Name: 6分鐘英文到底在說什麼？ ⏲️ (What English phrases really mean ⏲️ 6 Minute English)
Uploaded: 2026-01-15T16:59:58.000Z
Duration: 6 min 16 s

Six Minute English from BBCLearningEnglish.com hello, this is Six Minute English from BBC Learning English.

BBCLearningEnglish.com 的 Six Minute English，哈囉，這裡是 BBC Learning English 的 Six Minute English。

In English, what we say and what we mean are sometimes two very different things.

在英文裡，我們說的話和我們真正想表達的意思有時候會差很多。

We often use exaggeration for emphasis or for humour, something known as hyperbole.

我們常常會用誇張的說法來加強語氣或製造幽默，這就是所謂的 hyperbole。

For example, people say, I am so hungry I could eat a horse.

舉例來說，人們會說：「我餓到可以吃下一匹馬。」

Here's presenter Michael Rosen and linguist Derek Bousfield discussing one example of hyperbole on BBC Radio 4's Word of Mouth.

接下來是主持人 Michael Rosen 和語言學家 Derek Bousfield 在 BBC Radio 4 的 Word of Mouth 節目中討論一個 hyperbole 的例子。

人們會說：「真是場絕對的惡夢。」

Or as my daughters would say, I've had a mare today.

或者我的女兒們會說，我今天「 mare 」了。

And when they say mare, which is obviously shortened from nightmare, what it basically means is they've had a mild and potentially slightly humorous occurrence at work.

當她們說 mare，這很明顯是 nightmare 的縮寫，意思其實是她們在工作中遇到了一件小事，可能還帶點幽默感。

You might call an unpleasant or difficult experience a nightmare.

你可能會把一段不愉快或困難的經歷稱為 nightmare。

Derek's daughter used the word mare, short for nightmare, to describe her terrible day at work.

Derek 的女兒用了 mare 這個詞，是 nightmare 的縮寫，來形容她那天工作很糟糕。

Her day wasn't really terrible, more like strange or annoying.

她的一天並沒有真的那麼糟，比較像是奇怪或煩人。

Can you remember a time when what you said wasn't really what you meant, Beth?

Beth，妳記得有一次妳說的話，其實並不是妳真正想表達的意思嗎？

But actually, we don't really want to hear the answer.

I have a friend who actually just says alright, and they just mean hello.

我有個朋友，他們真的就只會說 alright，他們的意思就只是打招呼。

他們不想聽我今天過得怎麼樣。

No, if you're having a bad day, they don't want to know.

對，如果你今天過得很糟，他們不想知道。

In this episode, we'll be finding out more about how the meaning of words changes in English.

在這集節目裡，我們會一起來瞭解英文單字的意義是如何改變的。

As usual, we'll be learning some useful new words and phrases.

照慣例，我們會學到一些實用的新單字和片語。

And remember, you'll find all the vocabulary from this episode on our website, bbclearningenglish.com but first, I have a question for you, Beth.

還有，記得喔，這集節目的所有單字你都可以在我們的網站 bbclearningenglish.com 上找到，但首先，我有一個問題想問妳，Beth。

The word hyperbole comes from two ancient Greek words, Hooper and Ballo.

hyperbole 這個字源自兩個古希臘字，Hooper 和 Ballo。

Is it A to overthrow, B to overspeak, or C to overthink?

是 A 推翻、B 過度說話，還是 C 過度思考？

We'll find out the answer at the end of the program.

It's not just hyperbole that changes the meaning of words.

不只是 hyperbole 會改變單字的意義。

Its opposite, something called understatement has the same effect too.

它的反面，有個叫做 understatement 的東西，也有相同的效果。

Understatement involves de emphasizing something.

For example, imagine you were served an awful meal in a restaurant, but

舉例來說，想像你在餐廳吃到一頓很難吃的餐點，但是

instead of saying how bad the food was, you just said it was Less than perfect.

與其說食物有多糟，你只是說它「不完美」。

Here's linguist Derek Bousfield discussing understatement on on BBC Radio 4's Word of Mouth.

這裡有語言學家 Derek Bousfield 在 BBC Radio 4 的 Word of Mouth 節目上討論 understatement。

We love understatement as a way of kind of signaling that something much more serious has gone on.

我們喜歡用 understatement 來傳達有更嚴重的事情發生了。

And it's a kind of performative, sardonic, not taking oneself too seriously identity when you do that, because, you know, taking yourself too seriously is a no, no in British culture.

而且這是一種表演性的、諷刺的、不把自己太當回事的身份認同，因為，你知道，在英國文化裡，不把自己太當回事是很NG的。

And so linguistically, not taking yourself too seriously is.

所以從語言學上來說，不把自己太當回事。

Understatement is valued in British culture, unlike taking yourself too seriously.

在英國文化裡，understatement 很受重視，不像把自已太當回事。

If you take yourself too seriously, you think you're more important than you really are in Britain.

如果你把自已太當回事，在英國就會覺得自己比實際重要。

This is a no, no, a way of behaving that is not socially acceptable.

這是不行的，是一種不被社會接受的行為方式。

In other words, it's not the done thing, meaning it's not what you are expected to do in a particular social situation.

換句話說，這不是「應該做的事」，意思是說，在特定的社交場合，這不是大家預期你會做的事。

Another area where the meaning of words can be easily misunderstood is apologising.

另一個容易誤解字詞意思的領域是道歉。

Here, Michael Rosen responds to an imaginary situation where his toe gets accidentally stepped on by Derek Bousfield for BBC Radio 4 programme Word of Mouth.

在這裡，Michael Rosen 為了 BBC Radio 4 的節目 Word of Mouth，回應了一個想像中的情境，他的腳趾不小心被 Derek Bousfield 踩到了。

Imagine I stepped on your toe and I said, oh, Michael, I'm really sorry.

想像一下，我踩到你的腳趾，然後我說，喔，Michael，真的很抱歉。

Yes, I'm actually a bit miffed, a little bit annoyed.

其實我有點不高興，有點生氣。

But then I don't want to have a barney with you.

You're a stranger, so I don't want to get into a whole thing.

你是陌生人，我不想跟你起什麼爭執。

It's a bit like, yeah, I mean, that's a British English one.

這有點像是，嗯，我是說，這是英式英文的說法。

Any American English one would be no worries.

美式英文的說法就會是 no worries。

If someone tells you it's all good, they could actually be feeling miffed.

如果有人跟你說 it's all good，他們其實可能覺得不高興。

An adjective meaning slightly annoyed or hurt by someone's behaviour.

一個形容詞，意思是因別人的行為而有點不高興或受傷。

But no matter how annoyed you are, you probably don't want to get into a barney, a loud argument or quarrel, so you say something like, it's all good or no worries, and

但不管你多生氣，你可能都不想吵架，也就是大聲爭論或吵嘴，所以你會說，it's all good 或 no worries，然後

As an English learner, unclear word meanings are a challenge.

身為英文學習者，不確定的單字意思是一大挑戰。

A lot depends on the situation and on the relationship between speaker and listener.

很多時候取決於情況，以及說話者和聽話者之間的關係。

So don't be shy, get talking to others in English and if you make a mistake, say, no worries and carry on.

所以別害羞，多開口跟別人用英文哈拉，如果犯錯了，就說 no worries，然後繼續。

Okay, Pippa, I think it's time to reveal the answer to your question.

好的，Pippa，我想是時候揭曉你問題的答案了。

Yes, you thought the ancient Greek words hooper and ballo meant overspeak, but

沒錯，你以為古希臘的 hooper 和 ballo 是指過度說話，但

答案其實是 to overthrow，意思是推翻。

Hooper means beyond and ballow means I throw.

Hooper 的意思是「超越」，而 ballo 的意思是「我丟」。

好的，我們來複習一下這些單字。

We've learned, starting with mare for nightmare, meaning an unpleasant or difficult experience.

我們學到了，從 mare 開始，意思是惡夢，指令人不愉快或困難的經驗。

If you take yourself too seriously, you consider yourself and your actions more important than they really are.

如果你太嚴肅看待自己，就會認為自己和自己的行為比實際重要。

A way of behaving that is not socially acceptable.

一種不被社會接受的行為方式。

The done thing, on the other hand, is what you are expected to do in a particular social situation.

相對地，「該做的事」是指在特定社交場閤中，你預期自己該做的事。

If you're miffed, you're slightly annoyed by someone's behaviour, and

如果你感到 miffed，你就是因為別人的行為而有點生氣，

finally, a barney is a loud argument or quarrel.

最後，barney 指的是一場大聲的爭吵或口角。

But if you're keen to practice these new words and phrases, then check out our website, bbclearningenglish.com where you'll find a worksheet and quiz for this episode.

但如果你很想練習這些新單字和片語，那就來我們的網站 bbclearningenglish.com 看看吧，那裡有這個單元的練習單和測驗。

See you again soon, but for now, goodbye.

Six minute English from BBCLearningEnglish.com.

BBCLearningEnglish.com 的 Six Minute English。