英语写作中如何委婉表达“丰满”
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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