mouthful
mouthful — 名詞
1. a single bite of food or sip of a drink — the amount your mouth can comfortably
一口
一次放入口中的食物或飲料量
a single bite of food or sip of a drink — the amount your mouth can comfortably hold at one time.
Lara took a mouthful of the hot soup and burned her tongue.
Lara 喝了一口熱湯，燙到了舌頭。
collocation: take a mouthful of [hot food/liquid]
Ishaan chewed each mouthful of steak slowly before swallowing.
Ishaan 慢慢地咀嚼每一口牛排，然後才吞下去。
collocation: chew each mouthful of [food]
The child spat out a mouthful of the bitter medicine.
那個小孩吐出了一口苦藥。
Beatrix poured herself a glass of water and drank it in one long mouthful.
Beatrix 給自己倒了一杯水，一大口就喝完了。
A mouthful of fresh bread and butter was all Ryan wanted for breakfast.
Ryan 早餐只想要一口新鮮的奶油麵包。
文法句型
a mouthful of [food/drink]
take/have a mouthful of [food/drink]
用法筆記
Commonly paired with take, have, or swallow. Works for both food (a mouthful of bread) and drink (a mouthful of wine).
常見錯誤
2. a long or complicated expression that is not easy to say, usually because it has
拗口詞；長詞
音節多或難發音的單詞或短語
a long or complicated expression that is not easy to say, usually because it has many syllables or unusual combinations of sounds.
His full name is a real mouthful, so everyone just calls him Dr. Lee.
他的全名真的很拗口，所以大家都直接叫他李博士。
The chemical term 'polytetrafluoroethylene' is quite a mouthful for most students.
化學名詞「聚四氟乙烯」對大多數學生來說相當拗口。
pattern: quite a mouthful
Asher struggled to pronounce the mouthful of a restaurant name on the menu.
Asher 費力地唸出菜單上那個拗口的餐廳名稱。
Eri laughed at how the Welsh town name was too much of a mouthful.
Eri 笑著說那個威爾斯小鎮的名字太拗口了。
At the pharmacy counter, Talia stumbled over 'atorvastatin' and told the pharmacist it was a real mouthful.
Talia 在藥局櫃檯被「atorvastatin」這個藥名卡住，跟藥師說這名字真拗口。
- tongue-twister
specifically a phrase that is very hard to say quickly and correctly; stronger and more playful than mouthful
- jawbreaker
an informal term for a very long, hard-to-pronounce word; suggests the word itself is a challenge
文法句型
be a mouthful
quite a mouthful
用法筆記
Usually singular and used after 'be' in informal contexts: 'That word is a mouthful.' or 'It is quite a mouthful.'
常見錯誤
3. a very small quantity of food or drink, often less than you would normally take
一小口；少量
一小份食物或飲料
a very small quantity of food or drink, often less than you would normally take in one bite or sip.
The old woman ate only a mouthful of rice before pushing her plate away.
那位老婦人只吃了一小口飯就把盤子推開了。
collocation: only a mouthful of [food] (small quantity)
Defne managed just a mouthful of breakfast before rushing out the door.
Defne 趕著出門，早餐只來得及吃一小口。
collocation: just a mouthful of [food]
After tasting a mouthful of the spicy curry, Otis reached for his water glass.
Otis 嚐了一小口辣咖哩後，趕緊伸手去拿水杯。
Hassan had barely swallowed a mouthful of tea when the phone rang.
Hassan 連一小口茶都還沒吞下去，電話就響了。
- feast
a large, plentiful meal — the opposite in terms of quantity
文法句型
a mouthful of [food/drink]
just/only a mouthful
用法筆記
Emphasises smallness — the speaker is often surprised or disappointed by how little was eaten or drunk. Contrast with sense 1, which focuses on capacity (how much fits in the mouth), not quantity.