英国人使用很多俚语,尤其朋友之间。其中很多词其他的英语国家也说,但有些是不列颠群岛特有的。为了帮你"cotton on"(俚语,理解),以下提供一些在英国常能听到的词汇。
【打招呼、感谢】
Alright? – Hello. How are you? 你好
Hiya, Aye up – These informal greetings both mean Hello and are especially popular in the north of England. The aye is pronounced like the letter A。
这两种非正式的打招呼用法,都是"你好"的意思,在英格兰北部非常流行。其中"aye"发音与字母"A"同。
Howay – Let's go or Come on. 走吧
Ta – Thank you 谢谢
Cheers – This is usually said as a toast when you raise your glasses to celebrate, but it also means Thank you。
这个词通常在举杯祝酒的时候说,但也可以表示谢谢。
【人的称呼】
Bairn – Baby or young child 小孩子
Lad – Boy 男孩
Lass, Lassie – Girl 女孩
Bloke, Chap – Man 男人
Mate, Pal – Friend 朋友、伙计
Our kid – My brother or my sister 我的兄弟或姐妹
Don't be confused if someone calls you pet, duck, sweetie, love, chicken, chuck, chucky-egg or sunshine. People in the UK often use these terms when they are addressing other people as a sign of friendliness and affection. It is usually not appropriatefor younger people to use these terms with older people, however。
如果有人叫你pet、duck、sweetie、love、chicken、chuck、chucky-egg或sunshine,不要觉得奇怪,英国人喜欢用这些昵称来表达友好和喜爱之情。不过年轻人这样称呼长辈就有些不妥。
【社交、约会】
Do – Party. You would go to a do if you were going to a party in the UK。
派对、聚会。在英国,参加派对就是"go to a do"。
BYOB – Bring your own bottle. In the UK, it is common for the party host to ask guests to bring their own drinks. You might see BYOB written on the invitation。
自带酒水。在英国,派对的组织者通常会让客人自带酒水,你可能在请帖上看到BYOB这个词。
Cuppa – Cup of tea 一杯茶
Pissed – Americans may think this means upset. But in the UK it is the equivalent of being drunk。
美国人可能认为这个词表示心烦不高兴,但在英国这个词是喝醉了的意思。
E.g., "Is he pissed?"他是不是喝醉了?
Fancy – To find someone attractive 觉得某人迷人
E.g., "He just smiled. I think he fancies you!"
他刚笑了。我觉得他喜欢你。
Ask out – To ask someone if they want to go on a date 邀请某人外出约会
E.g., "He asked me out! We're going to the cinema this Friday."
他约我了!我们周五要去看电影。
Chat up – To flirt with someone 和某人调情
E.g., "He was chatting me up at the party."
派对上他一直在跟我搭讪。
Snog – To kiss passionately 热吻
E.g., "My dad and mum were snogging at their anniversary party. I didn't know where to look."
爸妈在结婚周年纪念上热吻,我都不知道该往哪儿看了。
Chin-wag – Talk or gossip with friends 和朋友闲聊、八卦
E.g., "Fancy a chin-wag?"想聊聊吗?
【金钱】
Quid – Equal to £1. The word doesn't change in the plural, so £50 is fifty quid。
一英镑。这个词没有复数形式,所以50英镑就是fifty quid。
Skint, Broke – Poor or lacking money 很穷、没钱
E.g. "I can't come to the restaurant as I'm skint this week."
我不能下馆子,本周是穷光蛋一个。
Minted, Rolling in it – Rich 有钱
E.g. "It was my birthday last week and I got some money off my family, so I am minted now!"
上周我过生日,家里人给了些钱,我现在发达了。
Splashing out – Spending a lot of money 花大笔钱
That's as cheap as chips – That is very cheap 非常便宜
That costs a bomb – That is too expensive 太贵了
That's a rip-off – That is not worth the price 抢钱呢吧
Cough up! – Pay your share of the bill! 快掏钱付你自己那份账单!
【物品】
Brolly – Umbrella 雨伞
Telly – Television. Some people also say "What's on the box?" to mean "What's on TV?"电视。一些人也说"What's on the box?",表示电视上在演什么。
Loo – Toilet 厕所
Mobile – Mobile telephone. It is unusual to say cellphone in the UK。手机。在英国说cellphone会很奇怪。
【强调、感叹】
Bloody – One of the most useful swear words in British English. Mostly used as an exclamation of surprise e.g. "bloody hell".Something may be "bloody marvelous" or "bloody awful". It is also used to emphasize almost anything, e.g. "you're bloody mad", "not bloody likely"。
英国英语里最有用的脏话。多用于表达惊讶之情,如bloody hell(该死、见鬼、我的天)。某事物可以是bloody marvelous(超赞的),也可以是bloody awful(糟糕透了)。它还以用来强调几乎任何事情,如you're bloody mad(你简直疯了)、not bloody likely(没门儿)。
In the UK, you may hear people use the slang terms "well", "dead" or "mega" instead of "very" or "really". For example, "It was dead good" or "That exam was well difficult!"
在英国,你可能会听见人们使用俚语用法的well、dead、mega来代替very或者really。如It was dead good(棒极了),或That exam was well difficult。(考试好难。)