“微薄”常见的英文表达有 meager、scanty、paltry、slender 等,具体使用哪个词取决于语境:
含义:指数量、数量或程度不足,强调数量稀少或质量不高,常带有一种“不足、匮乏”的意味。
例句:
His salary is meager and can hardly support his family.(他的薪水微薄,几乎无法养家糊口。)
The crops failed this year, resulting in a meager harvest.(今年农作物歉收,导致收成微薄。)
含义:侧重于表示数量、供应或信息等“不足、不够”,有“稀少、缺乏”的意思,常用于描述资源、时间、证据等方面。
例句:
We had to make do with scanty supplies during the war.(战争期间,我们只能依靠微薄的物资勉强度日。)
The evidence presented in court was scanty and inconclusive.(法庭上出示的证据微薄且没有定论。)
含义:表示数量、价值或重要性等“微不足道、不值一提”,带有一定的贬义色彩,强调数量或质量少得可怜,几乎可以忽略不计。
例句:
The amount of money he offered was paltry compared to the value of the item.(他出的钱与物品的价值相比微不足道。)
She received a paltry raise after working so hard for a year.(她努力工作了一年,却只得到了微薄的加薪。)
含义:原义指“苗条的、纤细的”,在描述数量、资源或利润等时,表示“微薄的、少量的”,语气相对较为委婉。
例句:
The company has been making slender profits in recent years.(近年来,这家公司的利润一直很微薄。)
He has only a slender chance of winning the competition.(他赢得比赛的机会很微薄。)