Bilingual dictionaries are essential tools for second language learners, but using them correctly requires more than just looking up a word in one language and picking the first translation you see. Many words have more than one possible equivalent in the other language. Expressions and set phrases can be difficult, because you have to figure out which word to look up. In addition, bilingual dictionaries use specialized terms and abbreviations, a phonetic alphabet to indicate pronunciation, and other techniques to provide a great deal of information in a limited amount of space. The bottom line is that there's a lot more to bilingual dictionaries than meets the eye, so check out these tips to learn how to get the most out of your bilingual dictionary.
A. Not every single word is in the dictionary
Dictionaries try to save space whenever possible, and one of the most important ways they do this is by not duplicating information. Many words have more than one form: nouns can be singular or plural (and sometimes masculine or feminine), adjectives can be comparative and superlative, verbs can be conjugated into different tenses, and so on. If dictionaries were to list every single version of every single word, they'd have to be about 10 times bigger. Instead, dictionaries list the singular noun, the basic adjective (in French, this means the singular, masculine form) and the infinitive of the verb.
For example, you may not find a dictionary entry for the word serveuse, so you need to replace the feminine ending -euse with the masculine -eur, and then when you look up serveur, you'll find it means
"waiter," so serveuse obviously means "waitress."
The adjective verts is plural, so remove the -s and look up vert, to discover it means "green."
When you wonder what tu sonnes means, you have to consider that sonnes is a verb conjugation, so the infinitive is probably sonner, sonnir, or sonnre - look those up to learn thatsonner means "to ring."
Likewise, reflexive verbs, such as se laver and se réveiller, are listed under the verb, laver and réveiller, not the reflexive pronoun se - otherwise that entry would run to hundreds of pages!
B. Some words have two (or more) meanings
Both French and English have a lot of homonyms, or words that look alike but have more than one meaning. It's only by paying attention to context (what you are talking about) that you can tell whether la
mine, for example, is referring to a "mine" or a "facial expression."
This is why making a list of words to look up later isn't always a good idea - if you don't look them up right away, you'll have no context to fit them into. So you're better off looking up words as you go, or at the very least writing down the whole sentence the word appears in.
This is one reason that automatic translators like software and websites aren't very good - they are unable to consider context in order to decide which meaning is most appropriate.
C. Gender does make a difference
Also, pay attention to French gender. Many words have different meanings depending on whether they are masculine or feminine (I call them dual-gender nouns), so when you're looking up a French word, be sure that you're looking at the entry for that gender. And when looking up an English noun, pay special attention to the gender it gives for the French translation.
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D. Take note of the abbreviations used in a dictionary
You probably just skip right over the first dozen or so pages in your dictionary in order to get to the actual listings, but a lot of really important information can be found there. I'm not talking about things like introductions, forewords, and prefaces (although those can be fascinating), but rather the explanation of conventions used throughout the dictionary.
In order to save space, dictionaries use all kinds of symbols and abbreviations. Some of these are fairly standard, such as the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet), which most dictionaries use to indicate pronunciation (though they may modify it to suit their purposes). The system your dictionary uses to explain pronunciation, along with other symbols to indicate things like word stress, the h muet (mute h), old-fashioned and archaic words, and the familiarity/formality of a given term, will be explained somewhere near the front of the dictionary. Your dictionary will also have a list of abbreviations that it uses throughout, such as adj (adjective), arg (argot), Belg (Belgicism), and so on.
All of these symbols and abbreviations provide important information about how, when, and why to use any given word. If you're given a choice of two terms and one is old-fashioned, you probably want to choose the other. If it's slang, you shouldn't use it in a professional setting.
In our Collins dictionaries, what do these abbreviations mean? adj adv conj esp adjective adverb conjunction especially excl f excluding feminine fam(!) familiar (slang) inv invariable m masculine n pl pp prep pron sb sth vi vt noun plural preposition pronoun somebody something intransitive verb (doesn’t take a direct object) transitive verb (takes a direct object) m/f masculine and feminine
Check yourself before you use the word
Once you've found your translation, even after considering context, parts of speech, and all the rest, it's still a good idea to try to verify that you've chosen the best word. A quick and easy way to check is with a reverse look-up, which simply means looking up the word in the new language to see what translations it offers in the original language.
For example, if you look up "purple," your dictionary might offer violet and pourpre as the French translations. When you look up these two words in the French-to-English part of the dictionary, you'll find that violet means "purple" or "violet," while pourpre means "crimson" or "red-violet." The English-to-French lists pourpre as an acceptable equivalent to purple, but it isn't really purple - it's more red, like the color of someone's angry face.
Ask a native speaker!
The best (though not always the easiest) way to find out whether your bilingual dictionary gave you the right translation is to ask a native speaker. Dictionaries make generalizations, get outdated, and even make a few mistakes, but native speakers evolve with their language - they know the slang, and whether this term is too formal or that one is a little rude, and especially when a word "doesn't sound quite right" or "just can't be used like that." Native speakers are, by definition, the experts, and they are the ones to turn to if you have any doubts about what your dictionary tells you.
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Exercise A
Sometimes your dictionary gives you several meanings for one word. Make sure you read through all the entries and choose the right option. eg. if you look up ‘bat’ you will find :
 la batte (for cricket, rounders)
 la raquette (for table tennis)
 la chauve-souris (animal)
Not choosing the correct option can lead to sentences that don’t mean what you want them to mean... eg. je joue au cricket avec une chauve-souris!
Look at the sentences below, and choose the correct French translation for each underlined noun.
1. The cave was dark and a bat flew out. (une chauve-souris)
2. There’s a loose connection in the plug. (un branchement)
3. The elephant had a very small trunk. (une trompe)
4. I normally apply two coats of nail varnish. (une couche)
5. She always bites her nails. (un ongle)
Exercise B
Sometimes there are several options for verbs too. Once again, you must read the options available, and choose the one that is correct. eg. if you look up ‘to put on’ you will find:
 mettre (clothes, lipstick, CD)
 allumer (light, heater, TV)
 monter (play, show)
 mettre à cuire (eg. I’ll put the potatoes on)
 grossir (weight)
Find the correct French verb for each option below:
1. To keep  a) (retain) garder b) (remain) rester
2. To manage  a) (to be in charge of) gérer b) (to get by) se débrouiller
3. To shut up  a) (close) fermer b) (be quiet) se taire
4. To rest  a) (relax) se reposer b) (not overstrain) relâcher
c) (lean) s’appuyer
Exercise C
Finally, type this paragraph into Google Translator and translate it into English. Check what comes out!
Ma sœur est entrée dans la cuisine où elle a allumé le four pour le chauffer parce qu’elle voudrait faire des petits gâteaux. C’était l’anniversaire de notre belle-sœur et elle allait fêter ses soixante-douze ans.
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