Customer Reviews

Spanish Idioms (Barrons)

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

 

 

This book is THE BOOK to consult when it comes to Spanish idioms. It is the best among all others. The book is very well organized; alphabetically, guide words appear at the top of the page and for each word, there is an English translation and after that appear idioms that contain that word. There is an English translation for each idiom, and each idiom is used in a Spanish sentence, which is also then translated in English. At the end there is a list of common English idioms, with a Spanish equivalent and the page where it is found. It is a steal!

This is a very good reference book and will serve just about anyone in an academic setting. The downside of this guide is that it tends to shy away from vulgar idiomatic expressions, so don't look to this guide to help you through your day to day conversations overseas...

I can't say much for the content of the book but it is well-made. I haven't actually used it much, but I hope it will be useful.

Not a bad book for the price and size (small, makes it easy to carry around & consult on the fly). But .. the spanish words & phrases are in small red typeface and if the lighting is not perfect, nearly impossible to read. English is in black. Bad choice, in my opinion.

It lists over 2000 idioms, but many of these are not really widely used, and examples given are often less than useless. For example: "hacer una pregunta = to ask a question. Example: Hizo una pregunta - he asked a queston". Duh! Besides, that is not idiomatic, it is a use of hacer, like hacer frio, hacer viento etc.

For intermediate to advanced learners who want to start memorizing spanish expressions as they are used today on the streets, I prefer the The Red-Hot Book of Spanish Slang: 5,000 Expressions to Spice Up Your Spainsh which is MUCH easier to read & locate idioms from both spanish-english and english-spanish. Also its choice of idioms are more relevant to everyday speech. There is no 'hacer pregunta' and if you look up hacer you find a list of some really cool expressions not in the Barron's book. Did you know 'hacer zapping' = to channel surf?

I guess if you need a small book you can put in a purse or pocket and look up idiomatic expressions on the fly (in good lighting & don't forget your reading glasses) then this one could work. My suggestion for improvement, apart from MAKE THE FONT LARGER & get rid of that RED! - would be to cull out the lesser used idioms and make the englsh-spanish section larger and easier to navigate by keyword.

What I'd really like to see in a book this size is about 500 of the TOP most-used-in-everyday-speech idioms both in english & spanish, easily searchable from both directions.

I don't really recommend this book for purchase except perhaps as a portable reference as mentioned above.