This dictionary is a great resource, covering contemporary English and Italian. The word list and examples in the Italian-English section are backed by the work involved in preparing the Italian dictionaries edited by Tullio De Mauro and published by Paravia in 2000. It is matched with the Oxford University Press word list and examples. In both Italian-English and English-Italian sections, a triangle marks the 7,000 core words of the language. The most frequent 3,000 words are marked with a black triangle and the next most frequent 4,000 words are marked with a white triangle. The explanatory chart just inside the cover is an easy to find and use resource, provided in English behind the front cover and in Italian at the back cover. The middle section has many useful examples, such as "Condoglianze (formal)" in an English format on the left page and "Condolences: formal" in an Italian format on the right page.
My wife and I are taking Italian classes to prepare for a summer trip. It's a big, heavy book, so we don't move it from the desk where we work. We refer to this book frequently as we progress through our class.
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192198663_.gif){kind=small}
