ache
ache — 名詞
1. a steady, mild hurt that you keep feeling in part of your body, less sharp than
隱痛；痠痛
持續而不劇烈的鈍痛
a steady, mild hurt that you keep feeling in part of your body, less sharp than a stabbing pain but slow to go away.
Lior had a dull ache in his lower back after moving boxes all morning.
Lior 整個早上搬箱子之後，下背隱隱作痛。
collocation: dull ache + in + body part
Vesna felt a soft ache behind her eyes from staring at the screen too long.
Vesna 盯螢幕太久，眼睛後方有股微微的痠痛。
There was a constant ache in my knee whenever the weather turned cold.
每次天氣變冷，我的膝蓋就會持續隱隱作痛。
The runner ignored the small ache in her hip and finished the race.
那位跑者忍著髖部的小小痠痛，跑完了整場比賽。
Grandma rubbed cream on the aches and pains in her wrists each night.
奶奶每天晚上都會在手腕的痠痛處塗藥膏。
- pain
broader term covering both sharp and dull hurt
- soreness
tender feeling, often after exercise or pressure
- discomfort
milder and more general; need not be physical
文法句型
a + ache + in + body part
用法筆記
Often paired with adjectives like dull, constant, slow, or nagging — words that signal mildness or duration. The fixed phrase 'aches and pains' refers to the small body discomforts that come with age, illness, or hard work.
常見錯誤
2. a word added after the name of a body part to talk about a lasting hurt in that
某處之痛
與身體部位組成複合字表示該處的疼痛
a word added after the name of a body part to talk about a lasting hurt in that part, as in headache, toothache, stomachache, earache, or backache.
Anna stayed home from school with a bad headache and a sore throat.
Anna 因為頭痛和喉嚨痛，沒有去上學。
compound: headache
The dentist gave Tom medicine for his toothache before pulling the molar.
牙醫在拔臼齒前，給 Tom 吃了治牙痛的藥。
compound: toothache
Eating too much cake gave the children a stomachache by bedtime.
孩子們吃了太多蛋糕，到睡覺時間都肚子痛。
Kalani got a sudden earache during the flight to Tokyo.
Kalani 在飛往東京的航班上突然耳朵痛。
After lifting heavy bags of rice, my mother had a terrible backache for days.
我媽媽提了沉重的米袋之後，背痛了好幾天。
文法句型
[body part] + ache (headache, toothache, stomachache, backache, earache)
用法筆記
This is a word-building use, not a free noun. Distinguish from sense 1: here 'ache' is glued to a body part as one written word (headache, toothache); in sense 1 it stands alone with a preposition ('an ache in my back'). American English usually writes 'stomachache' as one word; British English often writes 'stomach ache'.
常見錯誤
ache — 動詞
1. if a part of your body aches, it gives you a slow, steady kind of hurt that last
感到痠痛
身體某部位持續鈍鈍地痛
if a part of your body aches, it gives you a slow, steady kind of hurt that lasts a while rather than coming and going in sharp bursts.
My legs ached for two days after the long hike up Yangmingshan.
我去陽明山長途健行之後，雙腿痠痛了兩天。
subject is body part; intransitive
Daniel's shoulders ached from carrying his nephew on a piggyback ride.
Daniel 揹著姪子玩騎馬遊戲後，肩膀很痠。
By the end of the wedding, the bride's feet ached so much she took her shoes off.
婚禮快結束時，新娘的腳痠到把鞋子脫掉了。
Mira's head ached, so she lay down in a dark, quiet room.
Mira 頭很痛，於是去陰暗安靜的房間躺下。
Every joint in his body ached when the flu finally hit him.
流感終於發作時，他全身的關節都在痠痛。
文法句型
[body part] + aches
用法筆記
Subject is almost always a body part (legs, head, feet, back, muscles). Often followed by 'from + cause' or 'after + event'. Distinguish from verb sense 2: here the cause is physical strain or illness, not emotional longing.
常見錯誤
2. to want a person or thing so badly that the longing itself feels like a slow, pa
渴望；思念
強烈想念到內心隱隱作痛
to want a person or thing so badly that the longing itself feels like a slow, painful weight inside you — used in poems, novels, and songs more than in everyday talk.
Mei ached for her grandmother's cooking during her first winter abroad in Berlin.
Mei 在柏林過第一個冬天時，非常想念奶奶煮的菜。
pattern: ache + for + noun
After the war, the soldiers ached to see their families again.
戰爭結束後，士兵們渴望再見到自己的家人。
pattern: ache + to-infinitive
The young pianist ached for one chance to play at the National Concert Hall.
那位年輕鋼琴家渴望能有一次在國家音樂廳演出的機會。
Watching the children laugh in the park, she ached to be a mother herself.
看著公園裡的孩子們大笑，她也好渴望自己能成為母親。
His heart ached for the village he had left behind thirty years ago.
他內心思念著三十年前離開的那個村莊。
文法句型
ache + for + noun
ache + to + verb
用法筆記
Distinguish from verb sense 1: here the subject is a person or 'heart', not a body part hurt by injury. Almost always intransitive with 'for + noun' or 'to + verb'. Common in literary or emotional writing; in plain speech, learners usually choose 'long for', 'miss', or 'really want'.