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我们汉语的习惯里,\"胖\"有赞美,恭维人的意思,如\"祝贺你生了个大胖小子\",\"胖呼呼\",甚至给熟悉的人起个绰号叫\"胖子\"(当然是爱称)。可见\"胖\"在汉语中有\"健康\"\"生活舒心\"的意思。那么英语里可以这么说吗?
在英语中,关于\"胖\",我们首先想到的就是\"fat\"。但\"fat\"在英语中是个强烈的贬义词,是\"愚笨\",\"迟缓\",\"自制力差\"的标志,所以在西方如果说某人\"fat\",不仅是对别人的伤害与歧视,也是自身粗鲁无教养的表现。
那应该如何恰当而又有礼貌地表达\"胖\"、\"丰满\"呢?下面是一些常见的委婉语,不论是翻译还是口语都很有用。
1. gain weight 增加体重,例如:
People who drink diet soft drinks don't lose weight. They gain weight, a new study finds.
2. super size person 超大之人,例如:
No more hamburgers, I don't want to be a super size person.
3. heavyset 身子重的,体格粗壮、敦实的,例如:He was tall and heavyset.
4. nutritionally endowed 营养丰富的,例如:
Though garlic is a nutritionally endowed food, it is only consumed in small amounts.
5. gravitationally challenged 受地球引力挑战的(增加的体重确实在挑战地球引力),例如:
That girl is gravitationally challenged.
6. well-built 体格健美的,体型匀称的,例如:
That girl is well-built.
7. stout 结实的,壮实的,例如:
She is getting too stout for her dresses.
8. big-boned 骨架大的,例如:
I'm not fat, just big-boned.
9. overweight 超重的,例如:
Overweight in a child should not be neglected.
10. chubby 胖呼呼的(多指小孩和女子),例如:
The baby has a chubby face.
11. buxom 形象健康丰满的,健美的,例如:
A generation ago, fat babies were considered healthy and buxom actresses were popular, but society has since come to worship thinness.
同样,\"瘦\"不能说\"skinny\",这可是\"皮包骨\"的意思(时尚界的许多模特正在朝这个方向发展),要形容一个人苗条应该用 \"slender\",\"slim\",或\"delicate\"。\"减肥\"则可以说\"lose pounds\"或\"lose weight\"。
总之,\"胖\"和\"瘦\"是英美人敏感的话题,\"fat \"和\"skinny\"的使用要十分小心,注意回避。但是有一个例外就是\" phat \"(妙,好,酷),是\"fat \"的异体词,在口语中常常用于赞美美妙的东西,相当于\"cool \"。例如\"The car is really a phat. \" |
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