Ever been told by a new neighbour ‘You must come for dinner’ then spent weeks waiting for a follow-up invitation that never arrives?

 

曾经遇到过新邻居对你说“你得过来吃个晚饭”，可几个礼拜后邀请迟迟不来？

 

Or been thrilledwhen the boss said he’d bear your ‘very interesting’ idea in mind and been surprised when it was never mentioned again.

 

或者是激动地听到上司说他会记住你“非常有趣”的想法，却惊讶他再也没提过这件事？

 

Then you’ve been victim of the uniquely British trait of being too primand polite to say what we really mean. And if it can be baffling for us, imagine what it must be like for foreigners who take our every word at face value.

 

那你就是拥有独特特征的英式英语的受害者了，英式英语对于表达真实所想来说太过拘谨、礼貌了。其实对于英国人来说，想想外国人可能会把他们的每句话信以为真，也挺令人困扰的。

 

Now there’s help in the form of a translation table which has become a huge hit on the internet.

 

现在这里有一张在网上引起热议的翻译表，能对你有所帮助。

 

WHAT THE BRITISH SAY

英国人说的 

WHAT THE BRITISH MEAN

英国人实际表达的 

WHAT OTHERS UNDERSTAND

别人所理解的 

I hear what you say

我听到你说什么了 I disagree and do not want to discuss it further

我不同意也不想继续讨论下去了 He accepts my point of view

他接受了我的观点 

With the greatest respect

怀着最高的敬意 You are an idiot

你是一个白痴 He is listening to me

他在听我说 

That's not bad

那不算坏 That's good

不错 That's poor

那很差劲 

That is a very brave proposal

这是一个非常勇敢的提议 You are insane

你疯了 He thinks I have courage

他认为我很有勇气 

Quite good

真不错 A bit disappointing

有一点令人失望 Quite good

真不错 

I would suggest

我认为 Do it or be prepared to justify yourself

按我认为的去做或者证明你的想法 Think about the idea, but do what you like

考虑他的说法，但按自己想的做 

Oh, incidentally/by the way

哦，顺便提一下 The primary purpose of our discussion is

这次讨论的主要目的是 That is not very important

那并不是很重要 

I was a bit disappointed that

我对此有点失望 I am annoyed that

我被惹恼了 It doesn't really matter

没关系 

Very interesting

非常有趣 That is clearly nonsense

那简直是胡说八道 They are impressed

那令人印象深刻 

I'll bear it in mind

我会记住的 I've forgotten it already

我已经忘了 They will probably do it

他们大概会这么做 

I'm sure it's my fault

我确信这是我的错 It's your fault

这是你的错 Why do they think it was their fault?

为什么他们觉得是他们的错？ 

You must come for dinner

你得过来吃晚饭 It's not an invitation, I'm just being polite

这并不是一个邀请，我只是表示礼貌 I will get an invitation soon

我很快就会受到邀请 

I almost agree

我差不多同意了 I don't agree at all

我根本不同意 He's not far from agreement

他差不多同意了 

I only have a few minor comments

我只有一些次要意见 Please rewrite completely

请全部重写 He has found a few typos

他只找到了一些印刷错误 

Could we consider some other options

我们能考虑下别的选择吗 I don't like your idea

我不喜欢你的主意 They have not yet decided

他们还没决定 

 

It reveals that when a British person begins a sentence ‘With the greatest respect...’, they’re really saying ‘I think you are an idiot.’

 

表格揭露了当一个英国人用“怀着最高的敬意”为一句句子开头，他们实际想说的是“我认为你是一个白痴”。

 

‘I hear what you say’ means ‘I disagree and do not want to discuss it further’ while ‘That is a very brave proposal’ translates as ‘You are insane’.

 

“我听到你说什么了” 代表“我不同意也不想继续讨论下去了”，“这是一个勇敢的提议”代表“你疯了”。

 

The table, which has been posted on numerous internet blogs, has received thousands of comments acknowledging that it’s spot on–from foreigners and Britons alike.

 

这张表格被放到许多博客中后，收到许多外国人和英国人本身的赞同，承认这极其正确。