Many people work at a job to make money, but really love doing something else. The job we do to make money we call our “day job,” even if we work at night. This is your main job—the one that allows you to pay your rent or “mortgage” (money paid on a home loan) and allows you to eat.
許多人有一份賺錢的工作,但真正熱愛的是做別的事情。我們賺錢的工作被稱為“全職工作”,即使我們在晚上工作也這麼說。這是你的主要工作——讓你能夠支付房租或“房貸”(房屋貸款)並且讓你能吃得起飯。
There is a very common expression people say related to day jobs: “Don’t quit your day job.” We often use this jokingly, to say that the other person doesn’t do something very well.
有一句與全職工作相關的非常常見的表達:“別辭掉你的全職工作。”我們通常開玩笑地使用這句話,表示對方不擅長某件事情。
For example, if we are all at a friend’s birthday party and you start to sing a song “in your friend’s honor” (to show respect to your friend) and you don’t sing very well, your friends might say to you: “Don’t quit your day job!” It’s a little “insulting” (rude), but it’s meant as a joke.
例如,如果我們都在朋友的生日派對上,你開始唱一首歌“向你的朋友致敬”(表達對朋友的尊敬),但你唱得不太好,你的朋友可能會對你說:“別辭掉你的全職工作!”這有點“侮辱人”(無禮),但它的意思是開玩笑。
There are a few terms for things we do “on the side” (not as our main occupation or activity) because we like or love doing them. If it’s done mainly or only for pleasure, then we usually call it a “hobby.” We don’t expect to make money from it, but we enjoy doing it.
我們有一些術語用來形容我們“業餘”做的事情(不是我們的主要職業或活動),因為我們喜歡或熱愛做這些事情。如果主要是為了樂趣而做的,那我們通常稱它為“愛好”。我們不期望從中賺錢,但我們喜歡這麼做。
“Let’s say” (let’s take the example) of cleaning. A person might be a little strange and enjoy cleaning as his or her hobby. Obviously, he or she doesn’t get paid for cleaning their own house, or even cleaning friends’ houses for fun.
“比方說”(讓我們舉個例子)打掃。某個人可能有點奇怪,把打掃當作他的愛好。顯然,他或她不會因為打掃自己的房子或者甚至是幫朋友打掃而獲得報酬。
If, however, this person gets a job as a “janitor” (person who cleans a school, office building, etc.) in addition to his or her day job, that person would be moonlighting. The term “moonlighting” is usually used to mean an additional job you get to make extra money, not to give you enjoyment.
然而,如果這個人除了全職工作之外,還找到一份“清潔工”(打掃學校、辦公樓等地方的人)的工作,那麼這個人就會被稱為“兼職”。“兼職”這個術語通常是指為了額外賺錢而從事的額外工作,而不是為了享受。
We also call this our “second job,” although we don’t call our main job our “first job.”
我們也稱之為“第二份工作”,儘管我們不會稱主要工作為“第一份工作”。
However, if you are doing something that requires more skill, such as creating comic strips or websites, and you make some money from it or intend to make money from it, then that would probably be called your “sideline.” A sideline can be any activity requiring some skill or talent.
然而,如果你正在從事某些需要更多技能的事情,比如創作漫畫或製作網站,並且從中賺取一些收入或打算賺錢,那麼這可能會被稱為你的“副業”。副業可以是任何需要一定技能或才華的活動。