每日英語 #001: family 稱呼

更新於 2024/05/19發佈於 2024/05/19閱讀時間約 7 分鐘

Family members

It’s easy to know what to call your “immediate family” (family closely related to you, such as father, mother, and sister/brother) and even “extended family (family not as closely related, such as uncles/aunts, cousins, and grandparents).

很容易知道如何稱呼你的「直系親屬」（與你關係密切的家庭成員，例如父親、母親和兄弟姐妹）和「旁系親屬」（與你關係不那麼密切的家庭成員，例如叔叔/姑姑、堂兄弟姐妹和祖父母）。

But what do you call your “ancestors” (family members who lived many years before you were born)?

但你如何稱呼你的「祖先」（在你出生前許多年生活過的家庭成員）呢？

The father of your father is your grandfather.

你父親的父親是你的祖父。

Logically, you would think that your grandfather’s father would be your “grand-grandfather,” but that is not what Americans would say.

從邏輯上講，你會認為你祖父的父親應該叫做「grand-grandfather」，但美國人不這樣說。

Instead, after your grandfather, you add the word “great,” so my grandfather’s father is your great-grandfather.

相反，在祖父之後，你需要加上「great」這個詞，因此你祖父的父親是你的曾祖父（great-grandfather）。

What do we call your great-grandfather’s father?

那麼我們如何稱呼你的曾祖父的父親呢？

He is your great-great-grandfather.

他是你的高祖父（great-great-grandfather）。

You continue to add “great” for every additional generation you want, so you could talk about your great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather (or grandmother, of course).

每增加一代，你就繼續加上「great」，所以你可以說你的六世祖父（或祖母，當然）。

A similar system is used in talking about your children and your children’s children.

類似的系統也用於討論你的孩子和你的孩子的孩子。

Your child’s child is called your grandchild, and his child would be your great-grandchild, and so forth.

你的孩子的孩子叫做你的孫子/孫女，他的孩子是你的曾孫/曾孫女，依此類推。

If you have a niece (your brother’s or sister’s daughter) or nephew (your brother’s or sister’s son), what do I call them?

如果你有姪女（你兄弟或姐妹的女兒）或外甥（你兄弟或姐妹的兒子），我該怎麼稱呼他們呢？

Here things get a little confusing, because it is possible to call them your grandnieces and grandnephews, or your great-nieces and great-nephews.

這裡有些混淆，因為可以稱他們為「grandnieces」和「grandnephews」，或「great-nieces」和「great-nephews」。

They would call you their great-uncle or granduncle.

他們會稱你為「great-uncle」或「granduncle」。

Great-uncle and great-aunt are much more popular, however, at least in the U.S.

然而，在美國，「great-uncle」和「great-aunt」更為常見。

After this, you keep adding “greats” as you do with grandparents.

之後，你繼續像稱呼祖父母那樣增加「great」。

In summary, if you are talking about your parent’s parents, you start with “grand” and then add “great(s).”

總結來說，如果你在談論你父母的父母，從「grand」開始，然後加上「great(s)」。

If you are talking about uncles, aunts, nieces, and nephews, then you can either start with “great” or use “grand” as you do with grandmother/grandfather.

如果你在談論叔叔、姑姑、姪女和外甥，那麼你可以從「great」開始，或者像稱呼祖父母那樣使用「grand」。