the appearance. Unusual additions to a dictionary are found at the back of the book where a map of German-speaking countries illustrate where the various dialects are spoken, as well as letter-writing forms, the new spelling rules, and the various farewells found in the German-speaking areas. The light-hearted approach of this edition makes it a worthy gift for that graduating senior or that favorite teacher.

I have taken 2 years worth of German in college and 3 in high school--I consider myself an intermediate reader. I may be moving over there next summer, so I bought this dictionary to help build my vocabulary. And it's great for that but some of the entries are too advanced for me. I've found it's best to consult it before looking a word up in a German-English dictionary, but I often have to do both. This dictionary would be perfect for advanced students and for people who are seriously dedicated to learning the language.