A Guide to Choosing the Right Dictionary
There are literally hundreds of French-English dictionaries out there to choose from and not all of them are very good. This can make it difficult to choose a dictionary that will be appropriate for your level of French.
At this point in your language studies, you will need a dictionary with around 80,000 to 100,000 entries. If you believe that you will continue in French at the college level, you may want to invest in an even more extensive dictionary with 200,000 or more references.
Below I've listed some of my preferred dictionaries. Most links are to Amazon.com, but you can certainly find them at other online and real-world stores. These are dictionaries that I have experience using. There are plenty of other dictionary publishers out there, however. With that in mind, I've also given you a quick dictionary test that you can perform in the store to judge the quality of any dictionary that you are considering buying. Whatever you do, don't buy a dictionary that fits in your back pocket; It will never have as much detail as you need.
Dictionaries that I've used and like
Larousse College Dictionary - My personal favorite, but you might find it a bit pricey at $18-$28.
Larousse Concise Dictionary - A more compact version for $10-$13.
Collins Robert College Dictionary - Robert is another well-liked French dictionary publisher. $18-$30.
I don't know these ones personally, but they might be worth looking into
Langenscheidt's Standard French Dictionary - $21
Harper Collins French Concise Dictionary - Some past students have used this. at $10-$14
Do not buy these dictionaries
Cassell's French-English Dictionary - Yes, yes, I know that we have some of these in the classroom. But I hate them and I didn't buy them. Avoid this dictionary if you can possibly help it.
Merriam-Webster's French-English Dictionary - Another one that does not pass the test.
Dictionary test
Test 1 - If it doesn't pass this test, don't buy it.
In the English-to-French section, look up the word visit. A good dictionary will show you different contexts in which this word can be used, the French translations for each, and examples of how it is used. Here is just part of what my Larousse has as a definition:
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visit n -1. [call] visite f; to pay sb a ~ rendre visite à qqn; I haven't paid a ~ to the cathedral yet je n'ai pas encore visité or je ne suis pas encore allé voir la cathédrale.... -2. [stay] visite f, séjour m.; [trip] voyage m, séjour m.
v -1. [person - go to see] rendre visite à, aller voir; [ - stay with] rendre visite à, séjourner chez. -2. [museum, town] visiter, aller voir.
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As you can see, this definition is much more complete and useful than simply a list of all the different words that could be equivalent to visit. An example of a bad dictionary entry follows:
visit n. visite f; séjour m.; v. aller voir, rendre visite à, faire un séjour chez, aller à
This definition tells you nothing about when each of these expressions is used. That is a sure-fire way to end up saying or writing something embarrassing.
Test 2 - Nice to have, but not essential.
Look up a really ugly verb like conduire in the French-to-English section. Some dictionaries will have a little conjugation guide for the irregular verbs, either on the same page as the verb or in a separate section. In my Larousse, irregular verbs are followed by a number in brackets. In the middle of the dictionary are conjugation charts. You simply find the corresponding number in the charts and there is your conjugated verb.
Test 3 - If you really want all the bells and whistles.
You can find dictionaries with all kinds of extra features. Some that I've seen are thematic vocabulary lists (numbers, weather, travel expressions, etc.), proverbs, maps, historical timelines, and grammar guides.
These can be very appealing but, before you look for the bonus material, make sure that the dictionary has passed Test 1. If the translations stink, no amount of conjugations, illustrations, or proverbs will make up for it.