在英语中,关于“胖”,我们首先想到的就是fat。但fat在英语中是个强烈的贬义词,所以在西方如果说某人fat,不仅是对别人的伤害与歧视,也是自身粗鲁无教养的表现。
那么英语中如何恰当而又有礼貌地表达 “胖”呢?下面是一些常见的委婉表达法。
1. gain weight: 增加体重。例如:
People who drink diet soft drinks don’t lose weight. They gain weight, a new study finds。
2. super size person: 超大之人。例如:
No more hamburgers, I don’t want to be a super size person。
3. heavyset: 体格魁伟的。例如:
He was tall and heavyset。
4. nutritionally endowed: 营养丰富的。例如:
Though garlic is a nutritionally endowed food, it is only consumed in small amounts。
5. gravitationally challenged: 受地球引力挑战的。例如:
That girl is gravitationally challenged。
6. well-built: 体格健美的,体型匀称的。例如:
That girl is well-built。
7. stout 结实的,壮实的。例如:
She is getting too stout for her dresses。
8. big-boned: 骨骼粗大的。例如:
I’m not fat, just big-boned。
9. overweight: 超重的。例如:
Overweight in a child should not be neglected。
10. chubby: 胖乎乎的(多指小孩和女子)。 例如:
The baby has a chubby face。
11. buxom: 体态丰满的。例如:
A generation ago, fat babies were considered healthy and buxom actresses were popular, but society has come to worship thinness。
同样,“瘦”不能说skinny,它是“皮包骨”的意思。要形容一个人苗条应该用slender,slim,或delicate。“减肥”则可以说lose pounds或lose weight。
总之,“胖”和“瘦”是英美人敏感的话题, fat和skinny的使用要十分小心,注意回避。但是有一个例外就是phat(妙,好,酷),是fat 的异体词,在口语中常常用于赞美美妙的东西,相当于cool。例如:
The car is really a phat。