喜樂美語
  1. 1aB2/ˈprefərəbəl/比較好；更合適

    正式better than something else, or more suitable for a particular purpose — used when you are saying which of two or more choices you would rather have.

    示範例句 · Example

    For this soup, fresh ginger is preferable to the dried kind.

    逐字對這道湯來說，新鮮的薑比乾的那種更合適。

    「preferable」就像從動詞 prefer（比較喜歡）長出來的形容詞：你會選 A 不選 B，A 就是 preferable。它的意思是「在幾個選擇裡，這個比較好、比較適合」，語氣比 better 正式一點，常出現在說明做法、公告或討論怎麼安排的時候。比較的對象前面用 to（A is preferable to B），不用 than。

    常見搭配

    • preferable to something

      比某個選擇更好

      better than another choice

      Walking to school is preferable to waiting for a late bus.

    • far preferable

      好很多

      very much better

      A quiet corner is far preferable for reading.

    • infinitely preferable

      好太多了

      much, much better

      Fresh air is infinitely preferable to a stuffy room.

    • always preferable

      每次都是這個比較好

      better in every case, not just this time

      Checking your work first is always preferable.

    • would be preferable

      會是比較好的選擇

      would be the better choice

      An earlier meeting would be preferable for most of us.

core核心畫面

Picture two options sitting side by side, and a hand reaching for one of them. Preferable is the label on the one the hand goes to — not 'the good one' in the absolute, but 'the one I'd rather have, given these choices'. The comparison is built into the word: it never stands alone, there is always something else it is better than.

「兩個選項擺在你面前，你的手伸向其中一個」。preferable 就是貼在那隻手伸過去的那一個上面的標籤——不是絕對意義上的「好東西」，而是「在這幾個選擇裡，我寧願要這個」。比較的意味是內建在字裡的：它背後永遠站著另一個被比下去的選項，就算那個選項沒有說出口。常見句型是 X is preferable to Y（注意是 to，不是 than）；也常說 It would be preferable to do X，意思是「這樣做會比較好」。語氣偏正式、偏冷靜——它像是在權衡之後給的判斷，不是脫口而出的喜好。

同家族的字

原始詞典資料1 筆記錄

以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，摘錄並精簡格式，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。

preferableadj/ˈpɹɛf.(ə.)ɹə.b(ə)l/

  • 1

    Better than some other option; preferred.

    • This work has been the care and ſtudy of ſome years; as far as health, and other affairs, would permit. For, this appeared, to the author, of as much greater importance, than any other hiſtory whatever; as morality and religion are more excellent, than any temporal affairs; and the hiſtory of true religion, præferrable to that of impoſtures and deluſions.
    • It is not to the point that an inequality of material goods, at high levels, may not be preferable to an equality of material goods at a lower level, precisely for such reasons as self-respect.

摘錄自 英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary，已精簡格式；依 CC BY-SA 4.0 授權使用，改動後的內容同樣以此授權提供。