“幻象”常见的英文表达有 illusion、vision(在特定语境下)、phantasm 等,具体使用哪个词需根据语境判断:
illusion:最常用,指因错觉、欺骗或误解而产生的虚假或不真实的印象、观念,常用于描述视觉、听觉上的虚假感知或对现实的错误理解,强调与现实的偏离。例如:
The mirage in the desert is just an illusion caused by the heat.(沙漠中的海市蜃楼只是由高温引起的一种幻象。)
He was under the illusion that he could win the race easily.(他有一种他能轻松赢得比赛的错觉。)
vision:通常指通过精神、想象或梦境看到的景象,有时也可表示“幻象”,但更侧重于带有某种精神性、启示性或超自然色彩的视觉体验。例如:
In her dream, she had a vision of a beautiful garden.(在梦里,她看到了一个美丽花园的幻象。)
phantasm:较为文学化、正式,指完全虚幻、不真实且往往带有神秘或恐怖色彩的幻象,强调其虚幻、不实在的本质。例如:
The ghostly figure was nothing more than a phantasm created by his imagination.(那个幽灵般的身影只不过是他想象出来的幻象罢了。)