Arabic-English Dictionary: The Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic

Rating:
Summary: A friend in need is a friend indeed
Review: I've been working as an English-Arabic translator for three years.Therefore it is very important for me to find the best dictionaries and Hans wehrs is one of the best.It shows you words which even a mother tongue Arabs would not know.It is truly a friend in need.
Note:Once I found a very small size of this dictionary in a puplic library so I wonder if I can find a similar pocket size at ... ?

Rating:
Summary: For the beginner and the expert
Review: I've used many Arabic - English dictionaries and none were ever able to match the quality of the Hans Wehr, which was my first. My searches for other dictionaries were prompted by laziness, I wanted less and not more definitions, which can complicate matetrs when you're just staring to learn a language as complicated as Arabic. Moreover, the dictionary is arranged according to root, so it requires a good understanding of how to derive roots form words - Muhammad, for instance, is under H not M as the root is HMD.Once you have grasped this concept, so target your early lessons to that end you will enjoy the Hans Wehr and use it anytime you want to trasnalte written text from Arabic to English. I stress the 'written' part, as this dictionary is not very useful in conversations and does not intend to be. So if communicating in the Suq of Amman or the bazaar in Damascus is what you want, I would recommend anything but Hans Wehr. If you want to read "Al-AHram" on ther other hand, this is the dictionary for you

Rating:
Summary: An excellent primary resource for Arabic
Review: I've worn out two paperback copies of this dictionary, and I'm very glad to have finally gotten a hardbound copy. It's one of the best dictionaries I've used, though it requires some knowledge of Arabic grammar to get started - the definitions are listed according to the word's three or four letter roots.

Rating:
Summary: An Excelent Dictionary
Review: If you are looking for an Arabic - English Dictionary, this is the one. You have to be somehow proficient in Arabic to find the root of the word, once you have found it, this dictionary will give you a myriad of examples of the specific term.

Rating:
Summary: The Last Word in Arabic-English Dictionaries
Review: Once you have learned the basics of Arabic grammar, this reference will become indispensible. If anything, it may be TOO comprehensive, listing definitions that may only be equivalents to the Arabic entries in the most poetic sense. But don't read Al-Hayat without it!

Rating:
Summary: Great Dictionary
Review: Probably the best available arabic english dictionary to date. I highly recommend it to both new learners of Arabic and to scholars too.

Rating:
Summary: This is simply indispensable...the best!
Review: The Hans Wehr Arabic-English dictionary is simply the best...and totally indispensable. I don't know how you cold get by learning Arabic without it! I studied Arabic for several years, and got more use out of this dictionary than out of any other reference source BY FAR. If you don't believe me, I wish I could show you a picture of my dictionary now -- it's been used so much it's in pieces (obviously, I need to go out and buy a new one!). The most difficult thing (which can get frustrating, but like a puzzle, once you unlock the secret, everything starts clicking into place) is you've got to know the root of a word in order to find it in here. But that's the challenge -- and beauty -- of Arabic, possibly the world's richest, most poetic, amazing language; once you know the root a whole world of rich variations on the basic root meaning (i.e. DRS=study; mudarris=teacher, or one who MAKES you study!) starts to open up. No matter what level of Arabic you're at, you need this dictionary!

Rating:
Summary: THE Essential Arabic Dictionary
Review: The is the definitive Arabic-English dictionary. It is essential for any serious study or translation of Arabic into English. Well printed and constructed. It contains both standard and vernacular words. Organized by root-words, it provides an easy method of finding closely similar concepts and words sharing common roots, an essential thing in a language such as arabic that is so heavily root dependent. If you are a serious student or user of Arabic, you must have this book.

Rating:
Summary: Indispensable
Review: There is only one thing to say about this dictionary. If you're a serious student of Arabic, there is simply no substitute for it. Period.

Rating:
Summary: A Must Have!
Review: This dictionary is well worth the money and I believe it is an essential book for any serious student of Arabic. It is well done and easy to use, but you must have a good foundation in the language to be able to use it effectively.