【同義字】怎麼用英文說個「大概」
編譯／楊詠婷
文／David
不是所有事情都需要鉅細彌遺地分享給其他人，有些事還是不說破為妙，尤其是想保護個人隱私、機密，或是不知道完整資訊時，這種時候，學會怎麼說個「大概」就好。
關於數量的大概
以下單字片語適用在可以數或測量的人、事、物。
Around／About 大約
There are around 15 people in line ahead of us.
我們前面排了大約15人。
We'll arrive at about 3 p.m. tomorrow.
我們明天大約下午三點到。
Roughly 大概
It will take roughly one week to finish the project.
大概要一週才能完成這個專案。
Give or take 大約、相差不大
There were about 100 people at the conference, give or take.
會議上大約有100人。
Approximately 大概、近乎
The next town is approximately two hours from here.
從這邊到下一個城鎮大概要兩小時。
“Approximately” 有時在標示或文件上會縮寫為 “approx.”，像是：
Wait time: Approx. 15 minutes
等候時間：約15分鐘
~ Or so ～左右
Traffic isn't bad, so we should get home in an hour or so.
路況沒有很糟，所以我們應該一個小時左右就能到家。
要注意的是， “~ or so” 只能放在數字或數量之後。
In the neighborhood of ~ 大約
We're aiming for a performance boost in the neighborhood of 15%.
我們目標是提升性能大約15%左右。
In the ballpark 大致差不多
這句片語在正式場合很常出現，尤其是用在估價及談判時。
Is this price in the ballpark of what you were expecting?
這價錢和你預期的大致差不多嗎？
關於概念或想法的大概
這些字詞常在描述感受和想法時使用。
A (little) bit 有點
It tastes a bit like chicken.
這嚐起來有點像雞肉。
Alex
Did you get wet in the storm?
Kate
A bit. Luckily, I parked close to the office.
Slightly 有點
The novel's plot was slightly confusing at first.
這本小說的劇情一開始有點讓人困惑。
Sort of (like ~) 有點（像）
The flavor is sort of sweet, but also a little sour.
這味道帶有點甜味，但又有些酸味。
Kind of (like ~) 有點（像）
Okonomiyaki is a Japanese dish that's kind of like pizza.
大阪燒是一道長得有點像披薩的日式料理。
Bob
Did you enjoy the performance?
Cathy
Kind of. It was nice, but I was expecting more.
“Sort of” 和 “kind of” 都比較偏非正式用法，所以在使用時記得留意場合喔！
More or less 差不多
We're more or less finished preparing for the party; we only need to clean up.
派對的準備工作差不多完成了，只需要打掃乾淨就好。
Daisy
Are you ready to go?
Evan
More or less. Let me just grab my keys.
想練習怎麼在現實對話中使用這些詞語嗎？趕快預約engoo線上英文，和老師一起聊聊吧！
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