people
people — 名詞
1. human beings thought of together, not as one person at a time.
人們
作為整體來看的所有人類
human beings thought of together, not as one person at a time.
People first came to the island by boat thousands of years ago.
人們最早在數千年前搭船來到這座島上。
people meaning humans in general
People often dream about falling after sleeping in a strange hotel.
人們住進陌生旅館過夜後，常會夢見自己墜落。
Warm clothes helped people survive the long northern winter.
保暖衣物幫助人們熬過北方漫長的冬天。
With clean water and vaccines, people now live much longer.
有了乾淨飲水和疫苗後，人們現在活得久得多。
- humans
more factual or scientific in tone
- human beings
slightly more formal and explicit
- persons
formal or legal, often used in notices and reports
用法筆記
Usually takes a plural verb. Use peoples, not people, only when you mean several separate nations or ethnic groups.
常見錯誤
2. used for everybody in general, and also for the group you are talking to.
大家
泛指所有人；也可叫一群人
used for everybody in general, and also for the group you are talking to.
At the night market, people wanted more tables near the soup stand.
在夜市裡，大家都想在湯攤旁多擺幾張桌子。
people meaning everybody in general
"People, please keep your bags with you," the driver said.
「大家，請把包包帶在身邊，」司機說。
direct address: People, ...
After a typhoon, people usually check on older neighbors first.
颱風過後，大家通常會先去看看年長的鄰居。
All right, people, let's finish the posters before lunch.
「好了，大家，午餐前把海報做完吧。」
文法句型
People, ...
用法筆記
Common in speech when a speaker wants the attention of a group. Distinguish from sense 1: this sense often sounds like everybody or you all, not human beings as a species.
常見錯誤
3. people in the same kind of job or area of activity.
同行
從事同類工作的一群人
people in the same kind of job or area of activity.
Museum people still talk about that stolen painting.
博物館同行到現在還在談那幅失竊的畫。
field noun + people
Radio people in Taipei still remember that late-night DJ.
台北的廣播同行至今還記得那位深夜 DJ。
Restaurant people in Taipei trade kitchen stories after the lunch rush.
在台北，餐飲同行會在午餐尖峰後交換廚房裡的趣事。
Among theater people, opening night means safety pins and cold noodles.
在劇場同行之間，首演夜少不了安全別針和冷麵。
- professionals
more formal and wider; does not suggest insider culture
- insiders
stresses being part of the inner group
- workers
broader and does not always mean the same field community
- outsiders
people not belonging to that work group
文法句型
museum people
radio people
用法筆記
Usually follows a noun naming the field, place, or industry. It suggests insiders who share work habits or knowledge, not simply all workers in a building.
常見錯誤
4. ordinary citizens as distinct from rulers, officials, and other powerful groups.
老百姓
相對掌權者的一般民眾
ordinary citizens as distinct from rulers, officials, and other powerful groups.
The tax increase hurt ordinary people more than top officials.
這次加稅對老百姓的打擊比對高官大得多。
ordinary people contrasted with officials
Outside city hall, people shouted while officials hurried past the gate.
在市政府外，老百姓高喊訴求，官員卻匆匆走過大門。
The minister praised the plan, but people still paid higher bus fares.
部長稱讚這項方案，但老百姓搭公車還是得付更高車資。
A new city tax can hit working people hard.
新的城市稅可能會重重打擊辛苦打拚的老百姓。
- the public
common in news and official language
- ordinary citizens
explicitly contrasts them with leaders or elites
- the masses
more formal and can sound distant or critical
用法筆記
Common in politics, news, and public debate. Distinguish from sense 6: this sense contrasts citizens with those in power, rather than naming a nation or ethnic group.
常見錯誤
5. your relatives, especially the family you come from.
家人
一個人的親屬與家人
your relatives, especially the family you come from.
Nina's people still live on the farm near Chiayi.
Nina 的家人現在還住在嘉義附近的農場。
possessive noun + people for family
Raj called his people after the baby was born.
Raj 在孩子出生後打電話給家人。
When Mei moved to Canada, her people sent dried fruit every winter.
Mei 搬到加拿大後，家人每年冬天都會寄乾果給她。
Around midnight, Ben introduced Rosa to his people.
快到半夜時，Ben 把 Rosa 介紹給家人認識。
- strangers
people with no family connection
文法句型
my people
his people
用法筆記
Often used in friendly speech with my, your, his, or her. It is looser and warmer than relatives, and it may include the wider family, not only parents and children.
常見錯誤
6. people who belong to the same country or share a language or culture.
民族；人民
同一國家或文化的群體
people who belong to the same country or share a language or culture.
The Sami people have lived in the north for centuries.
薩米民族已在北方住了好幾個世紀。
group name + people
The Ainu people on Hokkaido still teach children the old songs.
北海道的 Ainu 民族至今還會教孩子唱古老的歌。
The Korean people rebuilt the city after the war.
戰後，韓國人民重建了那座城市。
Grandfather's war stories help young people understand their people's past.
祖父講的戰爭故事能幫年輕人了解自己民族的過去。
- nation
often stresses political identity or statehood
- ethnic group
stresses shared ancestry and culture
- population
more statistical and less cultural
文法句型
the Korean people
the Sami people
用法筆記
Often used with the plus a group name. Distinguish from sense 4: this sense names a national or cultural body, while sense 4 means ordinary citizens as opposed to those in power.
常見錯誤
7. a whole society seen as one group with its own way of life.
社會
作為整體看的一個社會
a whole society seen as one group with its own way of life.
A people living between two rivers built its calendar around floods.
住在兩條河之間的一個社會，會依洪水安排自己的曆法。
a people + singular verb
Over time, the desert tribe grew into a settled people.
隨著時間過去，那個沙漠部族發展成一個定居社會。
After the invasion, a people carried its songs across three borders.
遭入侵後，一個社會把自己的歌帶過了三個邊界。
Over centuries, a people may lose its language and keep old laws.
歷經幾個世紀後，一個社會可能失去語言，卻保住舊法律。
- society
the nearest everyday equivalent
- community
can be smaller or more local in scope
- civilization
more formal and often broader in historical writing
- individual
one person considered alone rather than as part of a whole
文法句型
a people + singular verb
用法筆記
Mostly seen in history, politics, and social analysis. Distinguish from sense 6: this sense looks at a society's shared way of life, not simply the members of one nation or ethnicity.
people — 動詞
1. to put people into a place or organization so they live or work there.
住滿；配置
讓某地有人居住或任職
to put people into a place or organization so they live or work there.
The railway peopled the valley with shopkeepers and miners.
鐵路讓這座山谷住滿了店主和礦工。
people + place + with + group
Cheap flights soon peopled the beach town with new workers.
廉價航班很快讓這個海邊小鎮住滿了新工人。
By 1900, the plain had been peopled by farming families.
到了一九〇〇年，那片平原已住著許多務農家庭。
The company peopled its new office with local graduates.
公司為新辦公室配置了本地畢業生。
- depopulate
to remove people from a place or reduce its residents
- empty
plain opposite when a place no longer has people in it
文法句型
people + place + with + group
be peopled by + group
用法筆記
Rare and formal. The object is usually a place, and the sentence often adds with or by to name the group placed there. Modern English often prefers populate or staff.