
grandmother 是表示亲属关系的核心词汇,英式发音为 /ˈɡrænmʌðə(r)/,美式发音为 /ˈɡrænmʌðər/,含义为父亲或母亲的母亲,即中文里的“(外)祖母”“奶奶”或“外婆”。作为名词,它可泛指女性祖先或年长女性前辈;作为动词时,意为“当…的祖母”,但日常使用中以名词为主。
以下是常见的固定搭配:
maternal grandmother:外祖母、外婆(母方的祖母)
grandmother hypothesis:祖母假说(解释人类女性绝经后仍存活的进化理论)
great-grandmother:曾祖母、太婆(祖父或祖母的母亲)
teach one's grandmother to suck eggs:习语,意为“班门弄斧”(向长辈或行家炫耀本领)
日常场景:
My grandmother is 90 and still going strong.(我奶奶90岁了,身体还很硬朗。)
He often runs errands for his grandmother.(他经常帮祖母跑腿。)
情感与回忆:
Grandmother used to darn her own stockings.(祖母过去总是自己织补袜子。)
When my grandmother needed me, I was not there.(我祖母需要我时,我却不在她身边。)
文化与身份:
His grandmother, known as Doris, taught him to deal fairly with businesspeople.(他的外婆多丽丝教导他要公平对待商人。)
My grandmothers are both widows.(我的祖母和外祖母都是寡妇。)
习语运用:
Telling an experienced chef how to cook is like teaching your grandmother to suck eggs.(告诉资深厨师如何做菜,简直是班门弄斧。)
在家庭关系词汇中,grandmother 的对应男性亲属为 grandfather(祖父/外祖父),复数形式为 grandmothers。不同文化中对祖辈的称呼可能存在差异,但“grandmother”在英语中统一指代父母的母亲,无需区分父方或母方,如需明确可添加 maternal(母方)或 paternal(父方)前缀。
无论是描述家庭故事、填写亲属信息,还是阅读文学作品,准确使用 grandmother 能清晰传达代际关系。你是否也有与grandmother相关的难忘故事?