英語小百科

“英語小百科”是一個(gè)關(guān)于英語學(xué)習(xí)的英國電臺(tái)節(jié)目，通過生動(dòng)的對話解答聽眾針對英語學(xué)習(xí)方面提出的問題。在全球化的進(jìn)程中，各國之間的關(guān)聯(lián)不斷深化，英語中的外來詞也在不斷增加，有不少中文詞匯已經(jīng)被編入詞典，成為英語的一部分。有人說下一個(gè)雀屏中選的也許是“緣分”？一起來聽聽看！

QUESTION:

Hello， my name is Joannie. I have a burning question about the word “yuan fen.” I recently heard it has made its way into the English vocabulary like feng shui， dim sum， and wok etc， is it true? If not， how do we explain this particular Chinese phenomenon[現(xiàn)象] to the westerners? Thank you.

Yang Li: It’s clear that feng shui， dim sum， and wok have already made their way into the English language， but the phrase “yuan fen” has not yet.

Natalie: To find out the meaning of this Chinese phrase， we spoke to a bilingual[雙語的] expert at the BBC， Shirong.

Okay， the phrase “yuan fen” originally comes from Sanskrit[梵文]， Buddhism[佛教]. People talk about a kind of causal relationship[因果關(guān)系]， you know， what caused something in the previous life and that would have an impact on your next life. That’s a kind of “yuan.” That’s why in the English language very often it’s translated as， kind of， destiny or fate. In that sense it is correct.

（好了，“緣分”這個(gè)詞源自佛教梵文。人們用它來形容一種因果關(guān)系，你知道——前世的事情之所以會(huì)發(fā)生的原因，對你的今生又會(huì)產(chǎn)生一種影響。這就是“緣”。所以在英語中，這個(gè)詞組常常被譯為命數(shù)、命運(yùn)之類的。在這個(gè)意義上來說也沒錯(cuò)。）

“Yuan fen” is something that in English often gets translated as “it was meant to be.” It was my destiny. I was destined to be here. It’s fate. It was meant to be.

（“緣分”在英語中常常譯作“命中注定”。這是我的命運(yùn)。我注定要來這里。這就是命。這是命中注定。）

Natalie: But you can’t use the phrase to describe every situation when you happen to meet someone. Listen to Shirong again.

If we talk about people just a chance meeting and， you know…then it could be by luck. But the phrase is more often used in relationships. This man and a woman， or a boy and a girl are predestined[注定] to go together. They are predestined to meet， and get along， and even get married.

（如果我們在說的是人們只是偶然邂逅，你知道……那就可以說碰巧。但緣分更多地用來指感情。這個(gè)男人和女人，或者男人與女生，他們注定會(huì)走到一起。他們注定會(huì)相遇、彼此投緣，甚至結(jié)婚。）

Natalie: I agree with Shirong. It’s very different when you happen to meet someone for a short while or to marry someone for life.

Yang Li: That’s right. Perhaps I could say in your case， Natalie， that it is by luck that you found the job， but it is “yuan fen” that brought you and your boyfriend together.

The phrase “yuan fen” sometimes is described in a negative sense. A boy and a girl may meet， but their relationship may not last because they do not have the “yuan fen.” So， in that sense， there is another phrase in Chinese called “wu yuan”: you have no “yuan”; tough luck.

（“緣分”這個(gè)詞有時(shí)也可以表示否定。男生和女生相遇了，但他們的感情并不長久，因?yàn)樗麄儧]有“緣分”。所以在這種意義上，中文里還有一個(gè)詞叫“無緣”——沒有“緣”，運(yùn)氣不好。）

Natalie: That’s interesting. So when a marriage or relationship works out， you can say that’s “yuan fen，” that’s destiny. And when it didn’t work out， you would say “wu yuan，” tough luck or no luck.

Yang Li: That’s correct. Rather than trying to find a reason why a relationship didn’t work out， people just say， “Well， there is no yuan.” Thanks for listening and see you next time.

Natalie: Bye.