Importance of a Good Dictionary

If you want to learn a language, one of your most important tools is the dictionary. And don't just stop at one. Each publication is different.

Many people don't know much about how to use a dictionary, beyond looking up a word and finding what that particular dictionary says it means. But "A good dictionary is a record of a group of educated people's adventures in tracing words' histories and uses."

My top recommendations:

In designing the fabulous word magnets, I went through a lot of dictionaries. The following were my favorites:

English-Persian

There are two dictionaries that I really like:

1. The Nashr-e Now Concise English-English, English-Persian Dictionary by Mohamad Reza Ja'fary (pictured here). This dictionary gives you the definition of the word in English (so it works as an English dictionary) as well as the definition in Persian. It also gives a variety of uses of each word and has cool illustrations and other extra features. The only drawback is it doesn't use "zir-o-ze-bar" in the Persian definitions (well, a few here and there, but not much) so you might not be clear on how to pronounce the words you look up.

2. Farhang Moaser English-Persian Dictionary, 2nd Edition, by Mohammad Reza Bateni and the Assistants. This dictionary is half the size of the above, and lists the English word without definition, followed by Persian definitions. It's more concise, but it has some of the best translations I've seen. This one also does not use zir-o-ze-bar, so you have to know some Persian to use it. Or just take the next step and look the Persian word up in a Persian-English dictionary as follows:

Persian-English

I was really struggling with the magnet project until I stumbled on The Aryanpur Progressive Persian-English Dictionary (Four Volumes, Comprehensive) by Manoochehr Aryanpur Kashani. This is my favorite dictionary ever. It has tons of Persian words, consistent transliteration, thorough definitions and, best of all, the word used in sentences and expressions. These sentences take it over the top.

Usually when you use a dictionary, you get a sense of what a word means, but have no idea how to use it in spoken language. So you get frustrated. The sentences in this dictionary (many of which are funny) will take that frustration away and give you a sense of the language in use. I'm very impressed with this dictionary.

Unfortunately, I can't seem to find it in America. I have looked it in the bookstores in Westwood, and online. So far, no luck. The closest I found was a one volume ENGLISH-Persian dictionary by the same author.

I purchased my four volume PERSIAN-English set in Iran and have found it invaluable resource for learning Persian. If you know where these can be purchased, please contact us so that we can put a link here.

Persian-Persian

The Farhang-e Farsi-e Omid by Hassan Omid is a great Persian-Persian dictionary. It's all in Persian, of course, so it's for advanced readers. This dictionary has a nice, concise explanation of Persian Grammar. Another handy feature is that it tells you the origin of most of the words, whether Persian, Pahlavi, Arabic, Turkic, French, etc. Also, this dictionary shows pronounciation with zir-o-ze-bar.

My Dream Dictionary

The Aryanpour Progressive dctionary is my favorite, but I think it can be improved. What's missing is an explanation of the origin of the word (Arabic, Persian, Turkish, etc.) and identification of the root word. Ideally, they would have the root word identified, so that you could go back to the root. Then when you get to the definition of the root, it should also list all the ways the root is mutated to make different words.

Make Your Own Dictionary

Don't like these dictionaries? Go out and make one of your own. Here are some tips. Note that this is a great way to improve your Persian and keep a scrapbook at the same time. Highly recommended, especially for kids. Do it at the same time you make an alphabet book.

Specialized Dictionaries

Coming Soon: A list of dictionaries.

Check out this Glossary of Zoroastrian Terms that will give insight into the Persian language.

Here is a list of Persian boy names.

Here is a list of Persian girl names.

Online Dictionaries

www.farsidic.com