新概念雙語：用錯(cuò)這些商務(wù)詞會(huì)讓你顯得low

Using the right word can matter. Using the wrong word can matter even more. I once lost a potential gig because I used "who" instead of "whom" in a proposal letter.

選詞正確至關(guān)重要，然而用錯(cuò)了詞，就更不能忽視了。筆者曾經(jīng)錯(cuò)失了一個(gè)潛在的演出機(jī)會(huì)，原因是我在提案里把 “whom”而誤用成 “who”了。

Even just one incorrectly used word--especially when you're trying to make a great impression--can ruin everything. Is that unfair? Yes... but it does happen.

即使只是單單一個(gè)誤用的詞語——尤其當(dāng)你正盡力給他人留下良好印象的時(shí)候——也會(huì)毀了所有的東西。這聽起來不是很公平對(duì)嗎?是的，但事實(shí)就是這樣。

To make sure that doesn't happen to you, I've collected some of the most common incorrectly used words from other posts into one epic post.

為了避免同類的事情發(fā)生在大家的身上，筆者在別的文章里收集了一些最常見的誤用詞匯，整理到這里來了。

Here we go.

接下來請(qǐng)看。

Good and well

good和well

Good is an adjective that describes something; if you did a good job, then you do good work. Well is an adverb that describes how something was done; you can do your job well.

good是形容詞，用于修飾某件物品或事情，如果你的工作出色，那就是do good work. Well是副詞，用于修飾某件事情的完成程度，你可以很出色地工作，就是用well。

If and whether

if和whether

If and whether are often interchangeable. If a yes/no condition is involved, then feel free to use either: "I wonder whether Jim will finish the project on time?" or "I wonder if Jim will finish the project on time?" (Whether sounds a little more formal in this case, so consider your audience and how you wish to be perceived.)

if和whether常常互換使用。如果條件是yes/no的，那么兩個(gè)詞都可以使用：I wonder whether/if Jim will finish the project on time?(我想知道Jim能否按時(shí)完成任務(wù)?)在這種情況下，whether聽起來更正式點(diǎn)，所以你得考慮到聽眾以及你想達(dá)到的效果。

And always use if when you introduce a condition. "If you hit your monthly target, I'll increase your bonus," is correct; the condition is hitting the target and the bonus is the result. "Whether you are able to hit your monthly target is totally up to you," does not introduce a condition (unless you want the employee to infer that your thinly veiled threat is a condition of ongoing employment).

如果想描述一個(gè)條件的時(shí)候，使用if。“If you hit your monthly target, I’ll increase your bonus.”(如果你達(dá)到了月度銷售目標(biāo)，我就增加你的獎(jiǎng)金。)這種用法是正確的。條件就是達(dá)到銷售目標(biāo)，增加獎(jiǎng)金是結(jié)果。“Whether you are able to hit your monthly target is totally up to you.”(無論你能否達(dá)到月度銷售目標(biāo)，這完全取決于你自己。)這就不是一個(gè)表示條件的句子(除非你希望員工從中領(lǐng)會(huì)到這是一個(gè)關(guān)乎職業(yè)前景的潛在條件)。

Imply and infer

imply和infer

The speaker or writer implies, which means to suggest. The listener or reader infers,which means to deduce, whether correctly or not.

演講者或作家 “implies”，意味著暗示。聽眾或讀者 “infers”，意味著去推斷，無論方式正確與否。

So I might imply you're going to receive a raise. And you might infer that a pay increase is imminent.

所以我可能會(huì)暗示(imply)你快要加工資了，而你就會(huì)推測(infer)加工資是即將到來的。

Insure and ensure

insure和ensure

This one's easy. Insure refers to insurance. Ensure means to make sure.

這個(gè)很簡單，insure指代保險(xiǎn)，ensure意為確保。

So if you promise an order will ship on time, ensure that it actually happens. Unless, of course, you plan to arrange for compensation if the package is damaged or lost -- then feel free to insure away.

所以如果你承諾某個(gè)訂單能如期船運(yùn)，得確保(ensure)萬無一失。出發(fā)，你打算為包裹的耗損或遺失投保險(xiǎn)(insure)，那就去吧。

Irregardless and regardless

irregardless和regardless

Irregardless appears in some dictionaries because it's widely used to mean "without regard to" or "without respect to," which is also what regardless means.

irregardless在某些詞典里收錄，其中是因?yàn)樗毡楸划?dāng)作“毫不關(guān)心”或“毫不尊重”的意思，也就是regardless的意思。

So just say regardless is acceptable.

所以使用regardless就可以了。

Mute and moot

mute和moot

Think of mute like the button on your remote; it means unspoken or unable to speak. In the U.S., moot refers to something that is of no practical importance; a moot point is one that could be hypothetical or even academic. In British English, moot can also mean debatable or open to debate.

把mute看作遙控器上的按鈕，因?yàn)樗囊馑际菬o言的或無法發(fā)聲的。在美式英語里，moot意為某件毫無實(shí)際意義的事情，moot point(爭論未決的問題)可能是假設(shè)性或甚至學(xué)術(shù)性的問題。在英式英語里，moot也可以意為存在爭議的或開放討論的。

Number and amount

number和amount

Use number when you can count what you refer to: "The number of subscribers who opted out increased last month." Amount refers to a quantity of something that can't be counted: "The amount of alcohol consumed at our last company picnic was staggering."

當(dāng)你所指示的東西是可數(shù)的時(shí)候，使用number，“The number of subscribers who opted out increased last months.”(上個(gè)月的訂閱量增加了，subscriber可數(shù))。Amount指代不可數(shù)的東西，“The amount of alcohol consumed at out last company picnic was staggering.” (我們公司在上次野餐花費(fèi)在酒精的費(fèi)用實(shí)在讓人大(微博)吃一驚。)

Peak and peek

peak和peek

A peak is the highest point. Peek means quick glance, as in giving major customers a sneak peek at a new product before it's officially unveiled, which hopefully helps sales peak at an unimaginable height.

peak意為最高點(diǎn)，peek意為快速一瞥，正如在產(chǎn)品正式發(fā)布前對(duì)主要客戶的偷偷一眼，希望產(chǎn)品的銷售量能達(dá)到無法想象的高度。

Precede and proceed

precede和proceed

Precede means to come before. Proceed means to begin or continue.

precede意為先發(fā)生的動(dòng)作，proceed意為開始或繼續(xù)。

Principle and principal

principle和principal

A principle is a fundamental. Principal means primary or of first importance.

principle意為基本原則。Principal意為首要的。

Principal can also refer to the most important item in a particular set: "Our principal account makes up 60 percent of our gross revenues."

principal也可以指代在某種情況下最重要的一項(xiàng)。我們的主要賬目占我們總收入的60%。

Principal can also refer to money, normally a sum that was borrowed, but can be extended to refer to the amount you owe -- hence principal and interest.

principal也可以用于指代金錢，通常指的是借貸的總額，或延伸至你所欠下的總額-也就是本金和利息。

If you're referring to laws, rules, guidelines, ethics, etc., use principle. If you're referring to the CEO or the president (or an individual in charge of a high school), use principal.

在表達(dá)法律，法規(guī)，常規(guī)，道德規(guī)范等等范疇時(shí)，使用principle。如果指的是CEO或校長，那就用principal.

Slander and libel

slander和libel

Don't like what people say about you? Like slander, libel refers to making a false statement that is harmful to a person's reputation.

你不喜歡別人這樣評(píng)論你，諸如誹謗，中傷就是損害他人名譽(yù)的不實(shí)言論。

The difference lies in how that statement is expressed. Slanderous remarks are spoken while libelous remarks are written and published (which means defamatory tweets could be considered libelous, not slanderous).

兩者的區(qū)別在于言論是通過什么方式表達(dá)的。誹謗性言論(slanderous remarks)是口頭的，中傷性的評(píng)論(libelous remarks)則是書面的或公開表示的(誹謗的微博也可視為libelous，而不是slanerous)。

Keep in mind what makes a statement libelous or slanderous is its inaccuracy, not its harshness.

請(qǐng)謹(jǐn)記，判斷言論是否中傷或誹謗性的在于其準(zhǔn)確性，而不是言論的尖銳性。

Stationary and stationery

stationary和stationery

You write on stationery. You get business stationery, such as letterhead and envelopes, printed. But that box of envelopes is not stationary unless it's not moving -- and even then it's still stationery.

你在stationery(文具)上寫作。你得到商務(wù)信紙(business stationery)，比如信箋抬頭和信封，印有抬頭的文件。但是那一箱信封并不是靜止不動(dòng)的(stationary)，除非它被移動(dòng)了，不過即使被移動(dòng)了，它仍然是文具(stationery)。

Sympathy and empathy

sympathy和empathy

Sympathy is acknowledging another person's feelings. "I am sorry for your loss" means you understand the other person is grieving and want to recognize that fact.

sympathy意為意識(shí)到他人的感覺。“對(duì)你的親人的離去我感到很遺憾”意味著你理解他人的悲傷并且意識(shí)到這個(gè)事實(shí)。

Empathy is having the ability to put yourself in the other person's shoes and relate to how the person feels, at least in part because you've experienced those feelings yourself.

empathy就是能把自己代入他人的角色感受他人所想，至少某種程度上是因?yàn)槟愀型硎堋?/p>

The difference is huge. Sympathy is passive; empathy is active.

兩個(gè)詞的區(qū)別是非常大的。Sympathy(同情心)是被動(dòng)的，empathy(同理心)是主動(dòng)的。

Systemic and systematic

systemic和systematic

If you're in doubt, systematic is almost always the right word to use. Systematic means arranged or carried out according to a plan, method, or system. That's why you can take a systematic approach to continuous improvement, or do a systematic evaluation of customer revenue or a systematic assessment of market conditions.

如果你對(duì)這兩個(gè)詞存在疑惑，其實(shí)使用systematic總是對(duì)的。Systematic意味著根據(jù)計(jì)劃、方案或系統(tǒng)有序地安排或執(zhí)行。也就是說你采取了系統(tǒng)的方法達(dá)到持續(xù)的完善，或?qū)蛻魩淼氖找嬗幸粋€(gè)系統(tǒng)的評(píng)估，或?qū)κ袌鰲l件的系統(tǒng)測量。

Systemic means belonging to or affecting the system as a whole. Poor morale could be systemic to your organization. Or bias against employee diversity could be systemic.

systemic意為全身的或整個(gè)體系的。士氣不足可能對(duì)公司造成整體的形象?；蛘邔?duì)員工的種族歧視也會(huì)造成系統(tǒng)性的影響。

Then and than

then和than

Then refers in some way to time. "Let's close this deal, and then we'll celebrate!" Since the celebration comes after the sale, then is correct.

then某種程度上與時(shí)間有關(guān)。“Let’s close the deal, and then we’ll celebrate.”(我們來簽訂合約，然后去慶祝吧!)因?yàn)閼c祝是在簽訂合約之后發(fā)生的，所以使用then是正確的。

Then is also often used with if. Think in terms of if-then statements: "If we don't get to the office on time, then we won't be able to close the deal today."

then也常常用于if引導(dǎo)的句子中，看看這個(gè)if-then的句子：“If we don’t get to the office on time, then we won’t be ablt to close the deal today.” (如果我們無法準(zhǔn)時(shí)達(dá)到會(huì)場，那么我們就不能順利簽下合同了。)

Than involves a comparison. "Landing Customer A will result in higher revenue than landing Customer B."

than包含對(duì)比的關(guān)系。“Landing Customer A will result in higher revenue than landing Customer B” (簽下客戶A的合同比簽下客戶B的合同獲取的收益更高。)

Ultimate and penultimate

ultimate和penultimate

Ultimate means the best, or final, or last. Penultimate means the last but one, or second to last.

ultimate意為最佳的，最終或最后的。Penultimate意為倒數(shù)第二。

But penultimate doesn't mean second-best. Also, keep in mind that using ultimate is fraught with hyperbolic peril.

但penultimate并不意味著第二最好的。再者，請(qǐng)謹(jǐn)記ultimate充滿了夸張的恐怖色彩。

It's and its

it's和its

It's is the contraction of it is. That means it's doesn't own anything.You don't say, "It's collar is blue." You say, "Its collar is blue."

it’s是it is 的縮寫形式，也就是說it’s不帶有任何內(nèi)容。你不能說It’s collar is blue.應(yīng)該說Its collar is blue.

They're and their

they're和their

Same with these: They're is the contraction for they are. Again, the apostrophe doesn't own anything. We're going to their house, and I sure hope they're home.

這一對(duì)也一樣：they’re是they are的縮寫形式。再者，縮寫符號(hào)’不具備任何意思。“We’re going to their house, and I sure hope they’re home.”(我們要去他們家，并且我很希望他們?cè)诩摇?

Who's and whose

who's和whose

"Whose password hasn't been changed in six months?" is correct. Use the non-contracted version of who's, like, "Who is (the non-contracted version of who's) password hasn't been changed in six months?" and you sound a little silly.

“Whose password hasn’t been changed in six months?”(誰的密碼六個(gè)月都沒有更換過?)這個(gè)句子是對(duì)的。而使用非縮略形式的who’s，就是“Who is (Who’s的完整形式)password hasn’t been changed in six months?”(誰是密碼六個(gè)月沒有更換過?)聽起來就很不地道了。

You're and your

you're和your

One more. You're is the contraction of you are. Your means you own it; the apostrophe in you're doesn't own anything.

最后一個(gè)。You’re是you are的縮寫形式。省略符號(hào) “ ’ ”在you’re里沒有任何特別意思。