Name: 美國人說的跟想的不一樣？這些英文單字在美國竟然是「相反的意思」（Words that Mean the Opposite in America）
Uploaded: 2026-03-23T17:24:27.000Z
Duration: 16 min 38 s

This is a comment I received on my first video speaking German.

這是關於我第一個講德語影片收到的留言。

程度副詞

If you think it's a straightforward answer, it's not.

如果你覺得這是直接的答案，那就錯了。

You see, English is full of words that quietly flip meaning when you cross the Atlantic.

你知道嗎，英文裡有很多字，一跨越大西洋，意思就悄悄變了。

Words that you think sound polite or a compliment, like this one, can really land you in hot water if you use them across the pond.

那些你以為聽起來很客氣或像稱讚的字，像是這個，如果你在英國用了，可能會讓你惹上麻煩。

Including one word that American pilots use all the time that can make British passengers feel like something has gone horribly wrong with their flight.

包括一個美國飛行員常常用，但英國乘客聽了可能會覺得飛機出什麼大問題的字。

these are the English words that mean the complete opposite in the U.S.

這些英文單字在美國的意思完全相反。

It shows how British people rate common phrases on a scale of 1 to 10.

它顯示了英國人如何給常見的說法打分數，從 1 到 10 分。

At the bottom, you've got abysmal and appalling.

在最下面，你有 abysmal 和 appalling。

Well, for some reason, that's at the top of this list.

嗯，不知道為什麼，那卻在這個列表的最上面。

But regardless, at the top, perfect and outstanding.

不管怎樣，最上面是 perfect 和 outstanding。

The really interesting parts lie in the middle.

The average British person rates the word good at a 6.92 out of 10.

一般英國人給 good 這個字的評價是 10 分中的 6.92 分。

But when it comes to quite good, that's lower, at a 6.48.

但說到 quite good，分數就比較低了，只有 6.48 分。

So if a Brit says something as quite good, that means it's literally worse than good.

所以如果英國人說 something as quite good，意思其實比 good 還差。

This is quite the opposite of how Americans would use the word quite.

這跟美國人使用 quite 的方式完全相反。

When asked to rank the same words, Americans nearly always rate things higher than Brits, except when it comes to the highest rankings.

當被要求為這些詞語評分時，美國人幾乎總是給比英國人更高的分數，除了最高級的評價。

When Brits say something is excellent, that really is high praise.

當英國人說某樣東西是 excellent 時，那真的是很高的讚美。

They pretty much don't use their most positive words unless they really mean it.

他們幾乎不會使用最正面的詞語，除非他們是真心這麼認為。

Americans are more, well, glass-half-full type of people, I suppose.

美國人比較像是，嗯，玻璃杯半滿的那種人，我想。

When it comes to the expression quite good, for Americans, it is in fact higher than good.

說到 quite good 這個說法，對美國人來說，它的分數其實比 good 還高。

So American quite and British quite are quite the opposite.

所以美國的 quite 和英國的 quite 幾乎是完全相反的。

Quite in the U.S. is used as an intensifier.

在美國，quite 是用來加強語氣的。

It takes the original word and steps it up a notch.

它會讓原本的詞再往上提升一個層級。

在英國，quite 會稍微緩和一點。

Quite can be more or less replaced in the U.K. with the word fairly.

在英國，quite 大致上可以用 fairly 這個詞來替換。

Saying it's quite good is like saying it's fairly good.

說 quite good 就像是在說 fairly good 一樣。

But as you probably guessed, if you've watched a few videos about words on this YouTube channel, it wasn't always like this.

不過，如果你有看過這個 YouTube 頻道上關於單字的影片，你大概也猜到了，事情並非一直都是這樣。

You see, the adverb quite entered the English language from Anglo-Norman around the 1300s, meaning entirely.

你知道嗎，quite 這個副詞大約在 1300 年代從盎格魯-諾曼語進入英語，當時的意思是「完全」。

Over time, it evolved to mean truly or definitely.

隨著時間演變，它演變成「真正地」或「肯定地」的意思。

And by the 18th century, both American speakers of English and British used the word in the same way.

到了 18 世紀，美國和英國的英語使用者對這個詞的用法是一樣的。

But through the course of the 19th and the 20th centuries, quite took quite a turn in Britain, changing from the emphatic intensifier, meaning completely and truly, to the more understated qualifier we know of today.

但在 19 和 20 世紀的過程中，quite 在英國發生了很大的轉變，從一個加強語氣、表示「完全」和「真正」的詞，變成了我們今天所知的、比較含蓄的限定詞。

Like most things about the English, they do love being understated when expressing themselves, as the data from this graph does show.

就像大多數關於英國人的事情一樣，他們在表達自己時確實喜歡含蓄一點，就像這個圖表裡的數據所示。

Why say something is really good when you can just dampen it a little bit?

為什麼要說某件事「非常好」，而不是稍微緩和一下呢？

And to be fair, in both countries, the tone of the sentence plays a huge role here.

說句公道話，在這兩個國家，句子的語氣在這裡扮演了很重要的角色。

The more your inflection goes up, the more intense that quite is perceived.

你的聲調上揚越多，聽起來的「quite」就越強烈。

In terms of the original comment, the wow at the start might point us towards quite being used as an intensifier, more the American way.

就原始評論來說，「wow」開頭可能暗示我們將「quite」視為加強語氣，比較偏向美式用法。

But with these two comments, quite lowers your expectations a bit, most likely because, well, they're British.

不過這兩句評論，"quite" 確實會稍微降低你的期待，很可能是因為，嗯，他們是英國人。

To be fair, Sheffield Public Transport is quite good.

說句公道話，雪菲爾的公共交通還挺不錯的。

這對美國人來說，算是相當不錯了。

See, it sounds more like they're saying, ah, Sheffield's public transit is fairly good.

你看，聽起來更像是他們在說，「啊，雪菲爾的公共交通還算可以。」

And ah, it's fairly good for an American.

而且啊，對美國人來說，還算不錯。

You could just tell from picking up the rest of the sentence.

你從句子的其他部分就能看出來。

You might think that this is just a minor difference.

你可能會覺得這只是個小小的差別。

But with all due respect, these next words are where the differences stop being subtle and start getting risky.

但恕我直言，接下來這些詞，差異就從微妙變得有點冒險了。

So I was watching the new season of Stranger Things and came across this interesting segment.

所以我在看《怪奇物語》新一季的時候，看到一個有趣的片段。

Pay attention to the tone in the following clip.

請注意接下來這段影片的語氣。

Major General, with all due respect, these kids are in danger.

少將，恕我直言，這些孩子們有危險。

所以他尊重她，還是不尊重她？

Americans watching are probably confused why this is even a question, and

美國觀眾大概很困惑為什麼這是個問題，

Brits are, well, laughing and shaking their heads.

而英國人呢，嗯，就在那邊笑，搖搖頭。

I've lived in this country for over 13 years, and

我住這個國家已經超過13年了，

I've only found out this year Brits do not mean this when they say it.

我今年才知道英國人說這句話不是這個意思。

When an American says, with all due respect, it's usually just a polite way to pat out some criticism.

美國人說「恕我直言」，通常只是客氣地講些批評。

With all due respect, I think we should do it this way instead.

恕我直言，我認為我們應該這樣做。

But I do disagree with you in this instance.

In Britain, they say the same words, with all due respect, but

在英國，他們說同樣的話，恕我直言，

the implication is that they actually don't respect you or your opinion at all.

但言下之意是他們其實根本不尊重你或你的意見。

The amount of respect that you're due, that's in question.

你應得的尊重有多少，這是有待商榷的。

With the respect you're due, which, of course, is nothing, I think your idea is a bit shit.

恕你應得的尊重，當然是零，我認為你的想法有點糟。

這基本上就是他們在說的意思。

It's the most polite way a Brit has to say they think you're a complete idiot, akin to signing an email with, kindest regards.

這是英國人最客氣的說法，表示他們覺得你完全是個笨蛋，就像在信件結尾簽上「最誠摯的問候」一樣。

My friends, the regards were not kind at all.

我的朋友們，那問候一點都不誠摯。

Have you ever gotten an email from a Brit with both, with all due respect, or maybe as per my last email, and/or kindest regards, mate, assume that they've complained about you to the entire office.

你有沒有收過英國人寄來的信，裡面有「恕我直言」、「依我上次的信」或「最誠摯的問候，老兄」，請假設他們已經向整個辦公室抱怨你了。

In fact, this is also quite similar to another expression Brits and Americans interpret very differently.

事實上，這也跟英國人和美國人對另一個說法有著截然不同的解讀。

If we're having a conversation and you say something to me like, Evan, you should remind people to thumbs up your video more often, and

如果我們在哈拉，你跟我說：「Evan，你應該提醒大家多幫你的影片按讚。」

I reply with, thanks, I'll bear that in mind.

然後我回你：「謝謝，我會記在心上。」

Am I saying, I will consider that, and I might do it?

我是在說，我會考慮，而且可能會照做嗎？

Or am I politely dismissing your comment that I have no plan on acting on?

還是我只是客氣地駁回你的意見，而我根本沒打算照做？

It turns out which side of the Atlantic you're on strongly plays a role here.

原來你位在哪個大西洋的哪一邊，在這裡扮演的角色非常重要。

In another YouGov poll of around 2,000 British and 2,000 American adults, 55% of Brits interpreted, I'll bear that in mind, with, I've forgotten it already, compared to only 38% of Americans.

在另一份針對大約 2,000 名英國和 2,000 名美國成年人進行的 YouGov 民調中，55% 的英國人將「我會記在心上」解讀為「我已經忘了」，而美國人只有 38%。

Though diving deeper into the data, it would appear that Americans in the Northeast are significantly more likely to share the British stance.

不過深入研究數據後，美國東北部的人似乎更有可能採取英國人的立場。

But overall, American culture prioritizes direct communication.

但總體來說，美國文化更重視直接溝通。

If they like your idea, an American will probably tell you.

如果他們喜歡你的想法，美國人很可能會直接告訴你。

As a lot of British culture emphasizes indirectness and not causing offense, expressions like, I'll bear that in mind, act as a polite way of refusing an idea without outright saying it to soften the blow.

由於英國文化很強調委婉和不冒犯他人，像「我會記在心上」這樣的說法，是一種不直接拒絕意見，而是委婉表達的方式，以減輕打擊。

It's basically like a British person saying they'd like to table that discussion.

這基本上就像是英國人說他們想「暫緩」討論一樣。

字幕列表影片播放

美國人說的跟想的不一樣？這些英文單字在美國竟然是「相反的意思」（Words that Mean the Opposite in America）

literally

debate

expression

compliment