A good English-Russian dictionary. How to choose “your” English dictionary

“Dictionaries are like watches, the worst is better than none and the best cannot be expected to go quite true.”

Samuel Johnson.

It's no secret that when learning a foreign language you can't do without a dictionary. The only thing is that not all dictionaries are equally useful... Today we will analyze the types of dictionaries, tell you how to choose a dictionary in English and which one is better.

1. Dictionaries are divided into monolingual and bilingual. In other words, English-English (explanatory) and English-Russian/Russian-English.

Monolingual dictionary. With the coming into fashion of communicative methods of teaching foreign languages, the idea of abandoning bilingual dictionaries is being promoted. It is prohibited to use bilingual dictionaries during exams at language universities. However, if the definition of a word is given very briefly and without examples of the use of the word in context, then such a dictionary is of little use.

Advantages of the English-English dictionary:

there is no connection with your native language, which means you are immersed in the environment of the English language
expand your vocabulary through words that are used for interpretation, learn synonyms, as well as the differences between them
acquire skills in explaining concepts

Disadvantages of English-English dictionary:

they are difficult to use at initial levels of English proficiency
It’s not always possible to understand what this word means (especially in the Longman series of dictionaries for English learners)
some argue that words are less memorable if you don’t draw parallels with Russian.

My favorite monolingual dictionary is

Bilingual dictionary. When using a bilingual dictionary, you must always remember that it was compiled by translators, and they, like all ordinary people, can make mistakes. Therefore, there are also banal translations of the translator’s false friends (words that are similar to Russian are translated with Russian equivalents, although they mean something completely different - for example, to sympathize - the correct translation is to sympathize, not to sympathize).

It has been noticed that those who use bilingual dictionaries more often make serious mistakes when they try to translate their thoughts from Russian into English. Translation should be avoided when learning a foreign language. After all, your goal is not to be a translator, but to speak English. The sooner you start monolingual learning, the faster you will progress. Therefore, as soon as you have reached the Pre-Intermediate level, use good monolingual dictionaries.

The use of translation when learning a language confuses the student, a certain substitution of concepts occurs, and instead of asking “What does this mean?” people are interested in how it is translated. Knowledge of a language is understanding without translation. If you use translation, then you are constantly forcing your brain to work in an unnatural mode of switching from language to language. Of course, you get tired and waste a lot of energy and time.

However, it can be difficult to completely abandon bilingual dictionaries.

Of the bilingual dictionaries, I like - and.

2. By format Dictionaries can be divided into:

paper
electronic
online dictionaries
dictionaries for PDAs and mobile phones.

Paper dictionaries in English. I’ll say right away that I, a computer soul, don’t use them. They frankly make me sad. After all, a good dictionary is one that provides detailed definitions, several examples of use in context, synonyms and antonyms of words, as well as idioms with this word. And from this it follows that it should be very voluminous and heavy, perhaps even in several volumes. Working with a paper dictionary is inconvenient. A lot of time is spent turning pages and finding the right word. You are constantly distracted by other words. But if this does not bother you, then please, purchase and use, but I will not recommend them.

Electronic dictionaries in English. These dictionaries can be real magicians. You enter a word and instantly get a translation or definition. It’s good if you have the opportunity to listen to the pronunciation of a word, look at examples of use, etc. In my opinion, it is one of the best electronic bilingual dictionaries.

Online dictionaries in English. Using online dictionaries is convenient for all those who are constantly online. Among bilingual online dictionaries, ranks first among professional translators.

Online monolingual dictionaries in English:

Dictionaries for PDAs and mobile phones. These dictionaries are convenient because they fit in your pocket with your favorite phone or PDA. They are indispensable when traveling, during exams (not all teachers have learned about them yet =)), and in general anywhere where it would not be inconvenient for you to carry a huge, heavy two-volume (or even more) paper dictionary.

3. For whom was the dictionary published? For English learners or native speakers. Because the authors of monolingual dictionaries for English learners have tried to convey the meaning in very simple words, the definitions are sometimes so superficial and short that one is forced to resort to bilingual dictionaries. I prefer dictionaries that are written for native speakers, as more detailed definitions are given. And most often, when I encounter an unfamiliar word, I simply enter into Google search: “... (word) definition” and look for several definitions at once in the free online dictionaries that Google offers.

4. Special dictionaries. There are also dictionaries of English slang, idioms, phrasal verbs, collocations, dictionaries of technical and professional terms, dictionaries of proverbs and sayings.

English slang dictionaries:

(London rhyming slang)
- the most famous slang dictionary

Online English idiom dictionaries:

When we learn a language, we cannot do without a dictionary. After all, it is the main assistant in learning new and incomprehensible words. Therefore, you will need a dictionary throughout your studies.

In this article I will tell you which dictionary is better to use and give you the 5 best English online dictionaries that you can easily use.

So, let's begin.

What kind of English dictionaries are there?

There are 2 main types of English dictionaries:

1. English-Russian dictionary (bilingual)

Such dictionaries provide an English word with a Russian translation. That is, the dictionary uses two languages - English and Russian.

Translation is how we translate a word into Russian. As a rule, this is one word.

For example:

table - table
pen - pen
dog - dog

As you can see, these are ordinary dictionaries that most students are accustomed to using.

2. English-English dictionary (monolingual)

This dictionary completely lacks the Russian language. That is, one language is used - English.

Instead of the usual translation, the meaning of the word is given.

Meaning is the meaning that a word carries.

For example:

Table - a piece of furniture with a flat top supported by legs.
A table is a piece of furniture with a flat top and supported by legs.

The advantage of English-English dictionaries is that:

Do you understand in what situation to use the word

There are many words in English that have the same translation but have different meanings. Hence, these words are used in different situations. In the English-English dictionary you will find out the meaning that the word carries. This way you will understand exactly in what situations you need to use it.

You are completely immersed in English

You don't need to switch from English to Russian every time. When you clarify words in English, you learn to think in English!

You can find out more information about the word

Many good English-English dictionaries have additional information:

words with similar meaning
words with opposite meanings
origin of the word
whether the word is used in colloquial or formal English
whether the word is used more often in American or British English
stable phrases with the word

Which dictionary is best to use when learning English?

At initial levels, of course, you should use a bilingual dictionary (English-Russian), since by reading the description of a word in English (English-English dictionary), you are unlikely to understand anything.

Starting from the pre-intermediate level, it is better to switch to the English-English dictionary, since, as you noticed, it has significant advantages over the English-Russian one.

Now I will give you 5 online dictionaries that you can use.

Top 5 online dictionaries for learning English

When learning English, you can use the following dictionaries:

An English-English dictionary you can trust. Here you will find the meaning of English words in English.

It's good because:

You can listen to both the word (in American and British versions) and example sentences using it.
Frequently used phrases are given for the words.
The peculiarities of using these words (prepositions, location in a sentence) are clarified.
The difference between similar synonyms is given.

This is an English-English dictionary that gives the meaning of a word in English.

This dictionary has a number of significant advantages:

You can listen to how the word is pronounced (in two versions).
You can enable the function so that the Russian translation of the word is shown (you will see the translation in Russian and the meaning of the word in English).

As a supplement, you can find an explanation of English grammar in the dictionary. Of course, it is given in English, so it is more suitable for advanced levels.

In this dictionary:

For each word, the most common definitions and dozens of examples of using vocabulary in context are given.
There are American and British pronunciations of each word.
A list of idioms containing the requested word is offered, each of them is given an explanation and an example of use.
Vocabulary related to the concept you are interested in is indicated.
A fairly wide range of synonyms for the word is given.
You can find the meaning of slang expressions, idioms and phrasal verbs.

This dictionary is interesting because it contains simple explanations. An interesting feature of this dictionary is that it contains information about the origin of words.

You can also find the meaning of phrasal verbs and slang.

Among the disadvantages is that the recording of the pronunciation of the word and its transcription are given only in the American version.

English-Russian dictionary suitable for beginners.

Transcriptions are given and you can listen to the pronunciation of the word.
Examples of sentences with translation are given.

This dictionary is suitable for those who still find it difficult to use an English-English dictionary.

So, a dictionary is an important companion when learning a language. You can use any of the above dictionaries. But don’t forget, to remember words, it’s not enough to know their translation and meaning, you need to practice using them. Come visit us at , where you will learn the “simple sentences” technique, which will allow you to easily memorize English words.

Today, electronic and online dictionaries are widely popular among everyone who wants to learn English on their own. I think this will also be interesting to you, so today I’ll tell you what kinds of dictionaries there are and how to get the most out of them.

An electronic dictionary differs from online dictionaries in that it can be downloaded to your laptop, computer or other device that is always at hand. By taking online English courses, you can quickly find the word you need, despite the fact that most electronic dictionaries immediately offer to view the word in context, phrases and example sentences.

The online dictionary will allow you to find any word and see several options for its translation, taking into account context, morphology and various examples of use. A wide variety of functions will help you choose the desired direction of translation: English-Russian or Russian-English. In other words, an electronic dictionary is an extensive database that is useful both for beginning students and for people who speak English fluently.

Now let's look at the five most popular dictionaries. When I was preparing this article, I asked my students to write short reviews of the dictionaries they use and then selected the best ones.

ABBYY Lingvo-Online dictionary is a popular free online translator

Using this dictionary, every student can easily obtain a professional translation of words and expressions from Russian into English and vice versa. I myself really love this resource, and it is no coincidence that it is the most popular in the Russian-speaking world, thanks to its convenient use and wide possibilities. During the translation process, you will see not only the meaning of the word, but also its examples in various contexts, taking into account dialects. If you need to translate a rare word that is difficult to find in dictionaries, you can ask online help from the site’s translators by completing a quick registration.

Dictionary opdome.com – online picture dictionary

A very simple and fun resource that both adults and children can use. I recommend it to my students as an additional source of vocabulary. Choose any of the proposed topics and learn words online. The dictionary is voiced, and bright pictures help you memorize words faster. In this dictionary you will not find transcriptions of words, but using it when learning English for beginners will be very useful.

Dictionary multitran.ru – the best Russian-language resource

Using this online dictionary, you can find the most accurate translation of words. The context suggests translation, depending on the field of use of the word or expression, for example, legal, banking or medical. As you know, the same word can mean completely different things. With multitran.ru you will not confuse them, and you will be sure of the correctness of the text.

Online translator Vocabulary.com

On this site, I personally like to select synonyms when I write an article for an English-language resource. Here you can find a variety of interpretations of words in English, find popular and rare examples of use. I highly recommend visiting the THE CHALLENGE section, where you can guess words by selecting them by meaning. This is a kind of vocabulary trainer. For each correct answer you will receive points, and you can also create your own vocabulary lists and send them to the friends with whom you study together.

If you have English in your life in one form or another, you will definitely need a good dictionary. Nowadays there are dictionaries for every taste and color, so how can you not get lost in this variety and choose the right one?

Today we will explain which dictionary is suitable for beginners and tell you what should be in your dictionary in order for it to bring you maximum benefit.

Surely you know that dictionaries are divided into monolingual (“English-English”) and bilingual (“English-Russian” / “Russian-English”).

Monolingual- These are explanatory dictionaries in which the meaning of a word is explained in English.

Advantages:

the meaning of the word is not distorted by the Russian translation, you can understand the meaning of the original English word.
You get the opportunity to completely immerse yourself in the English language, without letting the Russian language interfere with your learning process

Flaws:

Still, there is a risk that you will not fully understand the meaning of the word and will not find its analogue in Russian, which means you will not remember
This type of dictionary is not suitable for beginners

Bilingual– “English-Russian/Russian-English” dictionaries, that is, providing translation into/from Russian.

Advantages:

Ideal for beginners
An accurate translation into Russian will help you remember a new English word easier

Flaws:

You will simply remember the translation, but you may not fully understand the meaning of the word
You are forced to switch to Russian, which may slightly slow down the process of learning and immersion in English

For Russian-speaking students from the very beginning level, only a bilingual dictionary is needed. Still, our native language is too different from English, so you and I cannot do without a bilingual dictionary.

As you may have noticed, the disadvantages of a monolingual dictionary are essentially the advantages of a bilingual dictionary (and vice versa). That is, ideally use both. Starting from the Pre-Intermediate level, you can start using a monolingual dictionary in parallel and try to use a bilingual one only when necessary.

So, since Russian-speaking students definitely need a bilingual dictionary, let's separately consider the main criteria for choosing just such a dictionary.

What should be in your English-Russian dictionary:

Word meanings. A good dictionary should give you more than one meaning for each word, otherwise you may miss important meanings. However, for beginners, it is not recommended to use dictionaries that give so many meanings for each word that it becomes difficult to remember even one of them.
Transcription/Voice of the word. Having a transcription of a word in a paper dictionary and being able to listen to the word in an online dictionary or app will allow you to remember the word right away with the correct pronunciation. If you use a paper version of the dictionary, then phonetic transcription will help you read the word correctly. If the dictionary has British and American pronunciations, this is definitely an advantage, because they can differ significantly from each other.
Examples of using the word. To understand in what context it is appropriate to use a new word, examples of its use will greatly help you. In addition, together with the context of use, it will be much easier for you to remember it.
Indication of part of speech, words with the same root. At the initial stage of your training, it will be very useful to learn how to identify parts of speech, because this is what will help you compose phrases correctly. In addition, in English, often the same word can be both a noun and a verb. Therefore, when you see words with the same root, you can immediately recognize this. For example, the verb “to study” is to study, the noun “study” is a study.

For non-print dictionaries there are also quite obvious technical criteria, but you can check them already in the process of working with them:

Ease of use. How easily and quickly you can find the right word, is all the information about the word conveniently located, is it easy to read, and so on.
Speed of the computer dictionary. If you have no problems with Internet speed, but the dictionary takes more than 5-10 seconds to load, this indicates technical problems. In this case, you should think about changing your dictionary.

Dictionary formats: printed, online, mobile applications.

Printed dictionaries (dictionaries - books)

Nowadays, the use of printed dictionaries is rather rare. They simply cannot keep up with the changes in modern language and quickly become outdated. In addition, good dictionaries with a really large stock of words and expressions are very voluminous, and searching for a word in a printed dictionary is long and inconvenient compared to electronic analogues.

However, if you are a fan of dictionary books, we will also give you recommendations on which publications you should choose.

Electronic and online dictionaries

These are the dictionaries that are always at hand when you sit at the computer.

The most popular dictionary computer program is ABBYY Lingvo. This translator will work on your computer even without the Internet, but you will have to pay for its use.

If you do not need to work with a dictionary offline, numerous online dictionaries are suitable for you, which can be opened directly in your browser if you have an Internet connection.

A definite must-have for all those learning and using English. A very convenient option for quickly viewing new words, wherever you are. And what’s important is that the dictionary is downloaded completely to your phone, that is, it works without the Internet.

Have you decided what you like? Then now we will give you recommendations for each type of dictionary.

Monolingual (“English-English”) dictionaries

Longman
Oxford
Collins
Cambridge

Dictionaries – online:

Free mobile applications:

Bilingual (“English-Russian”, “Russian-English”) dictionaries.

Every English language learner has to use a dictionary almost every day. Essentially, this reference book is a vocabulary textbook for you, which is why it is so important to find the right material for yourself. Today we will tell you how to choose the right English dictionary.

What are English dictionaries?

Choosing a dictionary depending on your level of knowledge

First, let's decide on the type of dictionary. There are two types of dictionaries: translation (bilingual, i.e. Russian-English, English-Russian) and explanatory (monolingual, i.e. English-English). Which one do you need? It depends on your level of language proficiency. At the levels you should use a translated reference book, and from the level start using an explanatory dictionary along with a translated one.

An English-English dictionary is very useful when learning a language: you “immerse” yourself in English, study not the TRANSLATION of a word, but its MEANING, and learn how it is used. Most teachers agree that an explanatory dictionary helps a student learn to use new vocabulary in the correct context, without switching from English to Russian and back.

There is another opinion: a translation dictionary helps to find a correspondence, a relationship between an English word and its Russian meaning, which facilitates the process of memorizing new vocabulary.

What a good English dictionary should contain

To get started, we suggest watching a useful video where a native speaker explains how to choose a good dictionary and how to use it effectively. And after watching, use our useful tips.

1. Definition of the word

The more meanings the dictionary gives you for the same term, the better. Look through the reference book and use the words you already know to determine how clear and accurate the definitions are, and whether it will be convenient to use such a book/electronic manual.

* If your level of language knowledge is below average, then you should give preference to a dictionary that contains only a few definitions of the word. Avoid large directories that offer up to 20-50 values: at the initial level such information will not be needed and may confuse you.

2. Transcription of the word

If you use a paper version of the dictionary, then phonetic transcription will help you read the word correctly. In the electronic version, it is also desirable to have a transcription: if it is difficult for you to catch the correct pronunciation of a word by ear (and this often happens), you can read it. In the article “” we described in detail why you need to know the transcription signs.

If you have difficulty reading the transcription, then pay attention to the presence records of word pronunciation (for electronic dictionaries). This important feature will help you understand how a word sounds and how native speakers pronounce it. It is advisable that the dictionary offers two pronunciation options: British and American, because sometimes they are quite different from each other.

3. Examples of using the word

It is desirable that each meaning of a word be accompanied by examples of use. This way you will better understand in what context you need to use new vocabulary. Examples of sentences with a new word are remembered quite easily, so if necessary, you can construct a similar sentence using a remembered template. Read a few sentences and think about whether you understand the examples.

4. Synonyms and antonyms of the word

This is a very important addition: you can learn synonymous and antonymic series at the same time. A group of words related in meaning is easy to remember, so you can try to learn not only the concept itself, but also its synonyms. You can work similarly with antonyms. In addition, if you use a dictionary, it will be easier to understand the meaning of a word using synonyms.

5. Idioms and phrasal verbs, slang

There are special dictionaries containing idioms, slang, phrasal verbs, however, a regular dictionary should include the most popular expressions. This is especially true for electronic reference books.

6. Proper names

The presence of proper names in the dictionary is another sign of a good manual. Quite often you have to write geographical names, so it will be useful to have a reference book on hand that contains proper names.

7. Special vocabulary

3. Online dictionaries

Such dictionaries are the most popular type of dictionaries, which are a reference site. Its main advantages are free use and up-to-date information, updated as quickly as possible. All you need is an Internet connection.

The best online dictionaries:

Multitran.ru is a wonderful bilingual dictionary. Provides you with a maximum of different definitions of a word from different industries, and registered users can add their own translations of the word to the dictionary. In addition, you will be presented with hundreds of phrases with the word you are studying. One of the main advantages of this dictionary is the presence of many idioms and slang expressions. A small drawback: the site does not record the pronunciation of the word; you can only find out how it is read from the transcription.
Macmillandictionary.com - convenient explanatory dictionary. The pronunciation of the word is voiced only in the British version, there is a transcription, and also the forms of the word are indicated - singular and plural (if it is a noun). Each word is given definitions in English, phrases and examples of use, as well as synonyms for each specific meaning of the word.
Urbandictionary.com is the largest world-famous dictionary of slang expressions. If you are going to communicate with Americans or watch modern youth TV series, then this reference book will come in handy. It contains a truly unique collection of slang expressions. Please note: definitions are added by native speakers themselves, there is no moderation as such, so you may well come across the following definition: Soul - currency to trade with the devil (soul - currency for trading with the devil).
In addition, you can use analogues of these dictionaries from other popular sites: Merriam-Webster, Cambridge Dictionaries, Oxford Learner's Dictionary.

4. Mobile applications

Such programs are installed on a tablet or smartphone. Every English language learner should definitely have such a dictionary. Your phone is always with you, which means that you can use the installed dictionary at any time; no Internet connection is required. Virtually all English dictionary apps are the same: there are British and American spoken pronunciations, word definitions, synonyms, antonyms, and example phrases. We recommend installing one of the following dictionaries:

How to properly maintain an English dictionary: 2 best ways."