This spanish dictionary was bought with for my spanish 5/6 class because my teacher highly recommended it, and because she did not want us to have the Random House spanish dictionary, which is the only I had at the time. I have used this dictionary several times throughout the past month, and it has indeed proved itself worthy as a dictionary. There is one minor setback though. The format is a bit confusing at first. There are black boxes on the right side of each page that have the first two letters of the first words on the OPPOSITE page. When one is flipping through, trying to find a word, use the top header words as your guide, not these black boxes, for you will go past the word you are looking for. Other than this, this book is a bit hefty to carry around in one's bag. But I still recommend it for quick reference.

The University of Chicago Spanish-English Dictionary is perhaps the only tool the advanced student of Spanish needs. It contains useful tables of conjugations for regular and irregular verbs as well as verbs with orthographic changes. It is packed with cultural information to help you manage the great diversity inherent in the Spanish language. A wealth of modern terminology useful in business and technology is included. There are tables of Spanish and English idioms to help the reader gain a more profound understanding of written text and the writer to express himself more authentically. The dictionary is easy to use and wonderfully laid out. I can't say enough good things about this dictionary. It's a must have!

This is the best Spanish Dictionary I have ever used. I own four of them and I find this to be the best. 1.The Short history of the language is fantastic. It really explains some things beginner student will want to know. 2. The verb conjugations are necessary. If a dictionary doesn't have this, don't buy it. 3. It uses standard phonetic dictation. I reccomend all students of any language learn how to use the phonetic symbols. They will tell you how to speak the word very clearly. 4. The grammer section is good and brief, more than I would expect from a dictionary. 5. It explains regional differences. This is a must for Spanish since 22 countries speak it and there are regional differences between the regions. 6. It conveys shades of meaning quite well. The English to Spanish translation is very good. 7. The idiom table is very good. I used this dictionary in Mexico, and is the only spanish book I wouldn't be caught dead without while I was down there.