Rating: 
Summary: The Best Spanish Dictionary Ever
Review: I'm studying for my doctorate in Spanish Literature so by this one can note that I've been using and going through a slew of Spanish dictionaries for many, many years. This dictionary is the best one I've ever used for many reasons.For one, I'm referring to the 'hardcover' edition. It's so wonderful to be able to open the book to a specific page, and have the book lay down flat without my having to keep one hand opening the dictionary and one hand opening my book. This is a small and frivolous detail, but when having to read dialectal Spanish from the Caribbean or Old Spanish, one must constantly refer to the dictionary. Having a dictionary that lies flat when opened is a tremendous help. Secondly, it's indispensable if you are reading literature from other Spanish speaking countries apart from Mexico and Spain. I've found Cubanismos that I've never found in other dictionaries -- this saves valuable time from having second rate dictionaries and having to look for these obscure words on the internet. In the middle of the dictionary is a comprehensive grammar and communication guide in Spanish and English. Everything from a clear explanation of key grammar points to standard models for everyday correspondence, resumes, invitations and email. It's an investment, it's expensive, but it's well worth the price. Concerning the comment of a reviewer never having heard the /ll/ pronounced as /li/ as in "¿Cómo te 'liamas'?", this pronunciation can be heard among many speakers of Argentina, I've heard it myself from an older Argentine woman who taught this pronunciation to the students she instructed in Spanish. This serves as additional proof of how thorough and complete this splendid tome is.
Rating:
Summary: The best money can buy
Review: I've compared all other unabridged Spanish/English dictionaries and found Harper Collins superior. It contains all of the following: extensive definitons; contextual references for each meaning; linguistic variations and examples between verbs for fine shades of meaning; excellent coverage of Spanish as found in North America, S. America, Central America; Language in Use section, unique among all, with copious examples; and excellent idiomatic coverage of real-life usage. Naturally, this dictionary is limited in some ways. One will not find "very slang" usage listed in general; nor will one find much coverage of very "regional" idioms. But this is normal; most dictionaries only list the most common idioms or phrases used. I am a fluent Spanish speaker and also possess an M.A. in Spanish and find this work to be the most complete on the market. Add to that the fact that this dictionary is updated every 2 years. Most are revised/expaned every 4-6. So...if you are looking for the best money can buy, ignore the others. This is the best in coverage and features that the market offers.
Rating:
Summary: Top Notch Dictionary
Review: If you don't mind the British English slant, this is an excellent dictionary (and FAR superior to its abridged cousins). I do prefer the Simon and Schuster's for more technical and precise translation; but this is nevertheless an excellent dictionary which will not dissapoint you.
Rating:
Summary: Top Notch Dictionary
Review: If you don't mind the British English slant, this is an excellent dictionary (and FAR superior to its abridged cousins). I do prefer the Simon and Schuster's for more technical and precise translation; but this is nevertheless an excellent dictionary which will not dissapoint you.
Rating:
Summary: Simply the best among the best
Review: My first Collins was copyrighted in 1971. Over the years I have used all of the other excellent bilingual dictionaries (Larousse, Oxford, Simon & Schuster) and even the lesser ones, but Collins, then HarperCollins, was always the best. I agree with all the previous reviewers. After more than 30 years using dictionaries, I can say that HarperCollins is still the best.
Rating:
Summary: The Best
Review: This 5th Edition beats the Oxford Spanish Dictionary. It is more comprehensive and polished. Collins has gone in the right direction with an expansion of coverage of science, technology, and business terms. But, there is still tremendous room for improvement in a dictionary that is supposed to be unabridged.
Rating:
Summary: PORTABLE, WELL-ORGANIZED, AND NICELY EDITED
Review: This edition of "HarperCollins Spanish Dictionary" will be treasured by anyone who understands the meaning of quality and value. The book is well-edited, well-organized, ultra-portable, and inexpensive.
With its generous translations, which spanned through several thousands of headwords, there is nothing which should be included in it that was excluded. From idioms to phrases; acronyms to slangs; every entry was accurately translated. As well, there is comprehensive analyses of all the Spanish irregular verbs, which it handled.
The give-away price of this dictionary means that it is affordable to anybody who needs it. It is a priceless companion: an accurate gem, which I would recommend for both students and travellers.
Rating:
Summary: PORTABLE, WELL-ORGANIZED, AND NICELY EDITED
Review: This edition of "HarperCollins Spanish Dictionary" will be treasured by anyone who understands the meaning of quality and value. The book is well-edited, well-organized, ultra-portable, and inexpensive.
With its generous translations, which spanned through several thousands of headwords, there is nothing which should be included in it that was excluded. From idioms to phrases; acronyms to slangs; every entry was accurately translated. As well, there is comprehensive analyses of all the Spanish irregular verbs, which it handled.
The give-away price of this dictionary means that it is affordable to anybody who needs it. It is a priceless companion: an accurate gem, which I would recommend for both students and travellers.
Rating:
Summary: Head and shoulders above the rest.
Review: This is an excellent dictionary. I could see just by glancing at it that it was a far better product than all the others, but when I actually sat down with it and took it for a spin I was amazed. It includes such colloquialisms as heebie-jeebies, traipse, snoop, zit, and nosh. It includes such technical terms as theodolite (which the MS Word dictionary does not recognize), sprocket, and pixel. All the curse words and vulgarities I've ever heard are there, plus some additional ones I've never heard. And they have a special three-dot system whereby you can tell just how bad the word is considered by native speakers. In the center of the volume is a very useful section on grammar and usage which has an abundance of the sort of examples you need when you're grappling with a new word. While the coverage of Latin American Spanish is very good, there are still discrepancies and omissions that seem to stem from an Old World point of view. The letter(s) ll is said to be pronounced like the lli in million or like j in Latin America. But in over a quarter century of travel in Central and South America, as well as in conversations with Spanish speakers in the US, I have never yet heard anyone say "Como te liamas?" instead of "Como te yamas?" Should you be planning a climb in the Andes, you can find the words for cairn and crampon, but you'll have to look elsewhere for carabiner and gabion (neither of which the MS dictionary recognizes). Considering all the Mexicans working in the US construction industry, you'd think the editors would include words for a wooden stud or 2-by-4, but they don't. A large percentage of these guest craftsmen specialize in concrete work, but Harper Collins doesn't have a listing for rebar. And whether you're using a carpentry tool or a networking device, you won't find the Spanish word for router. Going for a hike in the desert of northern Mexico? Ask a doctor before you go what the word for antivenin is, because though it seems like a pretty important word, especially to someone who's just been bit by a serpiente de cascabel, it's not in this book. It may sound like I'm finding fault with Harper Collins, but I'm not. I sincerely admire this dictionary and these are instances in which it could be made even better. An email address on the back cover could get these and other useful notes to the editors pronto.
Rating: 
Summary: Not as good as some reviewers might have you think!
Review: This is an okay dictionary. Perhaps the reviewer "Ritter" may have had a different edition or the hardcover, because I just looked at the paperback along with about twenty others and found it definitely wanting. As a former interpreter of three languages other than Spanish, and now a student of Spanish and French...I have always gauged my dictionaries almost exclusively on cuss words. My logic has been that if they include words that anyone being polite will never use, then they will have more of what one will use on an everyday basis. While another reviewer noted the swear words (including those he had not even thought of....) I only saw these from Spanish to English here and not vice versa. Think of the worst English and it probably is not here. In fact it was only in one of about twenty works I looked at tonight in the bookstore and I settled on the "Larouse, Concise dictionary," isbn 2-03-542017-2 9 paperback or (84-8016-129-9), and this is the one I bought instead. I don't know how often I use the word "zit" or crampon (which is a cognate anyway), in English and am willing to bet that though I do have some class, I would be more likely to use the cusswords than these. However, most of the dictionaries I looked at simply did not have these and even what appeared to be a "contemporary' usage dico still left much to desire. Most of them (the dictionaries) cover the necessities and I've always liked the Langenscheidt books, though they are not all thorough-they hold up great, and are more thorough per word than this...still, I liked the fact that the Larouse went from English to Spanish, since my native tongue is English. I wouldn't know where to look going the other way around. Take the reviews with a grain of salt and think of your ultimate purpose, then get one that meets that and has thorough explanations and not simply one word traslations for anthing other than cognates or very simple.
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