Product Description

This edition of the Pocket Oxford Russian Dictionary is derived from the acclaimed Oxford Russian Dictionary, including up to date vocabulary from all areas of life today. It also includes a guide to Russian and English grammar, extra help with letter-writing, and an ultra-clear, user-friendly layout for easy access. Language is now studied in the context of its culture, so there is a supplement giving lively and useful information on life in the Russian-speaking world. - political institutions, educational systems, the media, key dates, and festivals. Portable, compact, and affordable, the Pocket Oxford Russian Dictionary is ideal for school, the office, and lower university level.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #45767 in Books
• Published on: 2006-01-26
• Original language: English, Russian
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 960 pages

Customer Reviews

Excellent little dictionary
I use this dictionary every day, and I absolutely love it. I have used other 'pocket' sized dictionaries and I have always found their lack of vocabulary frustrating. The Pocket Oxford dictionary seems to be only lacking in obscure Russian internet slang, which isn't really surprising or much of a problem.

The only downsides are:
1: The English to Russian half doesn't have the declensions of words - you have to look them up again in the Russian to English half.
2: It is terribly badly bound. A millimetre of glue is all that holds the pages in, and it isn't enough. My first copy fell to pieces after about three months. I am not heavy handed - I have other dictionaries that have lasted 15 years or more with the same use. I find the dictionary so useful that I just bought another one to replace it.

Unless you want a dictionary you can pass on to your grandchildren (or even your children), I would definitely recommend this.

Get the original 1981 edition
There have been two very different products with this title - the 1981 edition, which is genuinely pocket size (13 by 10 by 3 cm) and the 1994 and 2006 editions, which aren't (19 by 13 by 5 cm). My three stars are for the later editions; I would award five to the 1981 edition, which is really worth having, since it is easy to carry around and yet (with its 800 pages) contains most of the words you'll meet; it's also so well bound as to last for ever. (If all you want is Russian-English, you could hunt out the separate, hardback publication of this part of the dictionary in the 1970s.) But the later editions seem an unsatisfactory halfway house - neither pocket size, nor as full as one would wish with a dictionary to keep on one's desk, for which one must turn to the large Oxford Russian Dictionary (although it too is far from complete). The 1981 edition (or its reprints into the early 1990s, with minor revisions every few years) is out of print, of course, but Amazon will enable you to find a secondhand copy, at a bargain price.

What every learner should have...
If you want to learn Russian one of the first things you should buy is a dictionary. This is the one I bought. This does everything it says on the tin - it's a Russian/English dictionary. It might not fit in your pocket, but I have never met a 'Pocket' edition that did. This is a great resource for anyone learning, it's easy to carry about and is something that you can have on hand. Recommended.