German Dictionaries (1 Viewer)

[absta]

i'm going into year 12 and still havnt got myself a big german dictionary
i've got the medium sized collins one which is a life saver but i really need a big one as well.
can anyone suggest a good one i could get?
danke schoen

 

[chepas]

The bilingual or the monolingual ones? For the bilingual onesI like the Langenscheidt ones, but unfortunately they're expensive and am clinging onto the ancient early 80s copy for dear life! Collins Gem are the ones I like apart from them though. There's a whole heap of new editions (in other langs too) out so have a look. These Collins ones have little text type examples etc, and they can be really handy sometimes, also with the requisite verb tables etc which are a godsend.

If you're looking for monolingual I'd stick to the Langenscheidt side of things too, but that's just a personal preference. If you're near the Sydney CBD Abbey's on York St (literally just opposite the QVB on the non-George St side) has a haven of Language Centre on the first floor and there is a lot of German resource stuff there, including lots of good dicos.

Good luck in your quest und viel Spaß beim lernen!

 

[mervvyn]

Agreeing with Chep, you can't go past the collins gem - it saved my arse on exchange numerous times, and its small enough not to be pain in arse to lug to class all the time. That said, if you want something bigger at home, go for it, but i'd avoid the *school* dictionaries and the like - they're ok, but not really for year 12. Good luck!

 

[chepas]

Ah gawd yeah. The 'School' ones are rubbish. Too basic.

 

[melimoo]

are there any dictionarys, that you guys know of, that have the plural of the nouns in with their translation? i always find myself having to guess/make up my own plurals because there is no specific rule (i don't think...if there is one, please enlighten me!!) and then i'm stuck!!! so annoying anyway, i have a big harper collins dictionary...its pretty good and in the middle its got like the verbs and all their variations eg past part. perfect imperfect etc.

 

[chepas]

As in, the first dictionary listing is the plural form, not the singular? I didn't know they existed. I thought it was a case of knowing the base singular form, then after it in brackets are the specific instructions on how to MAKE it plural (like, like this ---> (-e, -en) orjust plain (-umlaut e)?

e.g. Katze - (-n): nf, cat.

 

[mervvyn]

what chep said pretty much... quite often the dictioary will have a table at the front or back of regular plural forms, eg most (actually, all) words ending in -keit in nominative add -en in the plural. Apart from that, build your vocab - the less you have to use your dictionary, the better. (for exams - to save time - and to get in the habit of saying things you CAN say in german rather than translating english phrases, if that makes sense. of course it's ok to look up words if you neeeeeeed to, but yeah...)

 

[melimoo]

i fully understand where you're coming from with the whole 'use dictionary less' thing. i'm really bad i forget the alphabet and then im screwed, flipping pages back and forth...it just gets worse from there!! i think i should get a new dictionary with pl. endings, or check if any of mine have them. thanks guys

 

[absta]

ok collins gem...weird noone mentioned the oxford duden one...i think (but im not too sure) thats the one my teacher recommended. Yeah my teacher also told me to go to that Abbey's store, so i guess i could go there and check them out.
thanks for your help

 

[Dreamerish*~]

hi abhi

 

[chicaraca]

ach!! bist du abhi aus fort street gymnasium? ich heisse monica, und ich hab in fort street das abi letztes jahr gemacht. ich sage auch, collins ist eine gute woerterbuch

wenn ich dich helfen kann dann musst du nur mich fragen
tschuss dann!

 

[absta]

heyyy monika!!! i remember you!

Sehr suss, dass du dich an mich ernirren ( hope i said that correctly)

I think i'l ask ms barda once i get back to school about the dicitonary thing before i decide but yeah it's probably going to be the collins one.

Thanks, i will ask you if i ever need help! http://www.boredofstudies.org/community/images/icons/icon10.gif
http://www.boredofstudies.org/community/images/icons/icon10.gif

 

[chicaraca]

lol, i get your drift
jaja, wir haben netball miteinander gespielt
wiedersehen!