你问我答

如何形容 “臭”：foetid、stench、stink、 odour、reek、pong、smelly

内容简介

一位听众想要了解 6 种形容 “臭” 的单词有哪些不同。Foetid、stench、stink、odour、reek、pong 和 smelly 意义相近，但依据不同地区的语言习惯、词性、场合和频率等使用方式略有区别。如果你也想学习这些单词的使用方法，就请接下来收听本期 “你问我答” 节目。

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（关于台词的备注: 请注意这不是广播节目的逐字稿件。本文稿可能没有体现录制、编辑过程中对节目做出的改变。）

Buli
大家好，欢迎收听 BBC 英语教学的 “你问我答” 节目。I'm Buli.

Phil
And I'm Phil. We have a question from one of our listeners.

Question
Dear BBC 英语教学: I would like to distinguish some words about “臭气/臭味/臭的” —— foetid, stench, stink, odour, reek, pong, smelly. Thank you.

Phil
This is a brilliant question because, if you look for these words in a dictionary, you'll find very similar definitions for each, and that means it can be difficult to know which one to use. 

Buli
是的，问题中提到的这些单词确实有一定区别。不光在含义、使用频率和场合上，它们的应用还可能根据不同地区人们的语言习惯而有所不同。 

Phil
So, let's start with the biggest difference - almost all of these words always relate to a bad smell. But there is one exception. An 'odour' can be a bad smell, but it's not always the case. And it can be used in spoken and written language.

Buli
“Odour” 既可以用在书面用语中，也可以用在口语里，表达 “气味” 或 “臭味”。让我们来听下面的例句。

Examples
When we smell a familiar odour, it can trigger happy memories.
（当我们闻到熟悉的气味时，可能会勾起些快乐的回忆。） 

Perfumers are always finding creative ways to produce sweet odours.
（调香师总是在探索创造性的方法来制作芳香的气味。） 

Body odour can be an embarrassing problem.
（体臭可能是一个令人尴尬的问题。）

Buli
上面的例子向我们展示了用 “odour” 表达气味时，具体是香味还是臭味需要结合语境来判断。比如 “sweet odour” 就可以表示 “芳香的气味”，而 “embarrassing body odour” 就变成了 “令人尴尬的体臭”。除此之外，“odour” 也是在科学和技术领域最常见的表达 “气味” 的词汇。

Phil
OK. So, that's 'odour', which is a noun. Now let's look at an adjective, and that's 'smelly'. It's fairly common, and it's neither formal or informal, and it can be used in most contexts, but it does only refer to a bad smell.

Buli
形容事物是 “有臭味的” 时，“smelly” 是最常用的一个单词。一起来听接下来的例句。 

Examples
Your food is really smelly. Can you go and eat that somewhere else?
（你吃的东西太难闻了，你能不能到其它地方吃？）

This room is quite smelly because it's got a damp problem.
（这间屋子有些难闻，因为它有潮气的问题。）

Buli
“Smelly” 的使用范围非常广泛，特别是搭配 “quite” 和 “really” 等表示程度的副词时，可以更加准确地形容臭味的程度。在描述强烈的臭味时，我们还可以使用一个更精准的单词：“foetid”。 

Phil
The adjective 'foetid', which is usually spelled f-o-e-t-i-d in British English, is most likely to be found in descriptive writing – it's quite formal. It is used to describe something that smells really bad. 

Buli
“Foetid” 是书面用语，用于形容 “令人恶心的恶臭”，带有一定的文学色彩。请听例句。 

Examples
After crashing through the trees, they came across a foetid swamp that they couldn't cross.
（轰然穿过树林后，他们偶然发现了一片无法穿越的恶臭沼泽。）

The beast's breath smelled more and more foetid as they got closer.
（随着他们愈发接近，那头野兽的气息闻着更加恶臭。）

Buli
例句中用 “foetid” 来形容神秘的沼泽和野兽的呼吸，听起来就觉得太臭啦！那么，同样能用来表达臭味的单词 “stench” 和 “stink” 又是如何区分的呢？ 

Phil
As nouns, 'stench' and 'stink' have a very similar meaning - they are both a very bad smell, and they are both often used with the adjective 'overpowering' - giving the idea that a stench or a stink is a smell that is so bad, it can stop you doing anything! The big difference between these two words is that 'stink' can be used as a verb. And that isn't possible with 'stench'.

Buli
“Stench” 和 “stink” 都可以用来指令你难以呼吸的臭味，比如 “an overpowering stench/stink（一股无法抵挡的臭气）”。它们的最大区别就是 “stink” 还可以用作动词，而 “stench” 则只能作为名词使用。请听例句。

Examples
The pipe had burst and there was an overpowering stench. It really stank.
（因为管道发生了爆裂，所以那里极其恶臭。实在太熏人了。）

Well done, you've got rid of the stink that was in here earlier.
（做得好，你把之前这里的臭味除干净了。）

The factory gave off a terrible stench.
（工厂散发出一股难闻的恶臭。） 

Buli
需要提醒大家的是，“stink” 的动词形式要比名词形式更加常用。接下来，我们再来学习两个同样既可以做动词，又可以做名词的词汇，“reek” 和 “pong”。

Phil
Yes. 'Reek' and 'pong' are both nouns and verbs for an unpleasant smell, or to smell unpleasantly. They are both more common in British varieties of English than other varieties. 'Pong' is quite informal, and they are both more likely to be found in speech than in writing. 

Buli
“Reek” 和 “pong” 都在口语中更加常见。他们都可以表示 “令人不悦的气味” 或 “散发出令人不悦的气味”。其中，“reek” 在苏格兰地区的口语里还有 “smoky（烟雾缭绕）” 的意思。苏格兰城市爱丁堡就拥有 “Auld Reekie” 的昵称，因为城中曾经总是弥漫着各家各户的炊烟。来听下面的例句。

Examples
There's a nasty pong in the air. Something reeks in here.
（空气中有种极其难闻的味道。有什么东西在这里散发着臭气。）

The reek of rotting fish filled the kitchen.
（厨房里充满了腐烂的鱼发出的腥臭味。）

You need to clean that. It really pongs!
（你得把那东西清理干净，它有臭味了！）

Phil
These are just some of the ways that we can talk about bad smells in English - you will find many more! 

Buli
不知道本期节目是否解答了你心中的问题呢？你还可以随时通过微博向我们提问。我们的微博账号是 “BBC英语教学”。 

Phil
You can also send us an email with your English language question. Our email address is: questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk. Bye! 

Buli
Bye.