当你没有听懂外国人讲的某句话时,是不是会脱口而出一句“I don't understand you.”?外国人听到可就贻笑大方了。
其实这是中式英语思维的锅,我们习惯了将脑海里的中文翻译成英语,再讲出来,但却不符合英语的思维。I don't know what you said.乍一看没有问题,但在外国人听来却是另一番意思(你讲的是什么鬼啊/你不可理喻/咱俩没法沟通)。
所以当你不知道其中的潜台词时,千万不要乱用,否则会引起不必要的误会。一起来看看地道的表达该如何说:
1)I didn't get it. 我不明白你说。
2)Sorry/Pardon? 能再说一遍吗?
3)I didn't catch/follow you. 我没听懂你的话。
在比较书面的场合,我们也可以使用下面的表达:
1
realize 认识到;意识到;了解
to understand or become aware of a particular fact or situation
realize的本意是“使变为事实;使发生”,引申为指人清楚地明白、领悟、体会到某事。
I don't think you realize how important this is to her.
我认为你没有意识到这对她是多么重要。
2
grasp 理解;领会;领悟;明白
to understand sth completely
这个词多指弄明白费解的问题,常指对抽象理论、原理的领悟或理解。
She was unable to grasp how to do it.
她弄不明白这事该怎么做。
3
make sense of 理解;弄懂
Provided you didn't try to make sense of it, it sounded beautiful
只要不非得弄懂它的意思,它听上去还是很美的。
4
appreciate 理解,领会;意识到
to understand that sth is true
I don't think you appreciate how expensive it will be.
我想你不了解它会有多昂贵。
5
comprehend 充分理解;领悟
to understand sth fully
The infinite distances of space are too great for the human mind to comprehend.
太空的无垠距离遥远得让人类的大脑无法理解。
6
get it 理解
understand, usually after some initial difficulty
Cut the crap. Look, I get it.
别废话了,听着,我懂得。
7
get the message 领会
We have got to get the message over to the young that smoking isn't cool.
我们要让年轻人认识到抽烟并不是什么很酷的事情。
8
get the picture 了解情况
get the meaning of something
picture除了表示图画;照片,还有“情况;局面;事态”的意思。
Tell me frankly, did you get the picture?
坦白些对我说,你明白了吗?
9
get the gist 理解大意
gist的意思是一段信息的要旨,要点;大意,get the gist就是理解了大概的意思
Well, I hope you get the gist of what I mean and I hope you can help me.
嗯,我理解你的精神,我的意思,我希望你能帮助我。
10
the penny drops 恍然大悟,豁然开朗
我们常常会丢硬币看正反做决定,当硬币掉下来的时候,结果也就出来了
Jim looked confused for a moment, then suddenly the penny dropped.
吉姆一开始看起来有些不解,后来恍然大悟。
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