curiosity
curiosity — 名詞
1. the strong feeling of wanting to find out more about something that catches your
好奇心
對新事物感到興趣並想了解的強烈心情
the strong feeling of wanting to find out more about something that catches your attention and makes you ask questions or explore
The children's curiosity about the old lighthouse led them to explore the rocky shore.
孩子們對那座古老燈塔的好奇心，驅使他們去探索岩石遍布的海岸。
curiosity about [topic] + leads to action
Out of pure curiosity, Minh opened the dusty box to see what was inside.
純粹出於好奇心，Minh 打開了那個布滿灰塵的箱子，想看看裡面有什麼。
Rafael's curiosity about how clocks work drove him to study engineering at university.
Rafael 對鐘錶運作原理的好奇心，促使他進入大學攻讀工程學。
A good teacher knows how to spark curiosity in even the most reluctant students.
一位好老師知道如何激發學生的好奇心，即使是最不願學習的學生也不例外。
It was simple curiosity that made Karim ask about the strange markings on the wall.
純粹是好奇心讓 Karim 去問牆上那些奇怪記號的事。
- inquisitiveness
more formal; often suggests asking many detailed questions, sometimes with a nosy tone
- interest
broader and less intense; does not imply active investigation
- wonder
more about amazement and admiration than active inquiry
- indifference
lack of interest or concern
- apathy
absence of emotion or enthusiasm about anything
文法句型
curiosity about [something]
out of curiosity
curiosity + verb (drives, leads, makes)
用法筆記
Uncountable in this sense. Do not use with 'a' or in plural ('a curiosity', 'curiosities'). Use quantifiers such as 'a sense of curiosity', 'a spark of curiosity', or 'out of curiosity'.
常見錯誤
❖ 'I have a curiosity about how planes fly.' ✅ 'I am curious about how planes fly.' or 'I have a sense of curiosity about how planes fly.' — 'curiosity' as a desire is uncountable and does not take 'a'.
❖ 'She opened the letter with curiosities.' ✅ 'She opened the letter with curiosity.' — The plural form 'curiosities' means rare objects, not the feeling of wanting to know.
2. an object, fact, or detail that attracts attention because it is very unusual, o
珍品；奇物
因罕見或奇特而吸引人的物品
an object, fact, or detail that attracts attention because it is very unusual, old, or interesting to collectors
The antique shop had a small shelf of curiosities from the Qing dynasty.
那家古董店有一小排來自清朝的珍品。
countable noun: a curiosity / curiosities (plural)
Inês found an old compass at the market, a curiosity once used by sailors a century ago.
Inês 在市場找到一個舊指南針，那是個一個世紀前水手曾用過的奇特物品。
The museum's collection includes curiosities such as a two-headed turtle preserved in a jar.
博物館的收藏品包括一些奇物，例如一只保存在玻璃罐中的雙頭龜。
Folake kept a curiosity on her shelf: a tiny carved elephant from her grandmother.
Folake 把一件珍品放在書架上：那是她祖母留給她的一隻小木雕大象。
The old map was a curiosity among historians because it showed islands that no longer exist.
那張古老地圖在歷史學家眼中是一件珍品，因為它畫出了如今已不存在的島嶼。
- commonplace
an ordinary, unremarkable thing
文法句型
a curiosity (singular)
curiosities (plural)
[noun] + is a curiosity
用法筆記
Countable in this sense. Use with 'a' in singular and 'curiosities' in plural. The object is usually a physical item, but the word can also describe a noteworthy fact or detail that surprises people because it is so unusual.
常見錯誤
❖ 'The shop was full of curiosity.' ✅ 'The shop was full of curiosities.' — When referring to objects, 'curiosity' is countable and needs a determiner or plural form.
❖ 'I bought a beautiful curiosity at the market' (meaning an odd, interesting item). ✅ This is correct! But note that 'a curiosity' always means a rare/unusual thing, not a feeling.