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Summary: A Russian-English Dictionary That Is Actually Definitive!
Review: Other dictionaries have given me such a hard time in the past--There are so many small words (as, of, at, etc.) that play a very important role in communication, but do not translate directly from English to Russian. Also, sometimes you can't be sure if when you look up a word (especially a word with more than one meaning) whether the translation you find means what you want it to mean.This Dictionary, because it is definitive, tells you each definition of the words you look up, not unlike your classic Webster's dictionary. I would recommend this dictionary to anyone who is interested in understanding (and being understood in) Russian or English.
Rating: 
Summary: A student of Russian
Review: Overall, I found this to be the best Russian-English dictionary that I have used to date. However, I think its worth a note that it does not fare well with regular use. I used mine as a reference for my russian courses for less than one year and the binding split in two. Now all of the pages are falling out, which I find a bit frustrating. In my opinion, reference books should be durable, as they are meant to be used regularly, and this dictionary just didn't hold up. Given the price, I was fairly disappointed with the quality.
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Summary: If you are studying Russian, you need this dictionary
Review: The Katzner dictionary is most helpful for students who want to know the difference between different Russian words which correspond to one English word. Associated with each Russian translation is a brief English explanation of the meaning. This helps avoid misusing a word which is a proper translation for one meaning of a word, but not for another. Look at any entry of an English preposition or common verb and there are often ten or more corresponding Russian words whose differences are carefully explained. Many entries in both the Russian-English and English-Russian sections of the dictionary contain Russian phrases or sentences which are fully accented to aid the beginner or intermediate student to learn proper pronunciation. You can learn more about the dictionary at the wordfind site and even see a sample page there. Even if you are not just beginning your study of Russian, you will find this book to be well-organized and carefully constructed to show iregular forms of verbs and nouns. One of the more interesting sections of the dictionary is its Glossary of Proper Nouns which includes the Russian names of countries, U.S. states, Canadian provinces and cities and geographical features of the world as well as a list of famous names.
Rating:
Summary: so-so
Review: This dictionary doesn't have pronunciation transcription, for example in any other dictionaries, if you look word DEBT, you can see the transcription how to pronounce it: [det] . When you know how to pronounce, then you can remember this word (add to your vocabulary).
Also even though it says that this dictionary based on American English, I looked if I can find some very simple words, and I couldn't find many words. For example look Russian word 'stranniy', you get translation 'strange', 'odd'. But not 'weird', why? Americans are using 'weird' as much as 'strange'.
Rating:
Summary: no pronunciation guide
Review: This dictionary is very comprehensive but it has no guide whatsoever to pronunciation. It utilizes the IPA after each English entry without any explanation of the IPA symbols and their sounds. There is nothing at all on the Russian side. This may be a great dictionary for those who already speak Russian but it is unhelpful for those of us just starting out. I was very disappointed with it and am now back to using my Collins Gem Russian dictionary which has little vocab but a pronunciation guide at least.
Rating:
Summary: no pronunciation guide
Review: This dictionary is very comprehensive but it has no guide whatsoever to pronunciation. It utilizes the IPA after each English entry without any explanation of the IPA symbols and their sounds. There is nothing at all on the Russian side. This may be a great dictionary for those who already speak Russian but it is unhelpful for those of us just starting out. I was very disappointed with it and am now back to using my Collins Gem Russian dictionary which has little vocab but a pronunciation guide at least.
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Summary: Russian teacher's review
Review: This is a marvelous dictionary!!!! I teach Russian to High School graduates and I have investigated many different dictionaries to find the best. Kenneth Katzner's dictionary is head and shoulders above any other dictionary I have seen. The entries are not as vast as, say, the Oxford Russian-English, but it is very user-friendly and the author does a very good job of making exceptions and irregularities very clear. He also makes particular effort to differentiate between homonyms (something that other dictionaries frequently lack). The binding is a little fragile and requires some TLC (especially at first. I recommend storing the dictionary open on a table when not in use to train the binding to stay open. Never push hard to keep it open to the page you need; it can break). Another review complains that this dictionary lacks a pronunciation guide. He clearly has not understood that Russian pronunciation is absolutely consistent almost without exception. The alphabet is phonetic and there are no pronunciation dilemmas as in English, e.g. though, through, rough. The student is much better off learning the rules and not relying on any extraneous pronunciation guide. This is not a good translator's dictionary because it is incomplete. But for the student, even into the fifth or sixth year, this dictionary is not only a reference, but an outstanding learning tool. I recommend it to any student of Russian. You won't find better!
Rating:
Summary: Russian teacher's review
Review: This is a marvelous dictionary!!!! I teach Russian to High School graduates and I have investigated many different dictionaries to find the best. Kenneth Katzner's dictionary is head and shoulders above any other dictionary I have seen. The entries are not as vast as, say, the Oxford Russian-English, but it is very user-friendly and the author does a very good job of making exceptions and irregularities very clear. He also makes particular effort to differentiate between homonyms (something that other dictionaries frequently lack). The binding is a little fragile and requires some TLC (especially at first. I recommend storing the dictionary open on a table when not in use to train the binding to stay open. Never push hard to keep it open to the page you need; it can break). Another review complains that this dictionary lacks a pronunciation guide. He clearly has not understood that Russian pronunciation is absolutely consistent almost without exception. The alphabet is phonetic and there are no pronunciation dilemmas as in English, e.g. though, through, rough. The student is much better off learning the rules and not relying on any extraneous pronunciation guide. This is not a good translator's dictionary because it is incomplete. But for the student, even into the fifth or sixth year, this dictionary is not only a reference, but an outstanding learning tool. I recommend it to any student of Russian. You won't find better!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!!!
Review: This is a very good product. Before ordering it I had several doubts - but they all vanished once I laid my hands on this must-have Russian Language resource.
The writing is clear, the translation is as specific as it gets. Irregular declensions and conjugations are given as well. What a product!
BTW - don't think that this is a pocket dictionary - it is rather large and would function better on the shelf.
I recommend this book without hesitation.
Rating:
Summary: A good dictionary with a poor binding
Review: This is an excellent dictionary, but it has a very fragile binding that is not suitable for a tome like this. What was Wiley thinking about when the selected the materials for this volume? The binding of my copy split in half after less than two years of usage and pages started falling out before that time. For a product that costs this much, I expect somthing that can actually be used for a long time. I can't bring myself to purchase a replacement volume, but instead will purchase an Oxford hardback.
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