English / French Dictionary app review: a comprehensive translation tool from the leading dictionary and reference book publishers

Introduction

If you have studied French or have known about French in any academic setting, you must have surely heard of Larousse. As the leading dictionary and reference book publishers, Larousse has come up with an English / French Dictionary in the form of an iPhone and iPad app.

At the exorbitant cost of $4.99, I'm sure you must be wondering if the developer is ripping people off simply because it's a well-known brand, or if you are paying a fair price for a high-quality product. I am here to help you find out!

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Database & Features

English / French Dictionary contains over 250,000 words and phrases along with 400,000 translations. The translations aren't simply English words translated to French, but also vice-versa. Furthermore, the variety of options for translations are displayed to help you better grasp the nuances of the meaning of each word or phrase.

Each page of this app has hyperlinked words which can be conveniently clicked to view the Larousse dictionary translation. Proverbs, saying, abbreviations, idiomatic expressions, and verb conjugation tables are all included in this app.

Like other dictionary apps, this one can also be used offline once the app has been downloaded onto your iPhone or iPad. The recorded pronunciation feature, however, requires that you are connected to the Internet.

Words can be searched using the search box and your search history is also available in case you want to return to a word you have previously looked up.

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toTo Buy Or Not To Buy?

This is clearly a high-quality app which has been carefully put together by Editions Larousse, but having reviewed more than a handful of dictionary apps, I just don't feel like it is worth the price. There are several translation dictionaries available in French as well as multilingual ones, some of which are free and have a reasonably large database of words, phrases, idioms, and so on.

I understand that Larousse is a big name in academic French, so if you wish to get an app for those purposes, by all means, go for this one. But if you are a beginner, backpacker, or basically want a dictionary app, then you are better off trying one of the free ones as you won't get much more in the way of features by paying five bucks.

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Pros & Cons

Pros

• Access all content, except recorded pronunciations, in offline mode
• Hyperlinks on words make for convenient and quick searching

Cons

• Very expensive compared to other apps in its category

Final Words

Although English / French Dictionary delivers in comprehensiveness and quality, I don't believe it's worth the $4.99 when there are so many iPad and iPhone apps that are cheaper or completely free. Unless you need a very reliable and accurate source for academic purposes, I would not recommend this app.