4th Revised Edition. Enlarged and amended with circa 13000 new entries.
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"It is a great pleasure to be able to recommend this dictionary wholeheartedly. Its scholarship, accuracy and reliability make it one of the most significant contributions to Arabic lexicography." --Language, The Linguistic Society of America Quarterly
"Its comprehensiveness and reliability as well as its clear presentation of the material have made it the principal aid for the study of written Arabic" --Journal of the American Oriental Society
"There can be no doubt that ... it will be a basic tool for all study of modern Arabic for some time to come" --Middle East Journal
"Its comprehensiveness and reliability as well as its clear presentation of the material have made it the principal aid for the study of written Arabic" --Journal of the American Oriental Society
"There can be no doubt that ... it will be a basic tool for all study of modern Arabic for some time to come" --Middle East Journal
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
99 of 100 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
First, I must say this is the only Modern Written Arabic (MWA) - English dictionary that the student of Arabic has to have. Others, al-Mawrid, for example, are useful as supplements, and contain new vocabulary, and there is a more recent German edition (5th edition) of Wehr published by Harrassowitz, but this book, German or English, has a standard of scholarship unrivalled by any other MWA-English dictionary. Middle East-published MWA-English dictionaries like al-Mawrid don't give the grammatical information learners of Arabic need, such as broken plurals, verbal vowelling, verbal nouns (masdars), let alone how verbs are used with prepositions, all of which Wehr tells the user.
Words are in root order, so maktaba (desk) <mktbh> and kaatib (writer) <k'tb> both are found under the verb kataba (to write) <ktb>. This really is the easiest way of ordering Arabic dictionaries once you've mastered your grammar, though an alphabetic order dictionary is a help when you're starting and occasionally even when you're expert.
This dictionary is NOT a dictionary of Classical Arabic (although Beeston in his anthology of Bassar bin Burd reckoned that Wehr covered the vast majority of the vocabulary of this poet of the 8th Century AD). For Classical Arabic, Lane (perhaps supplemented by Hava's al-Faraid) is essential. But Lane is useless for modern Arabic. And if you're reading mediaeval Arabic, you will find Wehr fills in some of the gaps in Lane.
This dictionary is NOT a dialect dictionary, though it contains many dialect words that have found their way into the written Arabic of Egypt, Iraq, etc.... Read more ›
Words are in root order, so maktaba (desk) <mktbh> and kaatib (writer) <k'tb> both are found under the verb kataba (to write) <ktb>. This really is the easiest way of ordering Arabic dictionaries once you've mastered your grammar, though an alphabetic order dictionary is a help when you're starting and occasionally even when you're expert.
This dictionary is NOT a dictionary of Classical Arabic (although Beeston in his anthology of Bassar bin Burd reckoned that Wehr covered the vast majority of the vocabulary of this poet of the 8th Century AD). For Classical Arabic, Lane (perhaps supplemented by Hava's al-Faraid) is essential. But Lane is useless for modern Arabic. And if you're reading mediaeval Arabic, you will find Wehr fills in some of the gaps in Lane.
This dictionary is NOT a dialect dictionary, though it contains many dialect words that have found their way into the written Arabic of Egypt, Iraq, etc.... Read more ›
33 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If you are serious about reading and writing Arabic properly, then Hans Wehr's dictionary is by far and away the best there is. I have been studying Arabic in various ways for the last 15 years and have yet to find anything better. Since this dictionary is organised according to the root of the word, rather than simply the letters, it gives you a far better understanding of its true meaning. Also, using it with an English-Arabic dictionary ensures that the word you have chosen is really the one you need. Although it is now a few years old, it contains virtually every word you might come across, and many more fascinating ones aswell!
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I've been using this dictionary for four years and i've used other dictionaries as well. The Al-Mawrid Arabic-English dictionary may have just as many words in it or more, but the definitions are actually definitions in this dictionary (not just synonyms). I like the compactness of this dictionary, it's easy to carry around and store yet comprehensive enough to find virtually any Arabic word if you know the root. There has never been a word I couldn't find in it after I knew the proper root of an Arabic word.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I'm pretty damn serious. I have found rare words and rare synonyms of good words. If a word can not be found in the Oxford Arabic-English dictionary, or any other dictionary I've used, at least 50% of the time I found it in the Hans Wehr. This is an excellent resource for Arabic speakers and non-indigenous speakers who are learning or learned Arabic. A life-saver in many take-home essay exams.
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
By Alp-eater
Format:Paperback
I now have two copies of this gem of a dictionary. I've preserved my first paperback edition which I've had since 1984, even although it's nothing more now, than a sheaf of loose sheets. It served me with distinction during four years living in Sudan - unfortunately the desert sand finally dislodged most of the pages. I replaced it with a hardback copy bought in Cairo. If you're at all interested in learning modern Arabic and want a reliable reference book go no further than Hans Wehr. Such is the layout, that each time you use the dictionary it forces you to revise what you know about verb structures and the composition of complex word forms - so looking up a new word is also helping you consolidate and practise what you've learnt. It's one of the few genuinely indispensable books on my shelves.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Reviewer_r
Format:Paperback
I have used this book very much, and i wouldnt have done well without it. I am a translator with an Arabic mother tongue and very good knowledge and practice of English. Do not hesitate, go ahead and buy it, this book is excellent and you will love it.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By Paul Raymond
Format:Paperback
As someone who regularly translates and uses Arabic for my work, "Hans" is absolutely indispensable.
However, I would like to beg the publishers to create a Kindle version. This thing is simply too heavy to carry everywhere, and translators often need to travel, it's the nature of the job.
Also, the thing could do with a major update.
So, five stars, but I'll give you six if you make a Hans Wehr iphone app...
However, I would like to beg the publishers to create a Kindle version. This thing is simply too heavy to carry everywhere, and translators often need to travel, it's the nature of the job.
Also, the thing could do with a major update.
So, five stars, but I'll give you six if you make a Hans Wehr iphone app...
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I've worn out two paperback copies of this dictionary, and I'm very glad to have finally gotten a hardbound copy. It's one of the best dictionaries I've used, though it requires some knowledge of Arabic grammar to get started - the definitions are listed according to the word's three or four letter roots.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Yes I like it
Have not yet started using it. Looks very helpful, I didn't realise that it was only from Arabic to English. Read more
Published 18 days ago by AFZA
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Excellent reference
I am a native English speaker, fluent in Hebrew but just an intermediate student of Arabic. So I can't pass judgement on the accuracy of translation. Read more
Published 1 month ago by sally zahav
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very quick and efficient delivery!
I am very pleased to have received the book two days after having ordered it.
Reviewing the book.... Read more
Reviewing the book.... Read more
Published 16 months ago by kaky
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dictionary of Modern Standard Arabic
Very well organized dictionary, though you need to know how it's organized to search for words. But it's indispensable for all students of modern standard Arabic.
Published on 19 Mar 2011 by Nurangiz
3.0 out of 5 stars
Paper quality not good enough for the price i paid.
I paid [...] for this dictionary and although the actual book is good the paper quality is not worth the money I paid and I was very dissapointed.
Published on 25 Jan 2011 by AM
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent
The only dictionary any serious student of Arabic needs, and in my experience, covers both the classical and modern usages of many words. Read more
Published on 7 April 2010 by Zafar
5.0 out of 5 stars
its better than people say it is
This is a dictionary that makes for good reading. A detailed explanation of word meanings and the all important derived forms of the verbs.
Published on 30 Mar 2010 by artsariz
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best
I bought this is a replacement for a previous one that wore out (I think we've had 4 of them?!) When we were at university (over 30 years ago) it was the recommended dictionary to... Read more
Published on 22 Mar 2010 by Susan
5.0 out of 5 stars
Everything you wanted to know about arabic words
It's difficult to write a review on a book that has deserved so many comments. It's in fact the most helpful instrument for people that want to know more about the language and... Read more
Published on 7 Nov 2001 by varese@visto.com
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