equivalent发音/ɪ'kwɪvələnt/,是equal的同根衍生词,可以是形容词也可以是名词,字典中释义是“等同物”“对应物”,在口语或者写作中,用它来介绍他人可能不熟悉的概念或事物。英英释义:someone or something that has the same size, value, importance, or meaning as someone or something else
例句:
① 比如,你的老家是山西,对中国不熟悉的美国人可能没什么概念。想要让他快速对山西的地理位置有所了解,你可以说:
I am from Shanxi, China, the Chinese geographical equivalent of Ohio.(“我来自中国山西,在地理上相当于美国的俄亥俄州。”)
② 这就是“equivalent”好用之处,它能够帮助我们快速解释一件事的大概,让沟通更高效。当我们想表示“A 是 B 的对应物”“A 相当于 B”时就可以用到它。除了在介绍自己的老家时用“equivalent”屡试不爽外,在介绍一些中国的品牌、机构、现象的时候都可以用“equivalent”。
比如:
滴滴就是“the Chinese equivalent of Uber/Lyft”;
微博就是“the Chinese equivalent of Twitter”;
京东就是“the Chinese equivalent of Amazon”;
《梁祝》就是“the Chinese equivalent of Romeo and Juliet”;
深圳的南山区或者北京的中关村就是“the Chinese equivalent of Silicon Valley”
从这几个例子可以看出,“equivalent”背后其实是一种换位思维,用对方较为熟悉的概念来帮助他们认识新事物。常见的格式是在 equivalent 前加一个形容词,表示“A在某方面与B相对应”。
③《经济学人》在一篇讲俄罗斯电信的文章中就用到了两次 equivalent:
Mr Durov, who founded VK, Russia’s equivalent of Facebook, before emigrating, says Telegram has seen no significant drop in engagement. (一句话介绍了 VK 是什么:VK 就是俄罗斯的 Facebook。)
Russia has no equivalent of China’s automatic “great firewall”—it updates its blacklists manually—but such a possibility is “growing ever closer”, wrote Sarkis Darbinyan of Roskomsvoboda, a digital-rights group. (如果某物并没有对应物,我们就可以说 xx has no equivalent of…)
(1)使用《牛津英语搭配词典》查“equivalent”,了解它作为名词时的常用搭配。
形容词(adj)+equivalent
direct, exact, nearest 直接相等的事物;完全相等的事物;最近似的事物。 the nearest equivalent we have to a carnival 我们拥有的与狂欢节最相似的节日
approximate 近似的东西modern 现代的对等事物。 the modern equivalent of the village inn 乡村旅馆的现代版
American, British, etc. 美国、英国等的对等事物
动词(verb) + equivalent
have 有对应的东西:a word which has no direct equivalent in English 在英语中找不到对应词的字
equivalent + 介词(prep)
~ for … 的对等事物:There is no exact male equivalent for witches. 没有和巫婆完全对等的男性角色。
~ in 在…方面等同:It is the approximate equivalent in height to the Matterhorn. 这个高度与马特洪峰接近。
~ of… 的对等事物:This qualification is the equivalent of a degree. 这一资格相当于大学学位。
~ to 与…等同:This concert hall has been described as the American equivalent to London’s Albert Hall. 这个音乐厅被誉为美国的伦敦艾伯特音乐厅。
(2)翻译:
中国武侠小说作家金庸,常被人称为是中国的斯坦李。
Jin Yong is often regarded as the Chinese equivalent of Stan Lee.
Jin Yong, a Chinese martial arts novelist, is widely regarded as the Chinese equivalent of Stan Lee, the legendary American comic book writer.
Jin Yong, a Chinese martial arts novelist, has been described as the Chinese equivalent to Stan Lee, the legendary American comic book writer.
(3)场景:台湾并没有像大陆的淘宝和京东一样的购物网站。
造句:Taiwan has no equivalent of Mainland China’s online shopping website, such as Taobao and Jingdong.