# I need a GOOD french dicitonary **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 28, 2005, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-good-french-dicitonary/296640 "2005-03-28T18:52:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Estilicon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Estilicon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Estilicon)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-good-french-dicitonary/296640/1 "2005-03-28T18:52:06Z")
1.- I Don’t know if this belongs to this forum.- 2.- I don’t care if it is a french dictionary, french to spanish or french to english.- 3.- Google is no use, if my request is not granted quickly the french will return to the BBQ where they belong. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![AwSnappity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a3d4f5/32.png) [@AwSnappity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AwSnappity)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-good-french-dicitonary/296640/2 "2005-03-28T19:16:46Z")
What level of French are you at? My Harper Collins French Concise Dictionary (French-to-English, English-to-French) has treated me pretty well even in my 400-level college courses. It’s item HC 104, about halfway down the page at [this site](http://www.continentalbook.com/catalog/french/frdictbiling.html). I was able to buy my dictionary at a Barnes & Noble, so it’s not very obscure. ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-good-french-dicitonary/296640/3 "2005-03-28T19:36:26Z")
Larousse makes excellent dictionaries. I also have a Collins Robert that I have been very pleased with. You really need one of those big giant ones, you know, about 3.5 inches thick (at least). Smaller ones or “pocket versions” are no good. You might want to get both a French-French and a French-English (or other language), depending on what level you are at. ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-good-french-dicitonary/296640/4 "2005-03-28T21:06:23Z")
Checking in from the intermediate-to-advanced level of francophony…I’ve mostly gotten by fine with small 2 French-English dictionaries (Collins and Wordsworth) and 1 small French-French dictionary (Le Robert Micro-Poche…despite the title, you’d need a pretty big pocket). ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-good-french-dicitonary/296640/5 "2005-03-28T22:32:29Z")
Any one of the Peit Robert dictionaries should be good. They are almost _de rigeur_ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-good-french-dicitonary/296640/6 "2005-03-28T22:43:14Z")
I forgot about my Le Robert at home. That’s probably the best one I’ve got. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-good-french-dicitonary/296640/7 "2005-03-29T02:45:48Z")
The two main french dictionnaries are the “Robert” and the “Larousse”. Both come in “light” and “heavy” versions, and both are reliable. I personnally tend to buy a Larousse, but it’s because I’m accustomed to them. As for French/English dictionnary, I’m personnally quite satisfied with my “Harrap’s”. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-good-french-dicitonary/296640/8 "2005-03-29T03:51:51Z")
There’s a prejudice that Robert is better than Larousse - that Larousse is a little too loosey-goosey with its definitions (sort of like the prejudice of Oxford vs. Webster’s). However, I’ve got a Petit Larousse (which isn’t) that I like very much. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-good-french-dicitonary/296640/9 "2005-03-29T03:56:14Z")
Since I started studying French a couple of years ago I’ve been using a Larousse dictionary, which has been great. ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-good-french-dicitonary/296640/10 "2005-03-29T04:33:12Z")
Un autre vote pour Harrap.