The Oxford Spanish Dictionary: Spanish-English, English-Spanish (International Edition) (English and Spanish Edition)

I finally bought a copy of this dictionary after my old New World dictionary started falling apart. The New World is great for a pocket-sized dictionary, but it can't compete with this one. Not only does it have more words than any other Spanish-English dictionary I know of (including lots of specialized technical terms), but it explains the proper usage of all the words and gives examples, which the cheaper dictionaries don't do. If I hadn't been too cheap to buy this book when I was an undergrad, I might have gotten better grades in my advanced Spanish classes.

I use this dictionary for two reasons. First, I am studying Spanish, and this book is a wonderful and necessary learning tool. Second, and most importantly, I teach English as a Second Language to many Spanish-speaking students. I have found this dictionary very effective at fulfilling my needs as a learner and as a teacher who uses it to provide translation and meaning in the classroom. THE GOOD: Wow, there are so many good things about this dictionary, let me just highlight my favorites. 1) It is easy to use. Colored tabs make it easy to quickly find the word you need. It has an easy to read font, and the page is laid out nicely - so that words and explanations aren't crammed into tight spaces. 2) It is a hardback book. This may not seem like much, but when you use a paperback dictionary a lot its covers tend to become ragged and worn. The hardback also allows the book to stay open to any page that you turn to - allowing you to use both hands to type or write the definition, and making it so that you don't have to worry about the book slamming shut and forcing you to look up the same word twice! 3) Useful entries. You get all the normal stuff that you would in any dictionary: part of speech, gender, number, etc. But you also get some nice little features! Entries are cross referenced to similar words. Sense and regional indicators are also included, so that you know if an adjective refers to automobiles or people, and whether or not it is used only in Bolivia. Also, all Spanish verbs are referenced to a table at the back of the book which gives all forms of that type of verb. 4) Tables. In addition to the nice verb tables, there are also pages to help you with forms of address, numbers, dates, time, weights & measures, and even how to write letters. THE BAD: The only problem that I can really foresee is the size and weight of the book. It is big, and it is heavy! I think that this is a "leave at home" reference book, and might be inconvenient to haul around between classes. What else can I say? I love this book! It is, without exception, the absolutely best foreign language dictionary that I have ever used (and that includes a lot of different languages!) Definitely worth every penny spent!

I have several other Spanish dictionaires, but not one of them can compare to the 'El Diccionario Oxford'. Coming from a person who utilizes Spanish for a living, I don't know where I would be without it.I purchased the 1st edition impulsively about six years ago, the year it came out. I had never heard of it, but there was only one on the shelf right next to about a dozen LaRousse's. I scanned through the pages of the Oxford one, comparing it to the ever-popular LaRousse. My immediate instict after examing them was to go with Oxford. To be sure, for the last six years of intense college essays and other reports, it provided accurate translations, useful colloquial phrases and phrases I didn't know a dictionary contained!!! Oxford has been at my side ever since, proudly outranking LaRousse. Now that was the 1st edition, I can only imagine the 2nd!

Before undertaking a study abroad program in Bogotá, Colombia (5 years ago), I spoke almost no Spanish. I took an older edition by this author with me at the time. Several other authors claimed to have the best resource, but this author proved to be well above the best. Within 3-4 months time, I was speaking fluent Spanish while taking college level courses. A great deal of vocabulary could be learned by asking questions in everyday society, yet a good portion needed to referenced the old-fashioned way. I was able to succeed in my courses because of the vastness, depth and broad range of terms and phrases in this resource. Not only did this resource help me to excel in college, but in everyday life as well. It exemplifies all words and phrases in a multitude of contexts virtually exhausting all possible utilizations. In addition, it recognizes region-specific terms and phrases when necessary. Unlike any other publication, this dictionary references vulgar terms, which I found to be a priceless tool. These are parts of everyday living, and should be able to be referenced like any other part of spoken language. I have shown this publication to a plethora of individuals from all walks of Hispanic culture, and all have been equally impressed. This, of course, including individuals ranging from ages 16-65, from lawyers and optomologists to bakers and cab drivers. I still have my 1994 edition and it hasn't outdated one bit. This edition only capitalizes on the previous edition. I can't recommend this publication enough. It is very well though-out, written and organized, yet it doesn't take a biochemical engineer to decipher its contents. If you don't shell out the measly 30-some odd dollars for this one, then you really aren't that eager to learn another language.

After reviewing a lot of dictionaries, each one claiming to be the best and most authoritative in its kind, my choice was the Oxford Spanish Dictionary. It has entries for the uses of Spanish from different countries, including Latin America, Spain and also, "old/archaic" entries, and idioms. Plus, it shows you how to apply a particular word or phrase, which could be the same for everybody, but could have all sorts of different connotations depending on the context or the country where you are. It is absolutely great and I had recommended it to anyone that has asked me for a good Spanish-English dictionary.