busy

busy — 形容詞

1. spending your time and energy on a task right now, so that your mind and hands a

1.形容詞A2
釋義

忙碌的；在忙

正全心投入某件事

spending your time and energy on a task right now, so that your mind and hands are fully on it.

例句

Maya is busy painting her bedroom wall a soft yellow.

Maya 正忙著把臥室牆壁漆成淡黃色。

busy + -ing verb showing current activity

Please don't bother Dad — he's busy with the tax forms.

別吵爸爸，他正忙著處理報稅單。

busy with + noun for the focus of attention

同義詞
  • occupied

    more formal; often used in writing

  • engaged

    formal; common in 'engaged in [activity]'

  • absorbed

    stresses deep mental focus, not just being active

反義詞
  • idle

    doing nothing, often with a slight negative tone

  • free

    not occupied with any task right now

文法句型

busy + -ing verb

busy with + noun

用法筆記

Almost always followed by an -ing form or by 'with' + noun when you want to say WHAT the person is doing. Without that complement, the meaning shifts toward sense 2 (no free time).

常見錯誤

❌I am busy to write my report.
✅I am busy writing my report.
💡after 'busy', use the -ing form, not the to-infinitive.
❌She is busy in cook dinner.
✅She is busy cooking dinner.' / 'She is busy with dinner.
💡no preposition before the -ing form.

2. having so many things on your schedule that you cannot meet, talk, or take on mo

2.形容詞A2
釋義

沒空的

因事多而無法應對其他人

having so many things on your schedule that you cannot meet, talk, or take on more, even if you want to.

例句

Sorry, Marcus is too busy to come to the phone right now.

抱歉，Marcus 現在太忙了，沒辦法接電話。

too busy + to-infinitive for refusal

I'm really busy this Friday — can we have lunch next week instead?

我這週五真的很忙，我們改下週一起吃午餐好嗎？

同義詞
  • unavailable

    neutral and clear, but slightly more formal

  • tied up

    informal idiom; suggests temporary blockage by other tasks

反義詞
  • free

    having time available for the activity

  • available

    ready and willing to be contacted or to help

文法句型

too busy to + verb

busy + this week / today

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 1: here 'busy' stands alone or is followed by 'too busy to + verb', not by an -ing form. The focus is on UNAVAILABILITY for something new, not on what you are doing now.

常見錯誤

❌I'm busy for help you tomorrow.
✅I'm too busy to help you tomorrow.
💡use 'too busy to + verb' for declining.

3. describing a street, shop, station, or other place where many people, cars, or t

3.形容詞A1
釋義

熱鬧的

人潮車流眾多的場所

describing a street, shop, station, or other place where many people, cars, or things are moving around at the same time.

例句

Taipei Main Station gets really busy on Friday evenings before holidays.

台北車站每逢連假前的週五晚上都非常熱鬧。

busy + [place noun] showing crowd movement

The little café sits on a busy corner near the night market.

那家小咖啡館位在夜市旁一個熱鬧的街角。

同義詞
  • crowded

    stresses the number of people, not the movement

  • bustling

    more literary; suggests lively, energetic movement

反義詞
  • quiet

    few people or little activity in the place

  • deserted

    completely empty of people

文法句型

a busy + [place noun]

用法筆記

Subject is typically a place, road, station, market, or shop — not a person. Compare with senses 1 and 2, where the subject is a person.

常見錯誤

❌The market was busy of people.
✅The market was busy.' / 'The market was full of people.
💡'busy' already includes the idea of many people; don't add 'of people'.

4. describing a day, week, month, or season that is packed with appointments, jobs,

4.形容詞A2
釋義

繁忙時段

整段時間行程滿檔

describing a day, week, month, or season that is packed with appointments, jobs, or events from start to finish.

例句

December is always a busy month for the post office in Taiwan.

對台灣的郵局來說，十二月一向是最繁忙的月份。

busy + [time noun] for packed periods

After a busy week at school, the children slept until lunchtime on Saturday.

在學校度過繁忙的一週後，孩子們週六睡到午餐時間。

同義詞
  • hectic

    stronger; suggests stressful and almost out of control

  • packed

    informal; emphasises the schedule is full of items

反義詞
  • quiet

    of a period: with few events or customers

  • slow

    common for shops or seasons with little business

文法句型

a busy + [time noun]

用法筆記

Subject is a period of time. Distinguish from sense 1 (person doing something) and sense 3 (place full of movement). The same time word can pair with several adjectives — compare 'a busy week' (full of tasks) with 'a long week' (felt slow).

5. of a telephone line: already carrying another call, so a new caller cannot get t

5.形容詞B1
釋義

佔線中

電話線正在通話無法接通

of a telephone line: already carrying another call, so a new caller cannot get through and hears a repeating tone.

例句

I tried calling Grandma three times, but the line was busy.

我打了三次給奶奶，但電話一直在佔線。

the line + be + busy for in-use phone

Every time Jamal rang the clinic, he got a busy signal.

Jamal 每次打給診所，都聽到忙線的嘟嘟聲。

collocation: busy signal (American English)

同義詞
  • engaged

    British equivalent for the same telephone meaning

反義詞
  • free

    the line is not in use; a call can go through

文法句型

the line is busy

a busy signal / busy tone

用法筆記

Mainly American. British speakers usually say 'engaged' for a phone line in use. Subject must be the phone, line, or number — not the caller.

常見錯誤

❌I was busy on the phone, so you could not call me.
✅My line was busy, so you could not get through.
💡for this sense, the LINE is busy, not the person.

6. of a pattern, design, or image: packed with so many shapes, colours, or small pa

6.形容詞C1
釋義

花俏雜亂

圖案或設計細節過多顯得擁擠

of a pattern, design, or image: packed with so many shapes, colours, or small parts that the eye cannot rest and the result feels noisy.

例句

The wallpaper in the hallway is far too busy for such a small room.

走廊的壁紙對這麼小的房間來說太花俏雜亂了。

negative aesthetic judgement: too busy

Designers warn that a busy logo is hard to read on a phone screen.

設計師提醒，過於繁複的標誌在手機螢幕上很難看清楚。

同義詞
  • cluttered

    stresses things piled together with no order

  • fussy

    informal; suggests over-decorated and old-fashioned

反義詞
  • plain

    without extra decoration or pattern

  • minimal

    designed with very few elements on purpose

文法句型

a busy + [design noun]

用法筆記

Almost always negative or critical in tone. Subject is a visual thing: pattern, design, page, image, room, outfit. Often paired with 'too' or 'a bit'.

常見錯誤

❌The poster is busy because it has many people in it.
✅The poster looks busy because of all the bright colours and small text.
💡sense 6 is about visual design, not the number of people pictured.

busy — 動詞