HarperCollins German Dictionary: German-English/English-German

List Price: $5.99 Discount Price: $5.99

Customer Reviews:

A useful book, although a little date [Posted on 2002-04-29]
When this book was first published in 1980, the producers wanted it to be 'the most helpful one-volume dictionary for students, linguists, and all translation needs'. Twenty-two years later, I would dare to suggest that if this aim has not been met, then this dictionary has not fallen far short. There are over 200,000 words and phrases in both English and German. All words are defined in context (this is especially important for the novice student) and the clear abbreviations make the dictionary easy to use. Moreover, there is also a four-page guide in English and German on how to use this dictionary to assit the user further.
On account of its age, this dictionary is inevitably a little dated, but it is still a very useful linguistic tool for students of German. I heartily recommend it.

Great help! [Posted on 2003-01-22]
Used this book all of the time in my German classes! Wish I had had this sooner, would have made everything a lot simpler. Its easy to use, easy to understand, and great when you need to find something quick. This should be a book every college student, studying German, should be required to have.

Maybe good for travel, [Posted on 2006-03-07]
but not of much use otherwise. I know most people will rate my review "not helpful", since that always happens to negative reviews. But so be it.

I wanted to replace my old Cassells dictionary which was published 1976 and therefore out of date. But as it turns out, this dictionary will not replace it. One reason for it, is that a lot of words are missing. This is understandable given the fact that it has only 400+ pages and my Cassells has 1200+. But somehow I missed that when ordering it, since it got so many good reviews. One other problem is that the words it contains, are not really explained and usually contain only one synonym, where in my Cassells it has a whole paragraph explaining the different meanings (and usuage) of the word.

To sum it up, you get what you pay for. It is dirt cheap and it will be good enough for travel. But otherwise it is pretty useless.

Maybe my review is too negative, but I have to counter all the raving reviews.

Very nice dictionary :) !! [Posted on 2006-07-10]
If you aren't sure about buying this Dictonary, I would really recommend it because it is very good. It has excellent German-English translations as well as English-German.

A disappointment--Shame on Harper Collins! [Posted on 2006-08-30]
I ordered this dictionary based on all the fulsome reviews. (Some of) the good news: This dictionary tends to give phrases rather than words in isolation. Example: Close = in der Nähe, etc. This is essential in German because the preposition takes a particular case. The bad news: This dictionary is printed in the tiniest type, on the cheapest, natural-coloured paper just one step above newsprint. I've had things wrapped in better paper than this! It's also saddle-bound. This might seem a very superficial criticism, but a dictionary, particularly pocket size, gets a tremendous workout. Mine just arrived, but I can see it starting to fall apart in a month or two. The less-than-white paper and tiny print make it hard to read. After all the effort that went into the content, it's a real shame that it was so shabbily printed. Yes, it was cheap, but I would sooner have paid twice as much and get something that would hold up for a couple of years. I've had my Langenscheidt Pocket Dictionary for 16 years and it's still going strong. The content of this one is better, but.... Shame on you, Harper Collins!

Click here for more details and discount information...