dark
dark — 形容詞
1. having so little light that people or objects are hard to see, or having no ligh
黑暗；昏暗
光線不足難以看清的
having so little light that people or objects are hard to see, or having no light at all
The basement was so dark that Pim had to use his phone as a torch.
地下室非常黑暗，Pim 只好用手機當手電筒照路。
so + adj + that + result clause
Tariq walked carefully down the dark hallway without making a sound.
Tariq 小心翼翼地走過黑暗的走廊，沒有發出任何聲音。
Jiwoo could not find her glasses in the dark room.
Jiwoo 在昏暗的房間裡找不到她的眼鏡。
The old theatre was completely dark when the power cut hit the area.
老戲院完全陷入黑暗，當時那一帶停電了。
Emma refused to enter the dark cave behind the waterfall.
Emma 拒絕進入瀑布後方那個黑暗的洞穴。
- dim
suggests not enough light to see clearly, but not completely without light
- shadowy
emphasises the presence of dark shapes or areas rather than total blackness
- pitch-black
informal; means completely without light, stronger than 'dark'
用法筆記
Pitch dark is a common fixed phrase meaning completely dark, used in everyday speech.
常見錯誤
2. describing shades that sit near the black end of the colour range, for example n
深色；暗色
顏色接近黑色而非白色
describing shades that sit near the black end of the colour range, for example navy, maroon, or forest green
Tanvi wore a dark green dress to her sister's wedding ceremony.
Tanvi 穿著一件深綠色的洋裝去參加姊姊的婚禮。
dark + colour: dark green / dark blue / dark red
Heloísa chose dark brown curtains to match the wooden floor.
Heloísa 選了深棕色的窗簾來搭配木地板。
Baraka has dark hair and light brown eyes.
Baraka 有一頭深色頭髮和一雙淺棕色的眼睛。
Hugo painted the kitchen walls a dark shade of blue.
Hugo 把廚房牆壁漆成深藍色。
Andrei prefers dark colours like black and grey for winter coats.
Andrei 喜歡黑色和灰色等深色系外套來過冬。
用法筆記
Position: dark comes before the colour name (dark blue, not blue dark). When referring to a person's complexion, some contexts prefer terms like deep or rich over dark — be sensitive to regional usage.
常見錯誤
3. very sad, with no reason to believe that the situation will get better or improv
陰暗；絕望
悲觀且看不到改善希望的
very sad, with no reason to believe that the situation will get better or improve
After losing his job, Ravindra went through a dark period in his life.
失業後，Ravindra 經歷了人生中一段陰暗的時期。
dark + period / days / times (temporal nouns)
Pim tried to stay hopeful even during the darkest moments of the crisis.
即使在危機最黑暗的時刻，Pim 仍努力保持希望。
The mood in the office grew darker after the manager announced the cuts.
經理宣布裁員之後，辦公室裡的氣氛變得更加陰沉。
Tanvi's face fell as she read the dark news about the accident.
Tanvi 讀到那則關於事故的悲傷消息時，臉色沉了下來。
It was a dark day for the whole community when the school burned down.
學校被燒毀的那一天，對整個社區來說是黑暗的一天。
用法筆記
Commonly paired with time-related nouns: dark days, dark period, dark times. Distinguish from sense 4 (adjective/4) which describes the tone of creative works, not a personal emotional state.
常見錯誤
4. describing films, books, or works of art that focus on sad, painful, or serious
陰鬱；沉重
主題嚴肅悲傷的作品風格
describing films, books, or works of art that focus on sad, painful, or serious subjects rather than light or funny ones
Andrei prefers dark comedies that deal with death and loss through humour.
Andrei 偏愛那種用幽默處理死亡與失落題材的黑色喜劇。
dark + comedy / humour / film
Baraka's latest novel is a dark story about betrayal during the war.
Baraka 的最新小說是一個關於戰爭時期背叛的陰鬱故事。
The film was too dark for young children, with scenes of violence and grief.
這部電影對年幼兒童來說太沉重了，裡頭有暴力和悲傷的鏡頭。
Jiwoo enjoys reading dark fantasy books where evil forces threaten the world.
Jiwoo 喜歡閱讀黑暗奇幻小說，故事中邪惡勢力威脅整個世界。
Christopher found the play deeply moving despite its dark subject matter.
Christopher 覺得這齣戲儘管主題沉重，卻非常動人。
用法筆記
Often used before a genre or creative medium: dark comedy, dark fantasy, dark romance. Not used for a person's emotional state — use sense 3 for that.
常見錯誤
5. connected with evil, wickedness, or frightening things that make people feel sca
邪惡；險惡
帶有邪惡或威脅意味的
connected with evil, wickedness, or frightening things that make people feel scared or uneasy
The villagers believed that dark forces lived in the forest at night.
村民們相信夜間的森林裡潛伏著邪惡的力量。
dark + forces / powers / side (evil-related nouns)
Eitan gave her a dark look that made her step back in fear.
Eitan 用邪惡的眼神看了她一眼，讓她嚇得往後退了一步。
The old house had a dark history that no one wanted to talk about.
那棟老房子有一段沒人願意談論的黑暗歷史。
Baraka's character in the play turns to the dark side by the third act.
Baraka 在劇中飾演的角色到了第三幕轉向了邪惡的一方。
Ravindra suspected that the company had a dark purpose for buying the land.
Ravindra 懷疑那家公司收購土地背後有邪惡的目的。
用法筆記
Often appears in fantasy or moral contexts. The dark side (from Star Wars) has become a fixed cultural reference for evil generally.
常見錯誤
6. kept hidden from other people's knowledge, especially because it would cause sha
祕密；隱密
刻意隱藏以免被發現的
kept hidden from other people's knowledge, especially because it would cause shame or trouble if discovered
Christopher kept his dark secret for over twenty years before telling anyone.
Christopher 把他的祕密藏了二十多年才告訴任何人。
keep + dark secret (common collocation)
Tanvi knew nothing about her grandfather's dark past in the old regime.
Tanvi 對祖父在舊政權時期的黑暗過去一無所知。
The politician's dark dealings were finally exposed by the newspaper.
那名政客暗中的勾當最後被報紙報導曝光了。
Emma sensed that her neighbour was hiding something dark about his past.
Emma 感覺她的鄰居在隱瞞某些不堪的過去。
Heloísa discovered a dark chapter in the history of the old mansion.
Heloísa 發現了那棟老宅歷史中一段不為人知的章節。
- hidden
more neutral; simply means not visible or not known
- secret
widest usage; can be positive or negative
- undisclosed
formal; used in legal or official contexts
用法筆記
Frequently paired with nouns suggesting concealment: secret, past, dealings. The phrase keep something dark is a dated idiom meaning to keep something secret.
常見錯誤
dark — 名詞
1. the condition in which light is absent, making it hard or impossible to see thin
黑暗；暗處
沒有光線的狀態或地方
the condition in which light is absent, making it hard or impossible to see things around you
Pim sat alone in the dark, waiting for the electricity to come back on.
Pim 獨自坐在黑暗中，等待電力恢復。
in the dark (fixed preposition phrase)
Tanvi's eyes slowly adjusted to the dark after she turned off the lamp.
Tanvi 關掉檯燈後，眼睛慢慢適應了黑暗。
The cat's eyes glowed yellow in the dark beneath the porch.
貓咪的眼睛在門廊底下的黑暗中發出黃色的光芒。
Jiwoo was scared of the dark until she was twelve years old.
Jiwoo 一直到十二歲都很怕黑。
Emma noticed a faint shape moving in the dark at the end of the hall.
Emma 注意到走廊盡頭的黑暗中有一個模糊的影子在移動。
用法筆記
Typically used with the definite article: the dark. The prepositional phrase in the dark is very common for describing a place or state.
常見錯誤
2. the period after sunset when daylight is fully gone, often used as a point in ti
天黑；黃昏
太陽下山後的時段
the period after sunset when daylight is fully gone, often used as a point in time to mark a boundary
The park closes at dark, so the gates are locked by eight in winter.
公園在天黑後關閉，所以冬天八點就鎖門了。
at dark / before dark / after dark (time boundary)
Tariq promised his mother he would be home before dark.
Tariq 答應媽媽他會在天黑前回到家。
Baraka does not like walking home alone after dark through the empty streets.
Baraka 不喜歡天黑後獨自走過空蕩蕩的街道回家。
Hugo waited until dark to set up the telescope for star-gazing.
Hugo 等到天黑才架設望遠鏡觀星。
Christopher and his team worked from dawn to dark to finish the harvest.
Christopher 和團隊從天亮工作到天黑才完成收割。
用法筆記
Used in time-boundary phrases: before dark, after dark, at dark. Unlike sense 1 (absence of light), this sense refers to a specific period of the day. No article needed in these fixed phrases.
常見錯誤
dark — 動詞
1. to gradually become darker in colour or for light to fade away, especially as pa
變暗；變黑
光線逐漸消失或顏色變深
to gradually become darker in colour or for light to fade away, especially as part of a natural process like evening approaching
The sky darkened quickly as the storm clouds moved in from the coast.
暴風雨雲從海岸逼近時，天色迅速暗了下來。
sky + darkens (natural phenomenon)
Jiwoo watched the room darken as the sun set behind the hills.
Jiwoo 看著房間隨著太陽落到山後而漸漸變暗。
Andrei's leather jacket darkened with age and exposure to the sun.
Andrei 的皮夾克隨著歲月和使用而顏色變深了。
It began to darken outside, so Heloísa lit a candle on the table.
外面天色開始變暗，於是 Heloísa 在桌上點了一根蠟燭。
The old photograph had darkened over the years and was now hard to read.
那張舊照片經過多年已經變暗，現在很難看清楚內容。
- lighten
to become lighter in colour or brightness
文法句型
subject + darkens
it darkens (impersonal)
用法筆記
More common in literary or descriptive writing than in casual speech. In everyday conversation, get dark is far more frequent: 'It's getting dark.'
常見錯誤
2. to make something darker in colour, especially by adding a darker substance or b
加深；弄暗
讓某物顏色更深或光線更少
to make something darker in colour, especially by adding a darker substance or by blocking light
Pim darkened the paint by adding a drop of black colour to the mix.
Pim 在顏料中加了一滴黑色，把顏色調深了。
darken + [object] + by + method
Tanvi used a thicker curtain to darken the room during her afternoon nap.
Tanvi 用更厚的窗簾讓房間變暗，以便午睡。
Baraka darkened his wooden furniture with a special oil finish.
Baraka 用一種特殊的塗油將他的木製家具顏色加深。
Hugo darkened the lines of his drawing to make them stand out more.
Hugo 把畫作的線條加深，讓它們更突出。
The gardener darkened the soil by mixing in rich compost before planting.
園丁在種植前混入豐富的堆肥，使土壤顏色變深。
文法句型
darken + [object]
darken + [object] + with/by + [method]
用法筆記
Rarer than the intransitive sense. In everyday spoken English, people usually say 'make something darker' instead of 'darken something'.