narrator

narrator — noun

1. the person or character in a book, film, play, or other work whose role is to de

1.名詞C2
釋義

the person or character in a book, film, play, or other work whose role is to describe events, actions, or thoughts to the audience, either as a voice outside the story or as a participant within it.

例句

In the novel, the narrator describes growing up in a small town during the 1980s.

narrator + describes + setting/events in fiction

The documentary's narrator spoke in a calm voice while old black-and-white photos appeared on screen.

collocation: documentary narrator

同義詞
  • storyteller

    more general term; can refer to oral tradition or casual telling, not limited to books/films

  • commentator

    specific to live events, sports, or documentaries where the person offers real-time description or opinion

  • voice-over artist

    focuses on the professional who records narration for films, ads, or audiobooks rather than the narrative role

反義詞
  • listener

    the person who receives the narrated story rather than delivering it

  • audience

    the group that watches or reads the story, opposite of the one who tells it

用法筆記

The term can refer either to a character who exists inside the story (first-person narrator, using 'I') or to a voice outside the story that describes events without participating in them (third-person narrator). In film and television, the narrator is often heard as a voice-over but never seen on screen.

常見錯誤

❌The author of the novel says he was born in 1990.
✅The narrator of the novel says he was born in 1990.
💡The author is the real person who wrote the book; the narrator is the voice telling the story.
❌The speaker in the film explained the history of the building.' (when referring to a documentary voice-over)
✅The narrator in the film explained the history of the building.
💡'Speaker' is used for live talks or poetry; 'narrator' is the standard term for a film or documentary voice that describes events.