This dictionary is primarily for use in learning to converse in Spanish. For this task it is quite helpful. The definitions are short--often just the corresponding word. The greatest aid is that in the Spanish to English section (more than 2/3 of the book) many of the words are followed by phrases for usage which helps to learn useful phrases for conversation and idiomatic phrases. For translating Spanish documents or literature a larger and more comprehensive dictionary would be necessary. For taking on a trip this is fairly compact and easy to carry and would be most helpful for English speakers who wish to converse in Spanish. I do not think Spanish speakers would find this dictionary helpful to learn English.