Arabic-English Dictionary: The Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic

What is there left to say about this excellent dictionary? It's probably all been said, but here some of its characteristics.1. I learned Arabic in the military at DLI in Monterey. All of our professors were native speakers, some from universities in Cairo, Baghdad, etc., and this is the dictionary they prefer.2. This is truly a dictionary, not just a lexicon. Written Arabic can be ambiguous without the diacritical markings, which are not written in this text, either, but the transliteration of the word is given and easily put to use. E.g. "صبع - ṣaba'a a (ṣab') ... to insert one's finger (ها into the hen, so as to ascertain whether she is going to lay an egg)" You finally know how to say that.3. Once more, there are no diacritical markings in this text. I think this is preferable simply because the markings would add a lot of clutter. Keep in mind this version is the size of a handbook, so the font is necessarily small.4. The book is easily portable, being precisely 5.14" x 8.46" x 1.38" (w x l x h). You like or no like, I don't know. I could go for a hardback or even a leather binding. There's certainly no way you would cut this and have it rebound.5. I've used al-Mawrid, also, which is great for quick look-ups since words are ordered by their spelling, making irregular verbs easy to find, sometimes, and you can get it with the English-Arabic part. Hans Wehr, on the other hand, orders everything according to the root verb, real or implied. Sticking with the root system ensures all related words to a given root appear together. I think this makes Hans Wehr better for _studying_ Arabic, not just getting through a BBC article.6. Hans Wehr reinforces your understanding of the measures. It does so because it usually doesn't write them out, forcing you to memorize them.This is the standard. I had to have it again after losing my first one in a move.

This is literally the best Arabic dictionary I have ever used. It is SO GOOD! It has so many entries which is great for Arabic learners.

I'm happy with Amazon for its swift delivery of my order. Accordingly I'm supposed to receive the book latest 29th July but instead I got in a matter of ten days.Thank you Amazon.Now for the book - I've got several arab-english dictionaries that I switched from on another whenever I need to search for a word. But The Hans Wehr dictionary proved otherwise. It is easy to use and the user gets the benefit of several definitions explained and examples to show its usage. Based on the three letter root of Arab language words are easily searched.The only gripe I have is it's pages. They are thin and delicate and can be easily torn through everyday usage. I do not know if you have the hard cover version, I have not seen one and bought the paperback version then. Another plus is the clear printing easy to read format.Nonetheless I'm happy with it and find it valuable as recommended by many authors of Arab Language authors. Its a 'must owned dictionary'.

Working with an Arabic dictionary requires real skill, not to mention a great deal of patience. The Hans Wehr is organized (as all authentic Arabic dictionaries are) by word roots, and although with practice many patterns are easy to spot, particularly ones with letters extraneous to the root, there are also many which are not- especially ones with 'waw' and 'yay'. The only solution here is experience. It is also essential to memorize the nine classes of derived verbs, since derived verbs are not given as separate entries, but rather are listed (by their class) under the root of the simple verb.This isn't intended to scare anybody off, but although the Hans Wehr is certainly the best and most complete nonspecialist Arabic-English dictionary available, it definitely works on its own terms. It is essential for any serious student of Arabic and will be an everyday companion for the years it will take to learn the language well. One could only wish that a similar value was available for translating English into Arabic. Maybe some day.

This dictionary is great! I don't know the root system very well but this dictionary will teach me. I actually like the fact that I can't just look up the English word and find the Arabic word, but instead I have to work for it. That will be a big help in my journey towards fluency. I was also pleasantly surprised to see there's roman transliteration for every word after I had read in one of the reviews that there were no short vowels.I gave the dictionary 4 stars for two main reasons. 1. There can be several English words for one Arabic word, but no instruction on when to use each of them. And 2. The paper cover barely made it through shipping so I can imagine what it will look like after I've cracked it open dozens of times in the future. The overall binding and cover chosen are poor for a reference book but all companies look to make everything cheaper and cheaper as time goes on so I'm not surprised.Overall I think this dictionary is a must have. In the beginning stages of learning Arabic, you may need a primary Arabic dictionary that goes from English to Arabic but eventually this will likely become your primary.

As a student, learner, teacher, instructor, and recipient of a Graduate degree in Arabic (BYU/UMD/Georgetown), this is the dictionary you want to use. Don't buy a dictionary that doesn't arrange words by their 3 (and sometimes 4 or 5) letter roots.I actually read this entire dictionary, one page a day, and it did wonders for my Arabic. I have used it to translate Al-Jazeera, Al-Quds, Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Nizar Qabbaani, and so much more. This dictionary is a worthy investment for the serious student of the Arabic language.