你想介紹「我嗰個比我大嘅堂兄」,口都未開就要諗一大串字,但個新同事一臉茫然。喺英文入面,呢一大串嘢得一個細細粒嘅字:cousin。冇分父系、冇分母系、冇分大細、冇分男女。淨係一個 cousin。歡迎嚟到全世界最隨和 —— 又可以話最懶 —— 嘅其中一棵家族樹。
快速答案
英文將好多其他語言會分開講嘅親屬關係全部壓平。一個 cousin 包晒所有 —— 阿爸個哥哥嘅仔、阿媽個家姐嘅女、大嘅、細嘅、男嘅、女嘅,通通叫 cousin。如果真係要講清楚,就加一句去補:「my cousin on my mom's side」(我母親嗰邊嘅 cousin)或者「my older cousin Jamie」(我嗰個年紀大啲嘅 cousin Jamie)。
真實例句
| 英文講法 | 意思 |
|---|---|
| My cousin | 你阿姨/姑姐/舅父/叔伯個仔女(任何一邊、任何年紀、任何性別) |
| My cousin on my mom's side | 母系嗰邊嘅 cousin(有需要先講) |
| My nephew | 你兄弟姊妹個仔(姪仔或外甥) |
| My niece | 你兄弟姊妹個女(姪女或外甥女) |
| My grandparents | 爺爺嫲嫲同公公婆婆一齊講 |
| My grandpa / grandma | 比較親切嘅叫法,grandfather / grandmother 嘅口語版 |
| My in-laws | 你配偶嘅父母(有時連埋佢哋嘅兄弟姊妹) |
| My second cousin | 你父母個 cousin 嘅仔女 |
| Distant relative | 有親戚關係但好少見嘅人 |
| We're related on my dad's side | 補充清楚,唔係預設嘅講法 |
常見錯誤
- "He is my cousin brother." → "He is my cousin." · 英文冇「cousin brother」呢樣嘢,淨係一個 cousin。
- "She is my mother sister daughter." → "She is my cousin." · 唔好逐隻字翻譯親屬結構,壓平佢就得。
- "My nephew is a girl." → "My niece is six years old." · Nephew 係男嘅;niece 先係女嘅。
- "I have many cousin." → "I have lots of cousins." · Cousins 要加複數 -s,而 many 通常配可數複數名詞。
- "My grandfather mother" → "My great-grandmother" · *再上一代要加 great-。*
迷你對話
喺家族晚餐度 A: So who's the kid in the red shirt? B: Oh, that's my cousin Theo. He just moved here from Manchester. A: Cousin on which side? B: My mom's side. His mom and my mom are sisters. A: Cute. He looks just like you. B: Everyone says that. We hate it.
Zoom 上面傾近況 A: How's your family doing? B: Busy! My sister just had her second baby, so I'm officially an aunt of two. A: Aww, congrats! Nephew or niece this time? B: A niece. They named her Mira. A: Beautiful name. Sending hugs to the whole tribe.
語氣筆記
平時講英文,大家都唔會特登話明父系定母系 —— 上下文已經夠交代。除非真係有原因(例如要分開兩個同名嘅 cousin、解釋點解某人姓氏唔同、講邊個似邊個),先會加「on my mom's side」或者「on my dad's side」。喺好朋友之間,grandpa / grandma / nana / pops 聽落親切;grandfather / grandmother 就 formal 啲、書面啲。In-laws 係一個中性、帶少少抽水味嘅統稱,日常傾偈大家通常會講「my husband's mom」而唔係 mother-in-law。
要留意嘅係,英文呢個 cousin 嘅 flat 用法,同我哋華人(尤其香港)分得好細嘅習慣有好大落差:堂兄弟姊妹同表兄弟姊妹喺中文係兩家人,但喺英文就一個字搞掂。教英文嗰陣,記住英文係 flat 嘅,唔好硬把中文嗰套搬過去。
小測試:揀最自然嘅句子
邊一句聽落最自然?
- A. He is my mother sister's son.
- B. He is my cousin.
你朋友個阿哥個女,佢係你朋友嘅:
- A. niece
- B. nephew
你阿爸嘅阿爸,英文應該叫:
- A. My grand uncle
- B. My grandfather
答案
- B — 英文將成條親屬鏈壓成一個 cousin。
- A — Niece 係女;nephew 係男。
- B — 「Grand uncle」(或 great-uncle)係指你爺爺嫲嫲/公公婆婆嘅兄弟,唔係你阿爸嘅阿爸。
一句總結
英文嘅家族詞彙又短、又簡單、cousin 仲係不分性別。要講清楚就加一句(例如 "on my mom's side"),唔好硬砌一個新嘅複合字。Cousin 就係 cousin。Niece 係女,nephew 係男。再上一代加 great-。咁就大致 cover 晒成棵家族樹。