French English Bilingual Visual Dictionary (DK Visual Dictionaries) Paperback – August 1, 2005

My husband's first language is French and no one in his family speaks English except for him. He finally got tired of translating for me and I started taking French classes about a year ago. I already knew basic things like menus and how to say hello and general light conversation.I found this book extremely helpful because it is a departure from a traditional French/English dictionary that just lists words in alphabetical order. I have one of those old clunkers at home and it's about 20 pounds and gotten zero use. Because this dictionary groups things together by topic, it is SO much easier to use. If we are talking about sports or going out shopping, I can turn to those pages and I have a list of words I can use to join the discussion. It makes things so much easier when I'm trying to communicate with family.The pictures are also a great visual aid. I'm a big visual learner so this really helps me understand what I'm learning and saying. My husband's family can also point to pictures and help me use them correctly.I've seen a couple of drawbacks in other reviews. One of them is the size. I actually prefer the smaller size. It feels a lot more portable that something larger and I don't feel so silly if I need to take it with me if we go out to eat. The other drawback was that there is no pronunciation guide. Unfortunately that part can be frustrating. I got lucky and married a walking/talking pronunciation guide for when I get stuck so this doesn't apply to me.In any case, I HIGHLY recommend this dictionary. It feels more interactive than the old clunkers and will get far more use.

People complain about this being too small, but the size actually makes it nicely portable. It is thick though, and has a LOT of content.My main positive is that the words are listed in French first and boldly and in English below and less noticeable. This is great for those like me who want to look at the picture and the French term and not rely so much on the English translation. This is better than the Oxford visual French dictionary which has the English translation more prominent and bolder.There are many useful words, and the book is broken down into sections based on subject. So if you want to learn about the French words relating to say... a rock band, then go to that section. If you want to know about astronauts and the International Space Station, there is a section for that. (Seriously!)It's a handy reference useful at just about any level. I highly, highly recommend it!Update: Really unclear why the picture shows the Italian version now... I can verify that I purchased this through Amazon (not a 3rd party) and received the French version (the one shown in the second picture). Seriously... it showed the French version in the picture when I bought it. (Sigh...)

The French English Bilingual Visual Dictionary is an outstanding resource for learning French (or even learning English) because it uses a sort of "Rosetta Stone learning style". You see the picture and then the French word to skip the middle step of translating the French into English before associating the English with the object. You directly associate the French with the object. This is how we learned as children because it is natural. In fact this user friendly book is helpful for both adults and children in learning French. The English words are also available above the French words in case there is any confusion as to the object in question. I very highly recommend this book for personal personal French study!

There was no way my sister and I were going to become suddenly proficient in French! This book was a godsend to help us communicate our needs, and we weren't shy about admitting our language deficiency. Most of the Parisians we encountered seemed sympathetic to our inability to properly pronounce French (after all, we are just Americans), and found our pointing to the pictures in this dictionary perhaps a bit childish, but definitely helpful. (Then our new acquaintances would teach us the proper pronunciation.) Everyone did seem quite appreciative that we were spending our $$$$, and eager to help us spend more!

This is a SPLENDID book. I could pour over it for hours. I followed up this purchase with a Spanish English book of the same type. This book has more than 350 pages of beautifully detailed photographs with clear French and English labels. It does not have a pronunciation guide, and it mostly features nouns. I wish it had a section on verbs. It has done a fair job with phrases by including a few phrases in each section, and two pages of "useful phrases" at the back of the book. The final 38 pages feature an index of both French and English words. This book is SO good, you'll want to stock up on them as travel gifts for family and friends. I am.

I have the Visual Dictionaries in Arabic, French, and Spanish. I teach English to refugees and immigrants and I find these dictionaries to be a wonderful tool for my students. I give them as presents to share with their families and it seems there's things in them that everyone can use. I especially enjoy the detail of information on things like tools or car parts . . . my students are learning how to take care of their houses and cars and this vocabulary helps them explain problems to their landlord or mechanic. It helps them gain a useful vocabulary beyond the basics.

The pictures in the dictionary are real photographs, not cartoonish and are very well done. I love this dictionary. It is great for taking shopping, to a restaurant, or where ever if you do not speak French well. It is small enough to carry in a regular sized handbag but too large for a jacket pocket unless the pocket is large. The book looks exactly the same as the advertisement photo.