Dictionaries and translators:

These are a few useful websites that are used by speakers, professional translators, and others when they need to consult certain terms and phrases. I suggest that when you do assignments, that you try your best to do them by yourself. However, if you don’t know a term or phrase, or you are trying to translate an idiomatic expression you may consult:

1. Word Reference This is good for single words and phrases. It has the format of an online dictionary where you type the word or phrase in the search bar and it produces the translation, examples and further below discussion forums about the terms(s).

2. Linguee  has a similar online dictionary format as Word Ref. When you search for a word you get different translations and sentences with examples. And further below on a drop-down menu called “External sources”, it shows texts from official websites where they word you searched for is used in Spanish and next to it, the same text in English. That way you can see the word used in context in the same sentence in both langs.

3. Reverso is also very good. Here you can use the dictionary form and search for word meanings and even translate documents (PDFs, PPT, Word docs). It also has the “Context” option that shows you the texts side-by-side like Word Ref and Linguee; a grammar check, a synonym and a conjugations section, etc.

4. Diccionario Libre is similar to the Urban Dictionary of the Spanish-speaking world. Here you can find idiomatic expressions and phrases that people use daily in colloquial language of “non-standard” varieties of Spanish. This may be useful for looking up words that may appear in the songs I have posted on Blackboard, or if you are having a conversation with your local bodega guy, neighbor, store clerk, etc.