Hello. I'm Michael, welcome to Oxford Online English!
In this lesson, you will learn how to compliment someone in English.
你好,我是 Michael,歡迎來到牛津在線英語。
在這節課上,你會學到如何用英語稱讚別人。
If you see someone who you think looks handsome or pretty, do you know what you would say?
If you like someone's new shoes, how would you tell them?
如果你看到你覺得長得很帥或漂亮的人,你知道要說什麼嗎?
如果你喜歡某個人的新鞋,你要怎麼告訴他們呢?
What if they made you some delicious food?
How would you let them know what you think?
如果他們給你做了些美味的食物呢?
你要如何向他們表達你的看法?
In this lesson, I will explain some ways to do this in English.
By the end, you will understand how to compliment someone naturally, without sounding too strange or creepy.
在這節課中,我會講解一些用英語這麼做的方法。
這節課結束時,你就知道該如何自然地稱讚別人,而不會聽起來過於奇怪或嚇人了。
Let's start with imagining a person in your life who you really like.
Do you have that person in your head?
我們開頭先來想像一個你在生活中非常喜歡的人。
你的腦海中浮現了這樣一個人嗎?
Good. We'll start with how to compliment their personality.
很好。我們從稱讚他們的性格開始講。
Are they friendly? Passionate? Hardworking? Or a good listener?
What positive qualities do you like about them?
他們友好嗎?熱情嗎?努力嗎?是個很好的傾聽者嗎?
你喜歡他們身上的什麼優良品質?
Now, let's tell them.
If your friend is a good listener, you could simply say, "You're a good listener."
現在我們來告訴他們。
如果你的朋友是個很好的傾聽者,那你就可以直接說:「你是個很好的傾聽者。」
If they are a friendly person, say, "I like that you're really friendly."
Maybe they work hard, so tell them, "You're very hardworking."
如果他們為人很友好,那你可以說:「我喜歡你這麼友好。」
也許他們工作很努力,那你可以告訴他們:「你工作非常努力。」
People like hearing nice things about themselves.
If your friend is an organized person, another great thing to say is, "I wish I was as organized as you."
人們喜歡聽到別人說他們的好話。
如果你的朋友是個做事井井有條的人,可以對他們說的另一個很好的話是:「真希望我能有你這麼有條理。」
You're saying, "I want to be more like you, I want to be more organized."
OK, so you have complimented their personality, and you noticed that they are wearing some nice clothes.
你這是在說:「我想像你一樣,我想變得更有條理。」
好了,你已經稱讚了他們的性格,你又注意到他們穿的衣服很不錯。
How would you compliment this person's outfit?
You could say, "You look nice," or "You look amazing," or "I love your outfit."
你要如何稱讚這個人的穿著呢?
你可以說:「你看上去很漂亮」或者「你看上去太好看了」或者「我超喜歡你的衣服」。
You are saying that you love their general look and taste in clothes.
It shows you are paying attention to them and what they are wearing.
你這是在說你很喜歡他們的整體形象和選衣服的品味。
這顯示出了你關心他們以及他們所穿的衣服。
Now, let's say you want to get more specific about their clothes.
It's a good idea to use, "I like" or "I love."
現在我們假設你想對他們的衣服表達更明確的看法。
用 "I like" 或 "I love" 開頭是個很不錯的想法。
Are they wearing some nice shoes?
Say, "I love your shoes, are they new?"
他們穿的鞋子很不錯?
那就說:「我很喜歡你的鞋子,是新買的嗎?」
Are they wearing a great T-shirt?
Say, "I like your T-shirt, where did you get it?"
他們穿著一件很棒的T恤衫?
那就說:「我喜歡你的T恤衫,你在哪裡買的?」
Do they have on a nice scarf?
Say, "What a lovely scarf."
他們戴著一條漂亮的圍巾?
那就說:「這條圍巾真好看。」
These compliments show that you notice and like the clothes this person is wearing.
Maybe you think the colour of the clothes are great.
這些稱讚顯示出了你注意到了這個人所穿戴的服飾,並且喜歡它們。
也許你覺得衣服的顏色特好看。
You could say that, "That colour looks good on you," or "You look amazing in green," or "That colour really suits you."
You are saying that that colour looks good on that person.
那你可以說:「你穿這個顏色真好看」,或者「你穿綠色的衣服好看極了」,或者「那個顏色太適合你了」。
你這是在說那個人穿那個顏色很好看。
So you have finished complimenting their clothes.
Now, let's move on to a more complicated subject: complimenting someone's appearance.
你已經稱讚完了他們的服裝。
現在我們繼續來講一個更複雜的話題:稱讚別人的外表。
This can be difficult and can depend on how well you know the person.
Do not comment on a person's body or mention their weight unless you know them very well.
這會很有難度,並且取決於你與這個人的交情有多深。
不要評論一個人的身材或提及他們的體重,除非你跟他們非常熟。
And even then, be careful.
It can also be different depending on whether you are speaking to a man or a woman.
即使你跟他們很熟也要多加注意。
根據你所稱讚的對象的性別不同,這也會有所不同。
So let's presume that you think the person you are talking to is attractive.
You could tell them, "You're looking beautiful today," if you're talking to a woman, or "You're looking handsome today," if you're talking to a man.
我們假設你認為跟你講話的這個人很有魅力。
如果你是在和一位女性講話,
那你可以告訴她:「你今天看起來很美」,如果你是在和一位男性講話,那可以說:「你今天看上去很帥」。
Other adjectives we can use include "gorgeous", "stunning", and "lovely" for women.
We usually would use "gorgeous" and "stunning" to say we think someone is very attractive.
稱讚女性時我們還可以使用像 "gorgeous","stunning" 和 "lovely" 這樣的形容詞。
當我們認為某個人非常有魅力時,我們通常會用 「gorgeous」和 「stunning」。
We would only use these for someone who is either a close friend or someone we are romantically interested in.
Saying "You look stunning" to a relative would be inappropriate, right?
只有在稱讚親近的朋友或我們思慕的人時,我們才會用這些形容詞。
對親戚說「你看上去美得令人窒息」不太合適,對吧?
We use "lovely" in a more generic way. We can tell a relative, a friend, or a romantic partner that they look lovely.
It is not as strong as "gorgeous" or "stunning."
"lovely" 是一個比較通用的詞,我們可以對親戚、朋友或戀人說他們很好看(look lovely)。
它並沒有 "gorgeous" 或 "stunning" 那麼強烈。
We use "good-looking" and "attractive" to tell a male that we like how they look and would usually apply these to people we are romantically attracted to and not relatives or colleagues.
It would be very strange if you told your boss that you think he is attractive.
我們用 "good-looking" 和 "attractive" 來告訴男性我們喜歡他們的外表,並且經常用這些詞來稱讚吸引我們的人,但不能用在親戚或同事身上。
如果你告訴你的上司你覺得他很有魅力,那就太奇怪了。
A polite way of using these adjectives without sounding too aggressive is to say, "I hope you don't mind me saying, but I think you are very attractive."
Or "Can I just say that I think you are gorgeous?"
禮貌地使用這些形容詞而不會聽起來太過分的一種方法就是說:「希望你不介意我這麼說,我覺得你很有魅力。
或者「我能說我覺得你美麗動人嗎?」
Or "Has anyone ever told you how pretty you are?"
These are politer and less aggressive than just saying something like, "I think you're hot," which could sound a bit rude.
或者「有人告訴過你你有多漂亮嗎?」
直接說「我覺得你很性感」聽起來有點沒禮貌,而上面這些則更有禮貌,也不會那麼過分。
So you have now complimented their personality, their clothes, and their appearance.
If this person is still talking to you, you can move on to compliment other areas.
現在你已經稱讚了他們的性格、著裝和外貌。
如果這個人還在跟你講話,那你可以繼續稱讚其他的方面。
Maybe you've been invited into their home, and you want to compliment how nice it is.
How would you do that?
也許他們邀請你去他們家做客,你想稱讚一下他們的家。你要怎麼做呢?
A simple compliment you could use is to say, "I love your home." "What a nice apartment."
or "You have a beautiful home."
一種簡單的讚美就是說:「我很喜歡你的家。」「這間公寓真不錯。」
或者「你家真美。」
This shows a nice initial compliment on your impression of their home.
If their home is big and spacious, tell them, "It's really spacious in here."
這顯示出你對他們家的第一印象非常好。
如果他們家很大很寬敞,那就告訴他們:「這裡真的很寬敞。」
Or if they have a small but nice place, tell them, "I love how cozy it is."
Do not use words such as "small," as this could sound like an insult.
如果他們家屬於小而精緻的那種,那就告訴他們:「你家好溫馨啊,我很喜歡。」
不要用像 "small" 這樣的字眼,因為這聽起來像是一種冒犯。
Or you could show an interest in their furniture.
Maybe you noticed that you like a lamp in their home.
或者你可以展示出對他們的家具的興趣。
也許你發現自己很喜歡他們家的一盞燈。
Ask, "Where did you get your lamp from? I love it."
Do they have a modern kitchen?
那就可以問:「你從哪裡買的燈?我好喜歡。」
他們的廚房是不是很時髦?
Tell them, "Your kitchen is so modern, it looks great."
So you've complimented their home.
那就告訴他們:「你的廚房太時髦了,看起來很棒。」
你已經稱讚了他們的家。
Now let's imagine they are cooking a meal for you.
How would you compliment their cooking?
現在我們假設他們在給你做飯。你要怎麼稱讚他們的廚藝呢?
Now remember, if the food is terrible, it's probably not a good idea to tell them.
But imagine the meal was delicious, and you want to express this.
記住,如果食物很難吃,那你最好不要告訴他們。
但是假設這餐飯很美味,你想要向他們傳達這一點。
Whilst eating, you could say, "The lasagne is delicious." or, "This salad is very tasty." or a more expressive, "This is fantastic."
If you wanted to ask them whether they made the food from the original ingredients, you could ask, "Did you make this from scratch?"
你可以在吃飯時說:「這個千層面很美味。」或者「這個沙拉很好吃。」,或者表達得更生動些:「這個太好吃了。」
如果你想問他們這些食物是不是他們自創的,那你可以問:「這道菜是你自己摸索出來的嗎?」
This is a compliment if they did.
Saying, "You've got to give me the recipe for this meal," is also a great compliment to give someone, as you are saying that you like the food so much, you would like to make it yourself.
如果真是這樣,這對他們是種讚美。
對別人說「你一定要把這道菜的菜譜告訴我」也是一種莫大的讚美,因為這就表示你喜歡這道菜到了想要自己做的程度。
After the meal, you should say, "That was delicious, my compliments to the chef."
The chef in this situation doesn't refer to a restaurant chef, but instead to the person who did the cooking.
飯後,你應該說:「太好吃了,給大廚點讚。」
這裡的大廚並不是指餐廳大廚,而是指做這些菜的人。
So now you know how to compliment a person's personality, their appearance, their home, and their cooking.
You have been a fantastic, attractive, lovely audience, but that's the end of the lesson.
現在你知道該如何稱讚一個人的性格、外貌、家和廚藝了。
你是一個極了不起、富有魅力、十分可愛的觀眾,但是這節課到此就結束了。
Before we finish, here's some homework: go out and compliment someone in English.
Practice what you've learned today.
結束前我要給你布置個作業:出去用英語稱讚別人。
練習一下你今天學到的內容。
Thanks very much for watching, I hope you have found these compliments useful!
非常感謝你的觀看,希望你覺得這些稱讚有用。
In the video description, you can also see a link to the full version of this lesson.
The full version includes the text and exercises to help you practice what you've learned in this class.
在視頻描述中還有這節課完整版本的連結。
完整的版本包括文本和練習,能夠幫助你練習在這節課上學到的內容。
See you next time!
下次見!