HarperCollins Spanish Dictionary

The product took a while to arrive but not too much longer than expected. A first class up-to-date Spanish dictionary with good explanations. Uses modern, 21st century language and idioms. Portable and compact, ideal for school and office use.

This Spanish dictionary is amazing - I've used it for several semesters of college Spanish, as well as during a two month trip in Ecuador, and I can count on one hand the number of words that I've encountered that aren't in this dictionary. This dictionary also includes tons of usage information - common verbs like poder, quedar, and estar each receive more than a full column of coverage, most of which is sample phrases and sentences so that you can see exactly how a word is used in many different contexts. Slang/offensive words are marked as such, and when words are used only in certain regions, this information is also mentioned. Some good information on Spanish grammar is included; though it isn't terribly extensive, it is useful for figuring out important phrases and structures.This book's formatting is another one of its strengths. The variety of tasteful colors and styles separate this book from the dictionaries limited to black text.Overall, this dictionary is wonderful - if you're a Spanish student or speaker interested in a dictionary that is both comprehensive and easy to use, look no further!

I got this book before school started; I'm taking Spanish III. So I needed a dictionary. I opted for this one because it looked hefty enough. I wasn't disappointed. This dictionary has enough words for any Spanish student. It even has modern words like "digital TV", "internet", and "MTV". It has easy to read print and is durable. Whether you want to browse or seriously study this dictionary is great. Aside from defining the word, examples are given in context. This dictionary also has a very extensive grammar section. This is a very important note. This section has everything you need to know Spanish grammar, which will help you in class much. It has all the common verbs, like hacer, ir, ser, dormir, etc. It also has sections devoted to translation problems, spelling, adjectives, pronouns, etc. I carry this dictionary to class every day. It is invaluable in the moment when you forgot the meaning of a word. And if you know the meaning in English only, you can flip quickly to the English-Spanish section. Some precautionary notes: This dictionary was made in Britain. Some English words are spelled differently from the American way (honour, colour, etc.). It also differs from most American dictionaries in that it contains vulgar words (I won't enumerate them, though). Also, this is a dictionary for Castillian Spanish. It probably won't have some Latin American terms.In conclusion, this dictionary is my new amigo. I was thinking of getting an electronic spanish dictionary, but now I know that this is better. I get to actually see the words and see surrounding ones too. It's an interesting, pithy, concise dictionary. If you need a Spanish dictionary this one won't let you down.

I can not take my 2000 page dictionary to Spanish class everyday, so I had to find a good replacement. I believe that the Harpercollins dictionary is just that. The font size is just right for me along with the easy to follow definitions. The only possible drawback is that sometimes definitions are only applicable to certain Spanish speaking countries. This however is something that will probably never be able to be solved, especially when dealing with a pocket sized dictionary. However, for general everyday use, this is a must buy.

I went to Costa Rica this summer and lives in a village for a month, no one in the town spoke even a little bit of english. This book definately helped me get through the experience and teach the children english. I do not have this book any more because I gave it to my favorite spanish student who always want to learn more English vocabulary, I hope that he can understand it.