octopus

octopus — 名詞

1. a sea animal whose soft, rounded body has eight long, bendy arms covered in smal

1.名詞B1
釋義

章魚

有八隻長腕的軟身海洋動物

a sea animal whose soft, rounded body has eight long, bendy arms covered in small suckers, often used to grip rocks or prey.

例句

A small octopus hid between the rocks at the bottom of the tank.

一隻小章魚躲在水族箱底部的岩石之間。

typical habitat: hiding place collocation

Mei watched an octopus change colour to match the sandy seabed.

美看著一隻章魚變色，融入沙質的海床。

common verb collocation: change colour

同義詞
  • cephalopod

    scientific term covering octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish

用法筆記

Plural is usually 'octopuses'; 'octopi' is also seen but treated as non-standard by most learner dictionaries. Distinguish from sense 2, which is uncountable and refers to the meat.

常見錯誤

❌I saw two octopus at the aquarium.
✅I saw two octopuses at the aquarium.
💡countable, so plural needs an -es ending.

2. the meat of this sea animal, usually boiled, grilled, or served raw on top of ri

2.名詞B2
釋義

章魚肉

供食用的章魚肉

the meat of this sea animal, usually boiled, grilled, or served raw on top of rice or salad.

例句

We ordered grilled octopus with lemon at the small taverna in Athens.

我們在雅典那家小酒館點了加檸檬的烤章魚。

common cooking method: grilled octopus

Aunt Hana taught me to slice octopus very thinly for sushi.

花阿姨教我把章魚肉切成薄片做壽司。

uncountable: no article, no plural

用法筆記

Uncountable in this sense, so no plural and no 'a/an' (compare: 'some octopus', 'a piece of octopus'). Subjects are typically chefs, restaurants, or dishes; objects are cooking verbs like 'grill', 'boil', 'chop'.

常見錯誤

❌I ate two octopuses for dinner.
✅I ate some octopus for dinner.
💡when it means food, use the uncountable form.