Using a Bilingual Dictionary

A bilingual entry for an English word offers the correct spelling, gives the word’s part of speech, states whether it is transitive verb (can have a direct object), and provides the Spanish equivalent or equivalents if the word has multiple meanings in English.

A bilingual entry for a Spanish word gives the correct spelling, notes the word’s part of speech, gives the gender of a noun, states whether it is transitive verb and/or an irregular verb, and gives the English equivalent or equivalents if the word has multiple meanings in Spanish.

A bilingual dictionary typically does not contain definitions although it may have examples of how a word is used in context.

To get most of your bilingual dictionary:

• Remember the Spanish alphabet. Dictionaries published before 1996 have separate categories for words beginning with ch, ll, and ñ.
• Pay close attention to parts of speech--for instance, cry as a noun is different from cry as a verb--and note the gender of Spanish nouns. Two good examples of words with different meanings depending on their gender are cura (el cura: priest; la cura=the cure) and frente (el frente=the battle front; la frente=the forehead).
• Look closely at numbering and punctuation in a complex entry. Multiple meanings often are separated by commas; different meanings frequently are separated by semicolons. Parenthetical cues may help distinguish between different word choices.
• Cross-reference the various Spanish possibilities offered to see which is closest to the desired meaning.