Lexus Books

This item arrived in just a few days after I ordered it.It was in perfect shape and I reccommend for serious students of Italian.

i must say that i`m a beginner in italian, but somehow i couldn`t find good polish-italian dictionary, so i chose this one. it`s really good tool.

It's useable, but I wish it had the pronunciations for the Italian words. It has pronunciations for the English words, so why not the ones for Italian? The verb tables could be more thorough. There are better Italian dictionaries out there, but for the price, it's not bad at all.

I'm giving this 3rd ed. of the Pocket Oxford Italian Dictionary 5-stars because it is an excellent concise dictionary, though the Pocket Oxford's competitors in the concise category -- the Webster's New World Italian Dictionary: Italian/English, English/Italian (ISBN-10: 0139536396) and the Collins Italian Concise Dictionary, 4e (HarperCollins Concise Dictionaries) (ISBN-10: 0060787325) -- are just as good -- if not better -- depending on individual preferences for format and extras.

"Pocket" is a real misnomer -- it's approx. the same size as the Webster's and the Collins Concise, none of which will fit in your pocket. I imagine they might have named it Concise Oxford Italian Dictionary if Oxford did not offer the superior Concise Oxford Paravia Italian Dictionary (read more below). If any feature were to set this "Pocket" apart, it would be its much more detailed bilingual culture guide in the middle of the book ("Italian traditions, festivals, and holidays"; "A-Z of Italian life and culture"; "Letter-writing"). The Collins Concise has cultural note entries spread throughout its pages and "Italian in Action" in the back of the book (Contents: Sentence builder; Correspondance; Fax; Email; Telephone); unlike this Pocket Oxford, the Collins lacks a bilingual text-messaging guide; the Webster's has no cultural or grammar notes save for a brief verb guide, but is so detailed in its entries that it doesn't need to compete in these categories.

One review here laments this "Pocket" Oxford's lack of pronunciation guidelines in the Italian section. "Pocket" has a pronunciation guide in the front of the book. Italian is relatively easy to pronounce -- after memorizing the fairly simple rules, most of the difficulty lies in knowing which syllable is stressed in a word. The rules of stress may be more difficult to master, though they come in time, and this "Pocket" has stress notation WITHIN the headwords listed in the Italian section, as does the Collins Concise; the Webster's lists the stress in an IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) form in brackets after the initial headword. Because Italian pronunciation is generally straightforward, this means that the word in brackets often matches the exact spelling of the headword, though with the stress notation added. The Collins Concise avoids redundancy by noting IPA translation only for those Italian words it considers more difficult to pronounce.

The very basic grammar in this "Pocket" Oxford is, in my opinion, more useful than the "Italian in Action" section at the back of the Collins Concise. The Webster's has a very brief -- though useful in a jam -- few pages on Italian verbs and irregular English verbs, though (again) what Webster's lacks in grammar guidance it more than makes up for in detailed entries. Most students tend to use a separate grammar guide, anyway, as most in-dictionary guides leave much to be desired. [See Harrap's French and English Dictionary (Harrap's Dictionaries) (2004; ISBN-10: 0071440690; $11.95!) for an exemplary in-dictionary grammar. It's also the best concise French-English dictionary available.]

(An excellent -- if brief -- slim, portable grammar is: Oxford Italian Grammar And Verbs (2002; ISBN-10: 0198603819)

Webster's detailed entries make it an outstanding concise, though it was published in 1985 (reprint 1992). Collins Concise has many neologisms of the last 20 years, and is in two-color format (blue headwords/black text), making the pages easier to scan. Collins Concise is generally not as detailed in its entries as the Webster's, though generally more detailed than this "Pocket."

If you must buy an OXFORD Italian dictionary, go for the Oxford-Paravia Italian Dictionary, as it is the finest unabridged bilingual on the market. If you have the unabridged, then purchase of the Concise Oxford-Paravia Italian Dictionary ("C-O-P" 2003; ISBN-10: 0198607695) would perhaps be redundant. The listing here on amazon describes the Concise version as having 175,000 words and phrases and 290,000 translations. I own it and I tell you it is the finest Concise Italian-English dictionary on the market, the only "problem" being it's heavier (hardcover) weight -- it's not as portable as the (paperbacks) Webster's or Collins Concise, but if you don't care about a bit more weight in your zaino, then escort this beauty to class.

N.B. If you find all of these features extraneous and just want a very portable, inexpensive It-Eng dictionary, go for the durable vinyl-flexi-cover Oxford Italian Minidictionary (3rd ed., 2005, ISBN-10: 0198610424; $7.50) or the Collins Gem Italian, 6th Edition (Collins Gem) in two-color format (7th ed., 2006, ISBN-10: 0007126247; $6.95). They are both pocket size, if chubby. Both have phrasebooks for travelers/students and certainly more vocabulary than a standard phrasebook! They both appear to have as many entries as (if not more than) the less-durable, newsprint (quick to yellow and stink) dictionaries in the $5 to $10 price range. Both minidictionaries are printed on better -- though not that much -- quality paper than the "newsprints." Newsprint cheapies are probably produced as a cheaper alternative for textbook bundle packages sold to university bookstores. Don't waste your money on them unless you've been "bundled" and have no choice.

IN SUMMARY:

(for) disinterested students who are just getting through a 2-year language requirement and have absolutely no interest in continuing their studies: an inexpensive, durable flexi-vinyl-cover, not-stinky-newsprint minidictionary with travelers phrasebook (Oxford Mini or Collins Gem, linked above)

(for) indecisive 2-year language requirement students who are lukewarm about continuing their language studies: (two-color format) Collins Concise Italian Dictionary or Pocket Oxford Italian Dictionary, with the grammar features and cultural commentary the Webster's doesn't offer

(for) Italian Studies majors and/or committed students of the language: Webster's or Oxford Paravia Concise Italian Dictionary for meaty entries; between these two, Webster's is less expensive, lighter and much more flexible than the hardcover Concise Oxford Paravia, but, though very detailed in its entries, is not as loaded as the C-O-P and lacks the C-O-P's excellent extras

Dedicated students of the Italian language will be best served with the Webster's to take to class and the C-O-P to study with from room-to-room at home, as the (unabridged) Oxford Paravia is so heavy that you'll likely use it only at your desk or dictionary stand.

(for) those who love the Italian language: the Webster's, the (unabridged) Oxford Paravia, and the fantastic, monolingual il DEVOTO-OLI vocabulario della lingua italiana 2008 by Giacomo Devoto & Gian Carlo Oli; editors: Luca Serianni & Maurizio Trifone (2007, ISBN-10: 8804564857, available from major online distributors of Italian publications, at approx $150, includes shipping, vs. amazon's approx $277 -- -- sorry! amazon won't allow links in reviews)

I am sent by my company to work in Bangkok for a year or maybe two. Bangkok is a wonderful place and the people are very hospitable. However, the most difficult thing is communication. Most Thais I meet on the streets can hardly speak any English. What I need is a book that is handy and can get me to speak basic Thai immediately. This is the book that I needed all along. You can only imagine how much I enjoy practicing Thai with Thais. My Thai has improved tremendously ever since I bought this book. I would say that if you are conscientious in studying this book, you will speak reasonable Thai within a month. This book is a must buy for all expatriates working in Thailand.

I lived in Thailand for six months and had no previous Thai language training. This is the book I found the most helpful. The first thing a beginner should do is study the pronunciation guide in the front of the book. Once you have that down you're set! You can use this book to look up a particular word or look up the key word in a common phrase, and chances are the phrase you want to say will be listed under that word. Very intuitive (for me anyway).

This book is terrific!! It has English-thai, and Thai-english sections, and shows Thai with consistant rominazation, plus thai script.

Now, the best part of the book is the intro (before the dictionary begins) to Thai language. It gives all the basic rules (summed up nicer than many Thai language books!) Rules for different kinds of questions and everything. Even a section on profanity (so you'll know when people are upset:) ANd all examples give thai script, roman-thai (including tone marks), and english.

I highly recommend this book to anyone even remotely interesed in the Thai Languages. Besides, it's got a GREAT price :)

I am about to travel to Thailand 5th time and I have found this book usefull in most everyday situations. Explanations of Thai speech and writing are good and easy to follow. English-Thai section is brilliant for its size and Thai-English is useful after getting basics strait. Translating Thai text to English is bit labour intensive.

I already know some French and Spanish, but knew no Italian. I found this book tremendously helpful, much more so than either a phrase book or a dictionary by themselves, or in combination. You will probably also need a dictionary by the way for the words that aren't in this book as it is small enough to easily fit in your pocket.

on my recent trip to italy, this book proved invaluable as traveling through smaller villages where other languages were not commonly spoke as in larger cities. there is great coverage of the basics of the language and easy to say phonetic phrases. i loved the small size of the book and could easily fit it in my handbag. great for eating out too as there is a section dedicated to cuisine and drink.

We had this book and Barron's Italian Visual Language Guide on our holiday in Italy.

This one was much easier to use. The dictionary format made it so easy to find the right phrase. Our other book was set up in the more traditional 'at the hotel' sections and there would be 20 pages to look through to find an appropriate phrase.

With the rough guide you look up time and there is a selection of phrases around the idea.

Great book!

i have this book and also their mini dictionary. i can say with authority that the dictionary is really good and great for traveling. They have easy to understand formats and size.
I've had mine for years and I give iy high marks.

While Harrup's Spanish Verbs is not the most complete collection of verbs, it is definitely one of the easiest to use and understand. Whether you need to see the complete conjugation of a verb quickly or are trying to get an overview of how a verb is conjugated, you cannot beat this book. Additionally, it's size is perfect for the traveler. I have used this book for the past 10 years on over 20 trips to Central America. Other than my electronic translator, it is the first source I turn to for help with my Spanish. I am the director of an organization which takes medical and construction teams to Central America regularly throughout the year. I am always recommending this book to those learning Spanish. Unfortunately, as it is out of print, it is hard to find. Please bring it back soon!

Wonderful pocket-sized reference. The alphabetization of phrases is particularly helpful, as it made it very easy to quickly look up the phrase I needed, rather than scouring through the "categories" system that many phrasebooks seem to utilize. The first section of the book provides a very basic little grammar primer and also a section on other language basics, like numbers, months, times, dates, and the most basic phrases (hello, excuse me, I didn't understand, etc.). At the end you'll find a list of colloquialisms, a "reverse-lookup" section from romanized Japanese to English for phrases you might hear, and a second reverse-lookup from kanji to English for common signs/words you might encounter in your travels (train station, entrance, ticket office). Finally, the book ends with a reverse-lookup *food* section from kanji to English, for reading menus.

Phrases are provided not just with romanized pronunciation but also in kanji, which is *tremendously* helpful -- as you can point out the phrase to a Japanese speaker if the two of you are having difficulty understanding each other. The book is definitely geared towards tourists and travellers, but offered a broader range of phrases and vocabulary than I expected (the word for "suntanned"? phrases for getting a haircut?). Sprinkled throughout are various minor cultural & travel notes, such as typical bank hours, notes on major holidays, descriptions of the different kinds of payphones you might encounter, drinking etiquette, etc.

All this, and it can be tucked into your back pocket! Crazy! The book is compact, but I personally found the layout & type-size quite easy to read -- particularly as the translations next to each phrase are printed in green ink, so they stand out from the word you're looking up. I did find that while the mini dialogue boxes were helpful in familiarizing myself with particular basic conversation constructions, they were often placed in not necessarily instinctive spots in the glossary (for instance, a dialogue about whether a hotel has a single room for the night & how much it costs was in the "n" section -- presumably for "night").

It's not going to make you fluent by any means (and if you think a mini phrasebook can do that for you, more power to you!), but it is a marvelous little tool for getting around, particularly with a little studying behind you. I took a few basic phrases gained from beginning Pimsleur lessons and this little phrasebook with me on a three-week trip to Japan, and was able to communicate the necessities throughout -- often with hilarious results, as my conversational partner and I came to an understanding through trading one or two word exchanges and clumsily constructed sentences in each other's language. Highly recommended, and well worth the $6 or so it will run you.

I took this to an immersion camp having had absolutely no Japanese before arrival, and found it more useful than my dictionary. As Japanese sentence structure is not so intuitive (to native English-speakers), the included phrases are a must to understand how words and particles fit into sentences. I also prefer it over other phrasebooks as it is arranged alphabetically, not thematically, in the English to Japanese section, which is the majority of the book. The grammar section and culture notes are also helpful. I absolutely recommend this to anyone who has never studied Japanese before, and needs a dictionary that will help you make sentences.

This is one book to take with you if you are visiting the Czech Republic and don't speak the language. The introductory material is a great guide to pronunciation and grammar. The major part of the book is an English-Czech, Czech-English phrasebook and dictionary in alphabetic order which is excellent. Pronunciation guides follow most words and are well done. Dialogues and Feature Boxes throughout this section are wonderful. I didn't get fluent enough to make much use of the dialogues, but the Feature Boxes were a great help in understanding an unfamiliar culture. I went through the book reading them all to get a quick overview of Czech customs and found it extremely helpful. There is also a large Menu Reader in the back to help with eating out. Don't leave for Prague without it.

because this little book, which easily fits in a pocket or fannypack, lets you pronounce all the needed words correctly on the first try (by giving you the phonetic greek, not the greek letters), greeks can immediately understand what you're trying to say. the menu guide, with the greek letters, is very helpful. besides that, there a few of the most used phrases, the numbers, and many other immediately useful bits of information. a bargain at the price! each member of your party ought to have a copy.

I have been using this book for only a matter of weeks, and already I have an extensive Italian vocabulary and knowledge of Italian grammar. This book is extremely well structured, clear and precise. When I go to learn a third language, the first place I look will be the Rough Guide Phrasebook series

El Libro lo consegui en Ecuador, y es muy fácil de seguir y preparar las recetas. Su Sistema Paso a Paso lo hace sencillo,
Recien hemos empezado a prepararlas, y salen muy buenas.

Buen Apetito!!!!!!

This is a wonderful phrase book - organized well and easy to find important words and phrases. If you are traveling without a guide this is the phrase book to buy.