The Rough Guide French Phrasebook

I am still becomming familiar with the book but must admit that it is user friendly for the most part. The only objection I have thus far is that I do not like portions written in white ink on a colored background. I find them hard to read. The print is on the small side but in black ink it is readable; in the white, I find it a problem. Thankfully, not much of the book is presented this way. I like the organization of the book and can tell that it will be useful in many circumstances. I am pleased that I purchased the book and will bring it to France with me. The size of the book is good in that it will fit in a jacket pocket as well as not being too noticeable when I consult it and try not to look like the tourist I will be.

While no guide to a foreign language will cover all the circumstances or contain all the words one will encounter on a trip where one is more or less on one's own (as opposed to a guided tour), The Rough Guide to French Dictionary Phrasebook 3 covered almost each situation I encountered on a one-week trip through the Midi (southern France) and another 3 days in Paris. Often in these smaller cities, towns, and villages, one encounters citizens who speak no English or very little. Being able to converse, if only haltingly, with these folks--especially if one is in need of something--helps out immensely...plus, they appreciate it when one makes the attempt to deal with them in their language on their turf. Having a passing acquaintance with the French language from high school or college certainly helps, but this phrasebook bridged the enormous gaps between what was retained from those classroom so long ago & today. The book's size and weight made it easy to have at the ready during the entire trip.

The best French phrasebook I've ever used. Just came back from two weeks in Paris and it was invaluable!!

Excellent guide. Small and convenient to carry. I also purchased the Berlitz phrase book & dictionary but found myself referring to the Rough guide most of the time. In my opinion the Rough guide is more user friendly.

Rough Guide French is structured completely different from most phrase books: The first several dozen pages gives you numbers, days of the week, time, etc., and a 20 minute course in French grammar. Oh no, you might be saying, but it is presented very simply. For instance it presents a handful of common verbs and their conjugations. So on one page you can see how to say "I have," "he has, " etc. and "I like," "he/ she likes," etc. The rest of the book is split between an English-French dictionary, a French-English dictionary, and a multi-page menu reader. What makes the English-French dictionary pages unique, though, is that most every other page (at least) has dialogue boxes relating to the most useful word(s) on that particular page. For instance, when you thumb through the book for the word "live," you get the word itself, but also the phrases "I live in..." and "Where do you live?" It'll take you 10 minutes to find such a phrase in Berlitz or Lonely Planet in their "getting to know others' section. But because Rough Guide is structured as a dictionary, with hundreds of really useful phrases highlighted in boxes within, you can access something you want to say rather swiftly...and actually deliver it just a minute or so after looking for it. Add the grammar section, where you learn useful verbs and how to conjugate their past tenses, and the number section, and you can easily learn to chat with someone about where you are from, where you are going, where you have traveled thus far, what you like/liked, and so on. Likewise, knowing how to say "have" makes it easy to ask whether a hotel has rooms, whether the room has a shower (after thumbing through the book for the word for shower), etc. And when the answer comes back that the hotel doesn't have, or say "we have," you can actually catch what they are saying. If still not persuaded, next time you're in a bookstore compare a Berlitz, a Lonely Planet, and a Rough Guide language phrase book side by side. Lonely Planet French, for example, is basically several pages of basic grammar followed by many sections of phases you won't likely ever use. For instance, the guide provides several pages each of lists of occupations, nationalities, college majors, items of stationary, jewelery, colors, insects, flowers, aquatic sports(!), electrical appliances, camping terms,and so on. Also provided are pat phrases to employ at a hotel's front desk, at a doctor's, at the optometrist, and eating out, among other mini-sections. The book, in effect, is set up to be taken out to be used once a day, if that. It's an improvement on Berlitz phrase books, but not by much. (Berlitz simply divides their books into 10 or so color coded sections such as: "sightseeing," "relaxing," "shopping," traveling around," "money," "eating out," etc.) So, if you just want a book for emergencies (say, breaking a leg, etc.) then Berlitz and/or Lonely Planet phrase books will serve you well...in your pocket u