Webster's New World Spanish Dictionary: Spanish/English English/Spanish

Rating:
Summary: The most useful Spanish reference book I own
Review: This is by far the best Spanish-English dictionary I have ever used. It is the only dictionary I brought with me for my semester in Spain - I live with a Spanish family, and all my classes and homework are in Spanish! I previously owned an American Heritage Spanish/English dictionary, but I hated it so much that I went out and on the recommendation of a friend, spent [$] on Webster's New World pocket edition Spanish/English dictionary, which is slightly different than the one listed here (mine has an orange cover, only 90,000 words, only 611 pages, and is from 1991). I have never regretted it. The book has an easy to read font, relatively small size and lightweight, and includes nearly every word I have looked up, including (surprisingly) some random, very specific art terms.

Each entry has the word in bold, the pronunciation in English, the part of speech for each definition, the numerous definitions, phrases to clarify each use, phrases that include the word (under the entry for "house," you can find the words for "house plant"), and colloquial phrases. There is a prounonciation guide at the beginning of the book, which when reviewed should provide adequate direction for any beginning Spanish speaker. The phrases the dictionary provides are actually used by native Spanish speakers, and are not archaic ridiculous sentences that no one uses. If the phrase is out of date, it says so. Slang words and swears ("tacos") are also included, though like some other words, are sometimes not on both sides of the dictionary. For example, if you look up the word "idiot," it provides "idiota" y "tonto." However, the Spanish definition of the English word does include the also commonly used "gilípollas," which also means idiot. "Gilípollas" is defined on the Spanish side of the dictionary. I have found this to be true for some other words as well. This is a minor fault, especially considering it is the pocket edition.

I have never felt as though I compromised my Spanish by buying only the pocket edition. On the contrary, I think if I had bought the "college edition," I would have to search through words I would never use just to find the words I want, not to mention the college edition is too big to carry anywhere! I have also been known to sit down for an hour and literally read my dictionary because the phrases it provides are so useful. My fellow exchange students are all jealous of my dictionary; mine is the one we rely on when writing critiques of Spanish literature, it provides the most accurate translations in my vocab class, in grammer class I am rarely chastised for literally translating english to spanish because the phrases provided are so accurate. Webster's New World Spanish Dictionary Pocket Edition will always be a part of my Spanish library. I would highly suggest it to anyone who wants to complement and improve their own Spanish.

Note: This dictionary was not quite as useful in Nicaragua as it was in Spain, but then again, my spanish had already improved so much that maybe I just didn't need it as much! (June 2003)

Rating:
Summary: i have to agree
Review: This is the best Spanish language dictionary I've come across thus far. I've had my copy since high school. It's almost eight years-old and well-used. I usually find what I'm looking for in this dictionary and sometimes it's just fun to read entires randomly, there's so much to learn. But like another reviewer, I must complain about the physical condition - the binding is not that great. I've had to tape mine back together, but alas - it has come undone again. Nevertheless, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Webster's New World Spanish Dictionary as an essential resource. If this is only the concise edition, I'd love to get my hands on an unabridged version! But hopefully, with better binding... :)

Rating:
Summary: excellent dictionary
Review: Well, since i've been majoring in Spanish literture for more than 5 years,i had to have so many different kinds of english-spanish ,spanish-english dictionaries to compare and understand the right meaning of the words and the expressions. and now i just can say the webster's was the best. Well, the contents are just incomparable. the only thing i want to say is the paper... this is third time that i bought this dictionary. it falls apart easily i think.(maybe it could be my fault) anyway for average users i think Webster's will give all the answers. (Spanish doesn't need pronounciation signs)

Rating:
Summary: No Spanish pronunciation
Review: While this is a substantial dictionary for such a low price, I was quite disappointed to find that it doesn't include pronunciation for each Spanish word (it does for the English entries). One could make the point that Spanish pronunciation follows consistent rules and that therefore a pronunciation guide is not needed for each word, but think about how many people are going to see the word "viejo" and pronounce it "vee-ay-hoe" instead of "vyeh-kho." I'm sorry I bought this dictionary.