The One

Hans Wehr is the premier Arabic-English dictionary used by students of Arabic. But you should be familiar with the Arabic root system in order to use it. Each entry contains the Arabic word, a Romanized transliteration of the word, masdars, pronunciation of the root-verb in imperfect tense, definitions, examples and associated particles. Under each root are the derivative forms (sometimes called measures) and their corresponding definitions. Diacritical marks have been omitted, but if you're comfortable with the roots system, they are unnecessary anyway. The Hans Wehr is quite reliable. No other dictionary comes close in terms of usefulness. Take a look at the bibliography of virtually any Arabic language study in recent decades, and you're almost guaranteed to see the Hans Wehr listed. A pocket-size 3/e is also available (ISBN 0879500018).

9/10