random
random — 形容詞
1. occurring without being planned, chosen, or guided by any rule or intention — si
隨機的
純屬偶然、非事先計畫的
occurring without being planned, chosen, or guided by any rule or intention — simply as a result of luck or accident.
The winner was chosen by a random draw from all the tickets sold.
中獎者是以隨機抽籤的方式從所有售出票券中選出的。
collocation: random draw / random selection
A random check of bags at the airport caught several banned items.
機場的隨機行李檢查查獲了好幾件違禁品。
collocation: random check
Takeshi met his old neighbour by pure random chance on the Tokyo subway.
Takeshi 在東京地鐵上完全是意外地遇到他的老鄰居。
The survey used a random sample of five hundred households across Taipei.
這項調查使用了台北五百個家庭組成的隨機樣本。
Henry picked a random book from the library shelf and started reading.
Henry 從圖書館書架上隨便抽了一本書就開始讀。
- planned
done with prior intention and preparation
- deliberate
done on purpose, not by accident
- systematic
following a clear method or order
文法句型
random + noun
be + random
用法筆記
In academic and survey contexts, 'random' has a precise statistical meaning (equal probability for each item). Outside those contexts, it simply means 'by chance'. The phrase 'at random' is the adverbial form.
常見錯誤
2. strange, surprising, or far from what you would normally expect, often striking
莫名其妙的
奇怪或出乎意料的，常帶有趣味
strange, surprising, or far from what you would normally expect, often striking you as funny or oddly interesting.
Gabriel sent me a random photo of a cat wearing a hat.
Gabriel 傳給我一張貓咪戴帽子的莫名其妙照片。
informal: 'random' describing unexpected content
That is such a random fact — I did not know penguins lived in Africa.
這冷知識也太莫名其妙了——我不知道企鵝住在非洲。
Esme had a random thought about why the sky is not green.
Esme 突然冒出一個怪念頭：為什麼天空不是綠色的？
My grandmother told a random story about a goat that learned to dance.
我奶奶講了一個關於一頭會跳舞的山羊的奇怪故事。
Felipe got a random message from someone who said they had the wrong number.
Felipe 收到一封莫名其妙的訊息，對方說打錯電話了。
文法句型
random + noun
be + random
that is so random
用法筆記
Very common in spoken English among younger speakers. Often used in the fixed expression 'that's so random!' to react to something odd or unexpected. Not used in formal writing.
常見錯誤
❌ 'That is random!' (in a formal essay) — avoid this sense in academic or professional writing; use 'odd' or 'unexpected' instead.
3. used to describe a person you do not know, did not expect, or whose identity is
不特定的
指不認識或身分不重要的
used to describe a person you do not know, did not expect, or whose identity is not important in the situation.
A random woman stopped Niran on the street and asked for directions.
一個不認識的女人在街上攔住 Niran 問路。
Tara got a call from some random guy who claimed to be a talent agent.
Tara 接到某個陌生男子打來的電話，自稱是星探。
The website kept asking me to verify my identity with random strangers.
那個網站一直要我跟不認識的陌生人驗證身分。
Iker sat next to a random passenger and chatted the whole way.
Iker 坐在一個不認識的乘客旁邊，兩人聊了一整路。
- unknown
neutral, more formal
- unidentified
formal, often used in police or official contexts
- some
informal; 'some guy' conveys the same dismissive tone
- specific
known and identified
- particular
singled out from others
文法句型
random + person noun
用法筆記
Always used before a noun like 'person', 'guy', 'stranger', 'passenger'. Cannot be used predicatively for this sense: 'The person was random' sounds like sense 2 (strange), not sense 3 (unknown).
4. done, chosen, or taken without following a particular order, rule, or selection
隨意的
未依特定規則或方法決定的
done, chosen, or taken without following a particular order, rule, or selection method.
The teacher asked random students to answer questions from the textbook.
老師隨便點了幾個學生回答課本裡的問題。
describes method: no particular order
Amihan opened the drawer and grabbed a random pair of socks.
Amihan 打開抽屜隨手抓了一雙襪子。
The police conducted random breath tests at three different roadblocks.
警方在三處不同的路檢站進行了隨機酒測。
Rania picked a random seat in the café and sat down with her coffee.
Rania 在咖啡廳隨意找了一個位子坐下喝咖啡。
The files were stored in random order, making them very hard to find.
那些檔案以隨意的順序存放，非常難找。
- arbitrary
more negative, suggests unfair or unreasonable choices
- indiscriminate
formal; describes action that does not distinguish between good and bad
- unsystematic
neutral, describes something not done in a methodical way
- methodical
done in a careful, ordered way
- selective
carefully chosen from a group
- deliberate
done with careful intention
文法句型
random + noun (method/process)
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: sense 1 describes an outcome that happens BY chance ('a random event'), while this sense describes a method done WITHOUT a system ('a random choice'). The two often overlap but are not identical.
random — 名詞
1. a person you do not know or did not expect to see in a particular place or situa
陌生人
不認識或不期而遇的人
a person you do not know or did not expect to see in a particular place or situation.
Some random came up to Élise at the station and asked for her phone number.
一個陌生人在車站走向 Élise，跟她要電話號碼。
'a random' as noun = unknown person
Tariro does not like it when randoms follow her on social media.
Tariro 不喜歡陌生人在社群媒體上追蹤她。
A random walked into the office and asked if we were hiring.
一個陌生人走進辦公室，問我們有沒有在徵人。
Otis kept getting calls from some random who wanted to sell him insurance.
Otis 一直接到一個陌生人的電話，想賣他保險。
- stranger
neutral, standard English; lacks the dismissive tone of 'random'
- unknown person
formal, used in official reports
- acquaintance
someone you know, though not closely
- friend
someone you know and trust
文法句型
a random
some random
用法筆記
Highly informal — used mainly in spoken English and online messaging. The noun form is short for 'random person' or 'random stranger'. Often appears with 'some' or 'a'.
常見錯誤
❌ 'I saw a random at the bus stop' (in formal writing) — avoid this noun in essays or professional emails.
random — 副詞
1. in a way that does not follow any particular plan, method, or pattern; by chance
隨機地
沒有特定計畫或模式地
in a way that does not follow any particular plan, method, or pattern; by chance rather than by choice.
The numbers were scattered randomly across the page with no pattern.
那些號碼胡亂散布在整頁紙上，沒有任何規律。
adverb describing arrangement
Sade randomly picked a restaurant from the map and hoped for the best.
Sade 從地圖上隨便挑了一家餐廳，賭看看好不好吃。
The computer randomly selects five names from the list of applicants.
電腦從應徵者名單中隨機選出五個名字。
Bilal randomly decided to learn how to play the violin at age forty.
Bilal 心血來潮，決定四十歲時開始學小提琴。
The printer randomly stopped working in the middle of the night.
印表機在半夜莫名其妙地停機了。
- by chance
phrase, emphasises luck rather than method
- arbitrarily
suggests a decision based on whim rather than chance
- indiscriminately
negative connotation; without making proper distinctions
- systematically
following a clear plan or method
- deliberately
done on purpose with intention
- intentionally
done with a specific aim in mind
用法筆記
Can modify both deliberate actions (choosing, selecting) and accidental events (breaking, stopping). In computing and statistics, 'randomly' often carries the precise technical meaning that each outcome has an equal probability of occurring.