damage
damage — 動詞
1. to cause something to break, become less useful, or lose value — for example, cr
損壞；損害
造成物理或抽象上的損傷
to cause something to break, become less useful, or lose value — for example, cracking a phone screen when you drop it, or hurting a friendship by lying.
Élise dropped her phone and damaged the screen badly.
Élise 不小心摔了手機，螢幕嚴重損壞。
damage + physical object (screen)
Strong winds damaged several houses near the beach.
強風損壞了海灘附近的幾棟房屋。
active with natural cause
Hiro's dishonesty damaged his reputation at the office.
Hiro 的不誠實行為損害了他在公司的名聲。
The moving truck damaged the edge of the old wooden table.
搬家卡車撞壞了那張舊木桌的邊緣。
Rainwater slowly damaged the stone wall around the castle garden.
雨水慢慢侵蝕了城堡花園周圍的石牆。
文法句型
damage + noun phrase
用法筆記
Commonly used in both physical and abstract contexts. The object can be an object, a body part, a relationship, or an abstract concept like reputation.
常見錯誤
damage — 名詞
1. the state of being broken, hurt, or made weaker — for example, a crack in a wind
損害；損傷
物品受損或健康受影響的狀態
the state of being broken, hurt, or made weaker — for example, a crack in a window after a storm, or harm to a company's image after bad publicity.
The storm caused serious damage to houses along the coast.
暴風雨對海岸附近的房屋造成了嚴重損害。
cause damage to + [target]
Firefighters worked hard to limit the damage to the forest.
消防隊員努力將森林的損害降到最低。
The doctor said there was no permanent damage to Nila's knee.
醫生說 Nila 的膝蓋沒有永久性損傷。
Drinking too much soda can cause damage to your teeth over time.
長期喝太多汽水會對牙齒造成損害。
The scandal did lasting damage to Amira's political career.
這起醜聞對 Amira 的政治生涯造成了長久傷害。
- harm
more general, can apply to people, animals, or abstract ideas
- injury
usually refers to harm to a living body
- destruction
much stronger — implies something is completely ruined
- repair
the act of fixing something that was damaged
文法句型
damage to + noun
cause damage
suffer damage
用法筆記
Uncountable — do not say 'a damage' or 'damages' for this sense. Use 'damage to something' to indicate what is harmed.
常見錯誤
2. when someone is harmed because of another party's actions, a court can require t
賠償金
法院判決的損害賠償
when someone is harmed because of another party's actions, a court can require that party to pay a financial award — called damages — to cover things like medical treatment, lost wages, and pain resulting from the incident.
The court ordered the company to pay fifty thousand dollars in damages.
法院命令該公司支付五萬美元的賠償金。
pay + [amount] in damages
Christopher's lawyer argued that he deserved damages for his injuries.
Christopher 的律師主張他應因受傷獲得賠償金。
The judge awarded damages to the families of the accident victims.
法官判決事故受害者家屬獲得賠償金。
The accident victims sued the driver and received substantial damages after the crash.
車禍受害者起訴了那名駕駛，並在車禍後獲得了鉅額賠償金。
- compensation
broader term — can be agreed outside court, not necessarily ordered by a judge
- restitution
formal legal term for returning something or paying for loss
文法句型
damages + for + [reason]
award/pay/claim damages
damages of + [amount]
用法筆記
Always plural in this legal sense — 'damages' not 'damage.' The singular 'damage' means physical harm, not money.
常見錯誤
3. the price or amount of money you have to pay for something, used in casual conve
費用
非正式用法指價格或花費
the price or amount of money you have to pay for something, used in casual conversation — often when the speaker expects the cost to be high or wants to ask humorously how much a bill comes to.
So what's the damage for fixing the car this time?
所以這次修車的費用是多少？
'what's the damage' — fixed informal phrase to ask the cost
Quan asked what the damage was when the bill arrived after dinner at the French restaurant.
帳單送來時，Quan 問這頓法國餐廳晚餐要多少錢。
When the clerk said the damage was over NT$40,000, Yara decided to save more before buying the laptop.
店員說新筆電要四萬多臺幣，Yara 決定再多存點錢再買。
We had a wonderful dinner, but the damage was over three hundred dollars.
我們吃了一頓很棒的晚餐，但費用超過了三百美元。
文法句型
what's the damage
the damage for + [item/service]
用法筆記
Strictly informal — do not use in formal writing or business. The phrase 'what's the damage?' is a fixed expression for asking the cost humorously or casually.