Kobo English built in Dictionary quality?

[R-Typer]

Hello,

Im yet to decide which e-book reader to buy: Kindle Paperwhite or Kobo Clara HD. My main issue is the quality of built in English-English dictionary. How good it is in Kobo readers? Is it Oxford one or which one it is? How many words does the dictionary have?

I know the Kindle has a great dictionary but I want the warm white led light from Kobo Clara HD.

Please let me know. Many thanks!

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by R-Typer

Hello,

Im yet to decide which e-book reader to buy: Kindle Paperwhite or Kobo Clara HD. My main issue is the quality of built in English-English dictionary. How good it is in Kobo readers? Is it Oxford one or which one it is? How many words does the dictionary have?

I know the Kindle has a great dictionary but I want the warm white led light from Kobo Clara HD.

Please let me know. Many thanks!

The Kobo English dictionary is the Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford university Press © 2019. It has I think more words then the Kindle dictionary. But don't quote me on that.

[jackie_w]

As of October 2020 Kobo switched to the Oxford English dictionary. It is "newer" (currently) than the Kindle equivalent Oxford English and hence contains more words.

The Kobo contains 110534 headwords and 275151 words if you include all the variants/inflections.

[R-Typer]

Thank you guys for the information. My first e-book reader will be Kobo Clara HD then. Thanks again.

[pgilster]

Originally Posted by jackie_w

As of October 2020 Kobo switched to the Oxford English dictionary. It is "newer" (currently) than the Kindle equivalent Oxford English and hence contains more words.

Just a quibble: It's actually The Oxford Dictionary of English. The Oxford English Dictionary is a separate title -- it's the massive, storied collection that comes in multiple volumes and has a fascinating history, as seen in the recent movie The Professor and the Madman (and the book it was made from).

The Oxford Dictionary of English is a fine volume, infinitely better than the previous Kobo offering. I recommend it highly. I particularly value the word etymologies, but in any case, though it's smaller than the gigantic OED, it's a gem. I have several Kindles and like the Kobo dictionary better than the Kindle offering.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by pgilster

it's smaller than the gigantic OED,

Really? The complete OED fits on my phone just fine, thanks to my local library.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

Really? The complete OED fits on my phone just fine, thanks to my local library.

Hmmm... I'm going to assume that you mean the online edition and not something that you can download to your phone.

A few years back, a company I did some work for had it's corporate library purchased the 20 volume edition which ran about $1300 Cdn.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Hmmm... I'm going to assume that you mean the online edition and not something that you can download to your phone.

I do indeed. The online edition, which is the complete OED, is also the only edition now, since iirc they are no longer planning any printed revisions.

[pgilster]

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

I do indeed. The online edition, which is the complete OED, is also the only edition now, since iirc they are no longer planning any printed revisions.

True. And if you don't have a good library available, you'll wind up paying Oxford through the nose for access to the digital OED. I've always been struck by how inept Oxford has been in handling its texts in digital format. I own the crazy, micro-OED with the magnifier, but will someday buy the set in hardcover because I can't use the blasted thing.

[Pjama]

Originally Posted by pgilster

True. And if you don't have a good library available, you'll wind up paying Oxford through the nose for access to the digital OED. I've always been struck by how inept Oxford has been in handling its texts in digital format. I own the crazy, micro-OED with the magnifier, but will someday buy the set in hardcover because I can't use the blasted thing.

I have the ‘shorter' Oxford English Dictionary iPad app with over 600,000 words! It is excellent, and contains everything in the one with the magnifying glass. I remember my mother used to have that, and it had a little drawer for the rectangular magnifying glass.

I don’t know if you have an iPad, but the app might be easier than using the hardcover version - these books are super heavy and the paper is thin like cigarette paper. Probably an iPad plus the app would be cheaper than the hardcover as well.

ETA: And the Kobo English dictionary is very good, as is the French, and the French to English. And I’m a dictionary fiend, so am very hard to please that way.

[John Hopper]

Off topic I know, but I really wish Kobo would pre-install a Latin-English dictionary. I know there are (complicated) ways you can load your own dictionaries, but I wish they would.

Sent from my SM-G998B using Tapatalk

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by pgilster

True. And if you don't have a good library available, you'll wind up paying Oxford through the nose for access to the digital OED.

Yep. I live in dread of the day my local library decides to save itself ~$1500US p.a. by cancelling it sub

[dhampny]

When I use a dictionary I often want to learn the correct pronunciation of the word in addition to learning its definition. When I queried Kobo about their word pronunciations, which I find very difficult to understand, they told me their dictionary is from Wikipedia website which uses the International Phonetic Association code. I don't want to have to learn that "language" in order to fully use the Kobo dictionary and I really wish they would change to the Oxford Dictionary pronunciations.

[pgilster]

Originally Posted by Pjama

I don’t know if you have an iPad, but the app might be easier than using the hardcover version - these books are super heavy and the paper is thin like cigarette paper. Probably an iPad plus the app would be cheaper than the hardcover as well.

ETA: And the Kobo English dictionary is very good, as is the French, and the French to English. And I’m a dictionary fiend, so am very hard to please that way.

Me too. I do have an iPad, but I want the paper volumes because they take me back to grad school days, when I used them in the pre-PC era for work in Middle and Old English. Good memories! Have always wanted to own a set.