Right, I know it’s been a LOOOONG while since I’ve posted anything, but here I am again 🙂
I’ve decided to write a post about online dictionaries, since I am now working for one. I have a very different approach to it, since I don’t regard them from a user perspective any longer.
The ones that rock
First of all, since I work for bab.la, I am somewhat biased. Still I’ll tell you what’s I really like about it:
If you search for a word that is missing, you can let us translators know and we’ll add it within a day (or 2 – we have lives ;))
I am also a big fan of the context sentences that come up with words you look up – makes it a lot easier to use it in the right context.
The other English-French dictionaries I cherish? Well Word Reference is like my first love – always been here for me, as old as time (or 1999 more precisely). Too bad it is not updated often enough, some new terms are missing.
I’m a huge fan of Le Grand Dictionnaire Terminologique Québécois: the database is huge, loads of very complex and technical terms – a gem.
Linguee is also something I use. The idea is good, but a bit limited somehow – not enough entries and the content is not 100% reliable. Still a good one to have up your sleeve.
The ones that are more… macarena
Okay, I don’t understand the whole craze about Reverso. Does it have anything? I never find anything in there. Forget it.
The mysterious cnrs.fr is also something I would not recommend. Awful design, poor content – stay away from it.
Finally, the most disgraceful of all: Larousse. Seriously, such an institution should be among the best online dictionaries. Guess what? I can’t tell for the content is invisible due to programming mistakes. Unacceptable. From the content it offers, I would believe it has less to offer than most.
What English-French dictionaries do you use? I’m always eager to read more suggestions!