Swahili-English/English-Swahili Practical Dictionary (Hippocrene Practical Dictionary)

An excellent reference for traveling in the kiswahili speaking world. Like any dictionary its going to be somewhat limited in what it can tell you, because for example verbs require knowing the correct two prefixes to add for subject pronoun and tense, and nouns change prefix when pluralizing (sometimes anyway). There are some quick reference resources in the back that are also quite helpful, but may require some additional research to truly grasp (the way time is told in East Africa for example is tricky), and there is a very basic section on noun classes that may actually be more confusing than educational if its your only reference. BUT, you need to know that a giraffe is a twiga, or understand what "baridi" means when the bartender asks about it in reference to your beer; this dictionary is going to be exactly what you need. FWIW, I know a lot of younger folks avoid reference books thinking Google Translate can do everything. I can tell you that its decent, but I speak Spanish, German, and now some Swahili (in addition to English which is obviously my first language), and the issues with Google Translate are universal across languages. Translate misses most of the nuances of a language (singular or plural, subject pronouns and how they relate to verb conjugation, etc.). It may allow you to get your point across, or it may cause you to say something totally off the wall. Its not a substitute for actually understanding how to speak another language, and a big part of that is vocabulary, for which this dictionary is excellent. Pair it with a solid book on grammar, and a phrase book to get you off the ground, and you'll be much better able to communicate. Folks in East Africa love it when visitors make the effort to speak kiswahili. I've found it to be a very fun language to learn, and look forward to returning in a couple years to test my skills.

I am extremely pleased with this product and the condition it came in--there seemed to be maybe a small creasing/indention in the left corner of the front on the top, seeming as if it had been shipped, which would be the assumption of course! but I am quite particular. A casual glance reveals nothing, you have to look closely. I've seen books in the bookstore that have damage, but this basically looked like it had been in a bookstore in good condition. The cover is beautiful and apparently quite durable! It's important to me to have my important books be durable! More importantly! the dictionary is wonderful with complex vocabulary such as, even, "smear campaign," as an entry in English, and solid descriptions of meanings of Swahili words, with Swahili being a complex language, considered originally, when I checked, a level of difficulty above German, and two levels of difficulty above French, Italian, etc. Apart from what I originally anticipated, Swahili is quite different from English, and more difficult, making such dictionaries that are quality, as this one, a real help, quite a find, and a resource to keep from getting confused that "nyanya" can mean grandmother, for instance, as well as tomato; how "ziwa" can mean lake, "maziwa" can mean lakes, milk or breasts; and how "mtu," person, is, in plural, "watu," and not "mamtu," as in the previous example. The print is quite legible, the book having over 35,000 words--PLENTY for the tourist and many experts. It is quite thick, about 1 1/2 to 2 inches. Some grammar, such as the "dreaded" noun-class system, is presented very briefly in the back. Other than a few reference features for those speaking either language or both, it's about all dictionary entries. At 48 I can read it readily. The entries are not superficial, and Swahili not always intuitive in its vocabulary, so that compound words in English would seem to have related words as equivalents; sometimes yes, sometimes no. The entries also provide for expressions, so "pay" might have as part of the entry "pay up," "pay off" and "pay day"--this is invaluable! and one of the reasons I am so happy with the book. Again, it's just not only common equivalencies, but, for example, a word in English that can represent certain things, or vice-versa, has several entries, perhaps four or five or more. Best wishes studying Swahili!

I am learning to speak Swahili and was taking classes while living in Tanzania. I used this book every day to help with homework exercises and for translating every day words. Best dictionary out there that I could find, and my Swahili teacher loved it and now recommends it to his other students. Translations go both ways: English to Swahili and Swahali to English.

This is a very helpful dictionary and was recommended by my Kiswahili instructor. It's good to have something to use besides an online translator, because it can be far too easy to become dependent on those sorts of things. My biggest criticism--and it is a big criticism, for the price of this dictionary--is that there is no indication of noun classes. This is one area of the language that I am struggling with and it would have been very helpful to include with each word, seeing as it is such a fundamental aspect of Kiswahili.

Good, modern dictionary. I am an ESL teacher to a Congolese family living in the U.S., and I've been searching for (and purchasing) Swahili dictionaries as I could find them on the internet. The Hippocrene Practial Dictonary is a recently published dictionary with more modern words than some of the previous dictonaries that I have purchased for teaching. In this age of technology and computers, this dictonary seems to contain more modern words and phrases for people living in the West, good for recent emigres and refugees. My Congolese student, Norbert, was impressed with the book and said he was sure he couldn't have found a better dictionary living in Central Africa.

Nice and compact. Just what I was looking for.

This dictionary is far more than sufficient. I traveled around Tanzania for 5 weeks, and when I stayed in a rural village with my family, I could convey any message I wanted to by looking up words in this dictionary. It is not a pocket dictionary, so it will take up some room in your bag, but it is a wonderful tool to translate in either direction (Swahili to English or English to Swahili), at a very reasonable price!

初心者むけではありませんでした。

I use this dictionary every day and it has translations for most words that I need. You need to understand a little basic Swahili grammar to know how to look things up - particularly that all verbs begin with ku- but are listed under the rest of that word. For example, kulala = to sleep, look it up under lala.

What I liked about the book is that all words in the dictionary translate to a different language.

Ottimo dizionario di medie dimensioni (non e' tascabile ma "zainabile" si'). Per l'esperienza che ho avuto va benissimo. Sarebbe stato bello avessero inserito anche una tavola con le varie inflessioni per noun class.

Everyone needs to get this, it is so helpful and the size, enables it to be perfect to take with you wherever you go.