Spanish English Bilingual Visual Dictionary

Oh, this dictionary is so awesome! I have so much geekish fun with it you wouldn't believe it. A genius-like idea (words grouped by theme, each with a matching picture), flawlessly executed. Though a slightly worrying side-effect is that one starts to lust after the items in the pictures (not the people, who are all remarkably healthy, (except if you're looking at the section about going to the doctor, or being in the hospital), but in a completely cheerful, non-erotic kind of way). But the things. Everything is so top-of-the line. If DK include a photo of a bathrobe, it's so klassy you immediately start to krave it. Their pastry display makes you drool. You don't just want to know that "la masa brisa" is filo pastry, or that "trifle" is "el postre de soletillas, gelatina de frutas y nata", you want the damned trifle itself. Even the fast food ("comida rapida") looks uncommonly mouth-watering. The "albaricoque" picture is of the most perfect apricot you have ever seen. Even the ugli fruit ("el ugli") is beautiful. Over in the section about the bank, "el director de banco" is kindly and avuncular. "Las plantas podadas con formas" (topiary) are uniformly exquisite. Even the watering can ("la regadera") is an aesthetic delight. "La montaña rusa" (the roller-coaster) is a canonical example of roller-coasterdom. You get the picture. Actually, you get thousands of them, each more attractive than the next. The only slight disadvantage is that verbs don't quite get the emphasis they deserve. File under dictionary-porn.

Really good visual dictionaries are hard to find. This publication is an excellent addition to any Spanish student's library. I teach middle school Spanish, and have decided to use this book as an extension to our texts for building vocabulary. The fact that it references the words by category and picture makes the book very user friendly. It also makes for great browsing and gives the user access to words not commonly used (and many not known even by native speakers.) It also makes a fantastic tool for Spanish speaking students who are learning English. A great and affordable gift!

The Spanish English Visual Bilingual Dictionary is filled with colorful images of all the items listed with English and Spanish words. I find it is much easier to remember the words when presented with pictures. At times so many of the Spanish words are similar to the English (telefono/telephone or la nectarine/nectarine) so it makes it even easier to remember along with the pictures. The areas covered include: people, appearance, home, services, shopping, food, study, work, transport, sports and environment. Very helpful dictionary when you are learning a language or to look up specific words. There is a Spanish and English index to simplify searching for words. ~The Rebecca Review

This book, as the other reviewer mentioned, is a great source for anyone who wants to learn the language or wants to learn new vocabulary. Like i mention in my review for the French Dictionary, it covers topics rarely covered by other dictionaries like people, appearance, health, services, home, shopping, food, studies, transportation, sports, leisure, environment, etc. It goes to such specific words as the different parts of a computer or camera, or as the different players (positions) in a football game or members of a rock band. Excellent source, but a very important note: Spanish is a very complex language, and althouhg it is spoken in many countries, the dialects and words for specific items may change. For example, the word for cake in Puerto Rico is a bad word in Mexico and is not the same in Spain...The Spanish words presented in this dictionary correspond mostly to the spanish spoken in Spain, but fear not! Most words presented are universal and mean the same in any Hispanic country. Excellent book, I highly recommend it!

I have been studying Spanish for over 5 years and I found this book to be a thoroughly engaging and practical way of reviewing vocabulary. I wish I would have had this book while I was living abroad in Uruguay. The size is nicely compact while the contents are extensive enough to satisfy a broad thematic lexicon. I especially appreciated the photography and the lay out of the book which is vibrant and appealing.