I used the word "amigo" as my test word, figuring that the basic meaning was pretty simple. First of all there is Google Translate, which I know is cell phone usable because I use it all the time.
Google Translate does pretty bad with translating complex sentences. Even with single words you don't always get the most likely translation first. There is a symbol at the bottom that invites you to see more definitions, and you should almost always click it. I love the fact that "dude" is their first suggestion for a translation of "amigo"! Duuuude!
Note: There are two ways of reaching Google Translate. The above version is the result of searching for it from my browser, where the search fields appear in my list of choices rather than taking me directly to the Google Translate webpage. This version shows a few more bits of information on the main page without having to request that additional possible translations show. Again "dude" is the top translation of "amigo." I wonder if amigo is ever dragged out the way it is in English, to emphasize things. Actually, in my household the dragged out version is more a general exclamation of enthusiasm or surprise, or, occasionally, outrage. But I digress.....
Diccionarios.com also has a fairly simple approach, but it's visually more appealing that Google Translate. For something like a dictionary, where you want to quickly find what you need and move back to your text, visual appeal helps you hone in on what you need to know.
Though Spanish411 has other useful features, their dictionary seems too basic, with a one word definition for "amigo" that leaves off all subtleties.
Spanish Central links to a Webster Spanish/English dictionary that is also simple. It gave one basic definition for amigo/a and some very simple sentences illustrating the uses of the word. First we deal with the adjective, including a few synonyms:
Then the noun:
It seems like this would be quite useful for teaching Spanish to younger students and the sample sentences do not require a large vocabulary.
Ultralingua is another simple site with some basic definitions and use of the word in phrases. Not much here, but it might make a good foundation for a basic vocabulary, and it's nice to have a few phrases, since meaning is driven by context.
Larousse is a French dictionary but it has a Spanish to English option. It is nice because it provides a set of words related to amigo on the left side. This is the first dictionary that has a bit of a distraction factor.....just what do those related words mean?
The Dix website is German-created but presented in English. I am confused by the content. It first provides you with a very basic definition, then it has a set of "composed entries" which consist of the word used in ever lengthening phrases. If you click on any of these phrases or the basic definition those items become "MyDix" and they will come up first when you search for the word again. I believe the site is meant for ongoing vocabulary study; I'll write more when I figure it out.
Now it starts to get a bit more interesting.
Espanol-Ingles.com is compact and looks more like a printed dictionary. A basic description is given, there are several common phrases using the word, with abbreviated details like whether the expression tends to be used formally or informally, if it's slang, regional, etc. Because it doesn't try to look like a web page, they manage to fit in a lot of information into a small amount of real estate, which is nice for people with small screens.
Linguee is a very absorbing dictionary site. The main definition was rather basic, though you can listen to both the Spanish and the English words being pronounced. But below that are a long list of sentences that include the word. These sentences are all from bilingual web sources including corporate web pages, instructions for behavior, various kinds of official websites. Therefore, it has a very contemporary feel to it....no quotes from Don Quixote or anything old or traditional.
The definition:
A selection of the sentences:
The next dictionary, Reverso Context, can be quite distracting, in a good way of course. The top of the page has a series of English definitions for "amigo", including a lot of English-English like "bloke", "lad", "chap". If you click on any one of them you get a series of example sentences that feature Amigo with a meaning most similar to the word you chose.
I'm not sure of the origin of these sentences. They are pretty short and sound like they come from grade B novels or action movies. Example:
Estás cubierto de sangre, amigo.
You're covered in blood, my friend.
Many don't seem to contribute much towards an understanding of the finer points of the usage of the word Amigo, but you will have a good time reading them anyway. Ah, I see that you can see the translation in context by clicking on a little thought bubble to the right of the sentence. And indeed, many are from movie subtitles. They must be indexable. If you click on the underlined English words in the translations it takes you to the English part of the dictionary and you can spend more time there.
This is the first part, with a list of links to English words with the same or similar meanings:
Say I wanted to investigate the "Dude" option. I then get listings where "amigo" has been translated out as "dude". Again, these are mostly movie subtitles. It seems like a British English speaker might well replace "dude" with "bloke" for all of these sentences and it would have the same flavor of informality and guy-ness. Anyway, when you are done exploring Dude, just click on the X after the word and you go back to the main page.
This is what happens when you click the little thought bubble. It gives you some context for the use of the word. Too bad it doesn't tell you what movie it is from. Some sound worth watching....
Reverso also has a mobile version that is much more like a regular dictionary, concentrating on expressions that use Amigo rather than looking for words with a similar meaning in English. These are more like fragments of sentences rather than folk or colloquial sayings. I think it would help if you were wondering if Spanish uses the word Amigo in some of the same circumstances that English does, for example, "best friend", "close friend", "friend of mine".
variations on how one would use "amigo":
En.bab.la is fairly compact but covers a lot of ground with links on the main page. From the moment you start to type your search word it offers you alternatives in a menu that shows as you type. Once you have completed your search you will get a summary of quick definitions in the upper left hand corner, followed by a list of Spanish synonyms. The list will be short but can be expanded. Below that is the beginning of an extensive list of sample sentences, also expandable. Once you expand these things they show up in the center of the screen. The sentences seem to be taken from technical literature and newscasts. I'm guessing that this is a trend, to pull sentences out of some kind of web page search rather than painstakingly make them up. It certainly gives you a lot of context in a short time. When you click on the synonyms the word links become live and take you to a new page featuring that synonym. I love the complexity of this thesaurus approach.
Basic search results:
Synonyms:
Similar English words and context sentences:
I am loosely arranging these entries by complexity, and loosely evaluating complexity by how many screenshots I had to take to help me explain the site. This next one, spanishdict.com, took 3 screenshots, partially because it has a widely spaced arrangement of text. Though my link is to the "amigo" search results, you have to start your search on the home page without a lot of evidence that you are entering a dictionary.
The spacing gives a more relaxed feeling to your search results. There is the basic definition and some basic sentence examples, then it moves into related expressions that use the word amigo, such as
hacerse amigo deto make friends with
hacerse amigosto become friends
and sentence examples for each of these. Some colloquial expressions are included that I haven't seen anywhere else. I like the way that the information seems extensive yet not overwhelming; I don't feel like I need to poke around for an hour to pick up all the subtle nuances of the word "amigo", even though there are some times that I might wish to do this. There are other online dictionaries for the need to become completely engrossed; this one lets you move on if you need to.
Some related meanings:
More of same. The coder in me sees this in terms of well-formatted lists and sub-lists, user-centered design:
Wordreference.com is another online dictionary with a nice, open format. The search starts you out with the basic definition top, center. On the left hand side are a lot of related words. Looking at this I just realized there are two ways of looking at related words, one is words that have similar meanings, and the other is words that have the same structure or root. The second option can bring you to words that have completely different meanings, though usually there is a connection because of the similar root. Combing through these in your spare time will do a lot towards increasing your vocabulary.
In the center, after the basic translation, are "Principal Translations", which just seem more detailed than the basic one, and "Compound Forms", which is the word used in expressions, such as "friends with benefits", "family friend", "amigo del alma", which is the referenced to the English expression "kindred spirit". At the bottom, center, are lists of similar words in English and Spanish, similar being a list of related words in the first sense. The formatting is also nice and open, and you feel like you are being exposed to the entrance of a rabbit warren of information. Many places to dig to. The sample sentences are hand crafted and complex enough to be interesting. After browsing in this dictionary I come away with a strong sense of pleasure taken in the complexities and subtleties of language, both Spanish and English.
Basic reference and related terms on the left side:
Compound Forms, ie, amigo used in phrases (including proverbs and sayings):
Words related in meaning rather than structure, both in English and in Spanish. Note that they solicit feedback on content; that's nice!
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The next dictionary, Glosbe, is interesting but at least initially more confusing to use. It has a similar pattern to Wordreference at first, with a basic definition in the center and words that appear structurally related on the left. But I think these aren't necessarily structurally related but rather the words beside it in the dictionary, since the words immediately above Amigo have to do with body parts and not friendship.
After the basic definition comes longer definitions, but here it becomes confusing because some are in English only. When you click on the related words in English you get a pop up window that does list related Spanish words, but there is also here a lot of English only wording. Next is a picture illustration of the word and some more basic definitions. This portion almost seems like you could lift it entirely and use it for slides for younger learners. And following this section are sample sentences, again mass-produced from a variety of sources, which are indicated by symbols on the right. There is a combination of movie subtitles and maybe European Union meeting documents, UN documents, etc. This is an imperfect system: there is an entry for "friends with benefits" for example, but the sentence examples include instances where the word for friend and the word for benefits are used within the same sentence....and most of these have nothing to do with the actual meaning of the combined terms. The sentence examples feel a little dry.....probably because most of them are from dry and official sources. You too can learn Officialese Spanish. :-) Still, there may well be times where one has to understand or produce formal documents. It's just a lot less fun.
Beginning of the page, with dictionary neighbor words listed on the left:
Beginning of the definitions. If you click on the related word, a pop up window shows a list of Spanish words that are more closely related to this variant of the original "amigo":
Picture dictionary and basic definition in the middle:
Friend with benefits and some early sample sentences. Note the source symbols on the right:
We're heading into dictionary home stretch! Sensagent is a French dictionary with a Spanish-English option. The definitions are meant to suit a variety of English speaking countries, so your definition for Amigo includes:
enthusiast, pal, sidekick, devotee, lover, girlfriend, boyfriend, amigo, friend, cobber, fellow, mate, buddy, brother, chum,crony, companion, comrade, close, girl-friend, intimate, paramour
"Cobber" is Australian. I had never heard that word before. After the basic word and brief definitions (all of the above have links that explain what the words mean in English; that's how I learned what cobber ment). there are a series of phrases that include Amigo. After this is gets very detailed, with a listing of many words and expressions, all in fine print, explained in English and French. There are tiny symbols that tell you something about the type of word or phrase, but I am not sure what they mean. I think this site is worth exploring, especially if there are deep significances of a word that you are pondering, but it's not much use for a quick, working definition or clear sentence examples.
Here is the beginning of the page. Fairly simple so far:
I believe this lists synonyms, but I'm too lazy to look for a French dictionary right now!
Here is something no other dictionary has: anagrams of the basic word, amigo.
And another thing no other dictionary has: links to e-bay items that include the word "amigo"! Really??!! I guess this is how they hope to sustain their website, E-Bay sales. It's a good thing I picked a nice, friendly word, amigo, no "diablo" or "monstruo" or "masacre" in Spanish!
My last complex offering, the Collins English/Spanish Dictionary. It is fairly well spaced. It seems to take things from a traditional dictionary viewpoint, organizing it by parts of speech. Short sentence examples, and related phrases are all a part of the main text as well as side lists on the right. Some of the examples are self-contained and others allow you to open up new pages with more detailed definitions, such as "amigo/a del alma". A fun feature follows, which lets you know what the word "amigo" is in a variety of languages, spelling it in native scripts and allowing you to hear how it sounds. Next are a set of sentences that include the defined word, but they are only in Spanish. Sources are listed and seem to come from fiction or history books. This part is not too helpful but interesting, nevertheless.
The beginning:
Definitions with links to terms that need their own definitions:
Amigo in other languages and a side list of neighboring dictionary words:
A very linguisticky feature not found elsewhere: word usage trends. You can look at as little as a 10 year period or a 300 year period. This would be almost impossible without the modern ability to analyze vast amounts of text via computer.
A list of related words, each with their own page. This is probably a summary of the words listed toward the beginning.
Lexipedia. This has to be seen to be understood:
It is a visual map of a language. The center represents your search term; it is surrounded by different kinds of related words: synonyms, antonyms and "fuzzynyms". Essentially it is a moving thesaurus. It also includes categories for parts of speech that the word appears in. You can de-select some categories and only show others. Mouse over the surrounding words and you get a brief English definition of the Spanish word that is under your mouse at the moment. Double click on any word and it will take you to it's own map of relationships. There are also related words showing on the left, very much like the old fashioned version of the thesaurus, arranged by general topics of human knowledge rather than in alphabetical order. What a magnificent toy!
On my computer there is a font issue that doesn't allow me to see accented words, and I am wondering if this even works at all on a cell phone. It would certainly be difficult to see it all at once, and seeing all at once is what helps you to understand the relationships.
Ah, language is wonderfully engrossing; you could bury yourself in some of these websites for days and days, probably forgetting why you originally arrived at that location.
One thing that this little dictionary exploration has done is introduce me to language learning tools that people use for languages other than Spanish. My daughter, a linguistics student, tells me that there are also German-English dictionaries from these organizations, with similar layouts. I should see what there is for Turkish some day. When I was learning it 10 years ago there was almost nothing online; we were very bound to our textbook and it was hard enough to find one at the right level that was at all modern.
Seeing all of the computer search generated sentences in these dictionaries makes Spanish seem much more like a living language than just reading sentences composed so that you can understand some grammatical point or use some particular vocabulary. This is very valuable information to me, even though there is still something pleasing in studying very basic sentences where I know every word and I say "bingo, got it" at the end.
Also note that I used a fairly simple word to test these dictionaries (though after looking at several of them I realized that even Amigo can be pretty complicated). I used Saber in an earlier comparison and there are a lot more things to say about Saber than Amigo. Probably a search for Ser, Estar, Haber, Por, Para would expand things even more, though the general features and approaches would remain the same.
Which dictionary would I use on a daily basis? In reality I often use Google Translate, even though it annoys me as often as it enlightens me. You can put phrases as well as words in and get some sort of approximation, and it's actually quite interesting to see what changes in a translation when you change just one word in the original. It's very useful assuming the translation was well done to begin with. Next I think I will use some of the mid-complexity dictionaries like Linguee or En.bab.la. I can get a basic definition quickly, it's visually simple, and has more details if you need them.
Some time I will start investigating other things, like verb conjugators, basic grammar sites, videos, sites that have language learning games and quizzes, language flashcards and Word of the Day sites. I'm learning a lot about HOW to study Spanish when I write these, though obviously not all that much about actually USING it. So be it, I like organization and it keeps some words in my head and reminds me of how complex all languages really are, and how fascinating the patterns are once you find them.
I had fun doing this, I hope it is of use to someone.
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