"know by heart" 是英语中常用的固定短语,核心意思是“熟记;牢记;能背诵;凭记忆掌握”,强调对某事物(如文字、数字、内容等)的记忆达到“完全准确、无需提示就能回忆起来”的程度。
它侧重“记忆的结果”——即已经把内容刻在心里,能脱口而出或信手拈来,而非“记忆的动作”(动作常用 memorize 表示)。
通常遵循 “主语 + know + 宾语 + by heart” 的模式,宾语可以是名词、代词或名词性短语(如诗歌、台词、号码、歌词、公式等)。
文字内容:诗歌、台词、歌词、课文等(如 a poem, lines of a play, song lyrics)
数字/符号:电话号码、乘法表、公式等(如 a phone number, multiplication tables, math formulas)
实用性内容:菜谱、指令、规则等(如 family recipes, instructions, rules)
通过具体场景理解更直观:
1、 文字内容:
I know all the lines of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" soliloquy by heart.(我能背诵莎士比亚《哈姆雷特》中所有的独白台词。)
She knows the lyrics to every Taylor Swift song by heart.(她熟记泰勒·斯威夫特每首歌的歌词。)
2、 数字/符号:
My dad still knows my childhood phone number by heart.(我爸爸至今还熟记我小时候的电话号码。)
Math geniuses often know complex formulas by heart.(数学天才通常能牢记复杂公式。)
3、 实用性内容:
Grandma knows all her famous cookie recipes by heart—no need for written lists.(奶奶熟记她所有著名的曲奇饼干配方,根本不用写清单。)
You need to know the safety rules by heart before operating the machine.(操作这台机器前,你必须牢记安全规则。)
同义词:memorize(记忆,侧重“动作”)、learn by heart(与 know by heart 几乎同义,更强调“学习并记住”的过程)、have sth memorized(更口语化,如 I have the speech memorized)。
易混淆点:know well 是“熟悉”(如 I know him well 我很了解他),而 know by heart 是“能背诵/完全记住细节”(如 I know his address by heart 我熟记他的地址)。
宾语需放在 know 和 by heart 中间,不能说 know by heart sth(除非宾语是很长的从句,如 Do you know by heart what the teacher said yesterday? 你熟记老师昨天说的话吗?)。
通常用于主动句,被动句较少见(如 The poem is known by heart by many students. 这首诗被很多学生熟记,但不如主动句自然)。
总结:"know by heart" 是描述“精准记忆”的高频短语,只要涉及“能背诵、脱口而出”的场景,都可以用它来表达~