
Apple Mac Dictionary
If you have an Apple Mac then you already have a French-English dictionary ready to use. Just open the Dictionary App and go to Preferences.
I use WordReference when I'm translating something but I had also been using iTranslate, an app for the Mac that resides in the top menu bar and is useful if you quickly want to check a word or short phrase. However, recently it has occasionally produced either a poor translation or no translation at all. There have also been other minor glitches.
I researched the App Store but the dictionaries mostly had poor reviews and I wasn't prepared to lay out £149.90 for the Collins-Robert app, even if it is probably the bee's-knees of dictionaries.
I then remembered that the Mac spell-checks French text so investigated what was already available from Mac OS. Sure enough, the installed dictionary app can be configured to include the Oxford-Hatchette French-English dictionary. Just open the Dictionary App and go to Preferences.
The above image shows the results for 'walk', and as you can see for basic translation it's perfectly adequate.
I use WordReference when I'm translating something but I had also been using iTranslate, an app for the Mac that resides in the top menu bar and is useful if you quickly want to check a word or short phrase. However, recently it has occasionally produced either a poor translation or no translation at all. There have also been other minor glitches.
I researched the App Store but the dictionaries mostly had poor reviews and I wasn't prepared to lay out £149.90 for the Collins-Robert app, even if it is probably the bee's-knees of dictionaries.
I then remembered that the Mac spell-checks French text so investigated what was already available from Mac OS. Sure enough, the installed dictionary app can be configured to include the Oxford-Hatchette French-English dictionary. Just open the Dictionary App and go to Preferences.
The above image shows the results for 'walk', and as you can see for basic translation it's perfectly adequate.