phrase book
2
1.8
- noun
- /freɪz bʊk/
:
libro de frases
- Zev consults his phrase book.
- French phrase book
- English phrase book
Examples
-
She had gotten lost several times, had rented two pedicabs, been picked up by at least a dozen GIs, and she couldn't make head or tail of her Vietnamese phrase book.
Fiction book (1990) -
- It's a Polish phrase book.
-
I just happen to have a Swahili phrase book.
-
Richard fumbles in his pocket for his phrase book.
Fiction book (1991) -
Richard translates from the menu, using his phrase book for assistance.
Fiction book (1991) -
I wondered if she would thumb through my French phrase book, which was on my bedside table.
Fiction book (1990) -
They had booked her into the Hotel Caravelle on the Tu Do, and the Sun had even given her a Vietnamese phrase book.
Fiction book (1990) -
She bought a traveler's phrase book in the Five and Ten and set herself to learning the alphabet, loving the beautiful, exotically shaped letters and the thrilling foreign sounds.
Fiction book (1992) -
Mrs. Rutgar, who, preparatory to their sailing aboard the Lusitania, was much occupied with her French phrase book, whispered, "Au contraire."
Fiction book (1993) -
Before traveling to Spain, I bought a Spanish phrase book to help with communication.
How Useful
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a book containing common expressions' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'phrase' (a group of words) with 'book' (a bound set of pages). This is a literal compound denoting a book of phrases and follows a common cross-linguistic naming pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Phrase book comes from the simple idea of a small, pocket book filled with ready-made phrases. Travelers used these short lines to point at or read when they could not speak the language, so the name means a book that 'helps you communicate' abroad.