father

father — 名詞

1. a male parent who raises one or more children, whether they are his biological o

1.名詞A1
釋義

父親

生育或養育小孩的男性

a male parent who raises one or more children, whether they are his biological offspring or adopted and part of his family

例句

Felipe became a father when his daughter was born last spring.

Felipe 的女兒去年春天出生，他成為了父親。

become a father — common collocation for first-time parenthood

Yael's father taught her how to fish at the lake near their home.

Yael 的父親教她在住家附近的湖邊釣魚。

同義詞
  • dad

    informal; the most common everyday term for a male parent

  • daddy

    affectionate or child-like term, mainly used by young children

  • parent

    gender-neutral; can refer to either a mother or a father

反義詞
  • mother

    the female parent of a child

文法句型

father + of + [child/children]

用法筆記

In everyday speech, 'dad' is more common than 'father'. 'Father' sounds more formal or distant. The possessive 'father's' is frequently used in front of nouns, as in 'father's day' or 'father's car'.

常見錯誤

❌I'm going to my father house.
✅I'm going to my father's house.
💡'Father' needs a possessive 's when it owns something.
❌He is my father-in-low.
✅He is my father-in-law.
💡The correct spelling is 'in-law', not 'in-low'.

2. a formal title for Christian clergy, most commonly used within the Roman Catholi

2.名詞B1
釋義

神父

天主教或東正教神職人員的稱呼

a formal title for Christian clergy, most commonly used within the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions

例句

Father Dewi spoke at the wedding ceremony last Saturday afternoon.

Dewi 神父上週六下午在婚禮上致詞。

Father + [name] — title used before a priest's name, always capitalized

Eliska's family goes to see Father Naoko for confession every month.

Eliska 一家人每個月都會去找 Naoko 神父告解。

同義詞
  • priest

    the general term for a person who performs religious ceremonies

  • pastor

    used mainly in Protestant churches, not interchangeable with 'Father'

文法句型

Father + [name]

Father + bare title

用法筆記

Always capitalized when used as a title before a name. This form of address is specific to Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and some Anglican traditions. Protestant clergy are typically called 'Pastor', 'Reverend', or 'Minister', not 'Father'.

常見錯誤

❌The new father at our church is very kind.
✅The new priest at our church is very kind.
💡'Father' is a title before a name, not a standalone job description.

3. the term that Christians use when speaking of God as a caring parent who watches

3.名詞B1
釋義

天父

基督徒對上帝的稱呼

the term that Christians use when speaking of God as a caring parent who watches over all people and creation

例句

During the service, the congregation thanked the Father for the harvest.

在禮拜中，會眾感謝天父賜予豐收。

thank the Father — religious register, always capitalized

The children recited the Lord's Prayer, starting with the words 'Our Father'.

孩子們背誦主禱文，以「我們在天上的父」開頭。

文法句型

the Father

Our Father

用法筆記

Always capitalized. This sense appears most often in prayer, worship songs, and theological writing. In the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, 'the Father' is the first person, distinct from the Son (Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit.

常見錯誤

❌God the father loves everyone.
✅God the Father loves everyone.
💡When referring to the Christian God, 'Father' must be capitalized.

4. a man who creates or starts something important, such as an organization or acad

4.名詞B2
釋義

創始人；先驅

創立某事物或開創新領域的人

a man who creates or starts something important, such as an organization or academic field, and is later seen as its originator

例句

Defne read about the father of modern medicine in her science class.

Defne 在自然課上讀到關於現代醫學之父的內容。

father of [field] — fixed phrase for originator of a branch of knowledge

The university gave an award to the man known as the father of computer science.

那所大學頒獎給被譽為電腦科學之父的人。

同義詞
  • founder

    more general term; does not carry the metaphorical 'parent' connotation

  • originator

    emphasizes being the first to think of or create something

  • pioneer

    highlights being among the first to explore or develop a new area

文法句型

father + of + [field/institution/movement]

用法筆記

This sense often appears in fixed phrases: 'founding father' (someone who helped establish an institution or country) and 'father of [field]' (the first major figure in a discipline). The word is metaphorical — no actual family relationship is implied.

father — 動詞