sour
sour — 形容詞
1. a quality of food or drink that gives a sharp, tight feeling on your tongue, lik
酸的
像檸檬或醋的尖銳味道
a quality of food or drink that gives a sharp, tight feeling on your tongue, like the taste you get from a lemon or from vinegar — the opposite of sweet.
The lemonade was too sour for Nia, so she added a spoonful of sugar.
Nia 覺得檸檬水太酸了，所以她加了一匙糖。
These pickles have a pleasant sour flavour that goes well with grilled fish.
這些泡菜有一股怡人的酸味，很適合搭配烤魚。
collocation: sour flavour
Christopher bit into the green apple and winced at its sour taste.
Christopher 咬了一口青蘋果，酸得他皺起眉頭。
The chef described the sauce as pleasantly sour, with hints of lime.
主廚形容這醬汁帶有淡淡的酸味，還有一點萊姆的香氣。
- sweet
the taste that is the opposite of sour, like sugar or honey
用法筆記
Often paired with 'sweet' as an opposite: 'sweet and sour' is a common pairing in cooking.
常見錯誤
2. describes a person who is unfriendly, easily annoyed, or always in a bad mood.
脾氣差的
不友善或容易生氣
describes a person who is unfriendly, easily annoyed, or always in a bad mood.
After losing his job, Stefan became sour and stopped talking to his friends.
Stefan 失業後變得脾氣很差，不再跟朋友說話了。
Tara gave a sour look when her brother interrupted her favourite programme.
Tara 的弟弟打斷了她最喜歡的節目，她擺出一張臭臉。
phrase: a sour look
The old man's sour expression made the children too nervous to ask for help.
老先生一臉不悅的表情讓孩子們不敢上前求助。
Jude's sour mood ruined the dinner party, even though everyone tried to cheer him.
Jude 心情很差，搞砸了整場晚宴，儘管每個人都想逗他開心。
- cheerful
happy and positive
- good-natured
friendly and kind by nature
常見錯誤
3. describes food or drink that, due to age or lack of proper storage, develops a s
餿掉的
食物因不新鮮而酸敗
describes food or drink that, due to age or lack of proper storage, develops a sharp, stale flavour and a bad smell — for example, milk kept past its use-by date.
Heather poured the sour milk down the sink and opened a fresh carton.
Heather 把餿掉的牛奶倒進水槽裡，然後開了一盒新的。
collocation: sour milk
The bread had a sour smell, so Constanza threw it in the bin.
那條麵包傳來一股酸味，Constanza 便把它扔進了垃圾桶。
Ife sniffed the yoghurt and realised it had turned sour after a week.
Ife 聞了聞優格，發現它在冰箱裡放了一週後已經變酸了。
The kitchen smelled of sour fruit that no one had remembered to throw away.
廚房裡有一股酸水果的味道，沒人記得把那些水果扔掉。
- fresh
newly produced or picked, not spoiled
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1 (ACIDIC TASTE): sense 1 describes a natural sharp taste in fresh food; sense 3 describes an unwanted change caused by spoilage.
常見錯誤
sour — 動詞
1. to change from being fresh and pleasant-tasting to having a sharp or acidic flav
變酸
食物因時間或溫度而酸化
to change from being fresh and pleasant-tasting to having a sharp or acidic flavour, usually because of age, heat, or the addition of an acid; or to deliberately cause such a change.
The cream soured after it was left out of the fridge all afternoon.
那鮮奶油放在冰箱外一整個下午之後就變酸了。
intransitive: of dairy spoiling naturally
Hot weather can sour milk quickly, so keep it refrigerated if you can.
炎熱的天氣會讓牛奶很快變酸，所以最好放在冰箱裡。
Yan soured the wine by adding lemon juice to make a salad dressing.
Yan 在葡萄酒裡加了些檸檬汁讓它變酸，用來做沙拉醬。
If you leave the fruit salad outside, it will sour in the summer heat.
水果沙拉如果放在室溫下太久，夏天裡就會變酸。
- sweeten
to make sweet, the opposite process
文法句型
sour (something)
something sours
用法筆記
The intransitive use (milk soured) is more common in everyday speech. The transitive use (sourced the cream) is less frequent and often describes a deliberate cooking step.
常見錯誤
2. when a relationship, a situation, or someone's mood grows worse and turns unfrie
惡化
關係或氣氛變得不愉快
when a relationship, a situation, or someone's mood grows worse and turns unfriendly or hostile over a period of time; or to make this happen.
Years of broken promises soured the friendship between Tamar and Pim.
多年來的失信讓 Tamar 和 Pim 之間的友誼逐漸惡化。
transitive: something sours a relationship
The bitter argument soured Élise's opinion of her colleague for good.
那場激烈的爭吵讓 Élise 從此對同事的印象大打折扣。
The long dispute soured relations between the two neighbouring countries.
長期的爭端使這兩個鄰國的關係變得越來越緊張。
The pair's business partnership soured after the disagreement about company shares.
他們的合夥關係在對公司股份產生分歧之後就變質了。
- deteriorate
formal; applies to relationships, conditions, or situations
- strain
damage slightly or put under pressure; less strong than sour
- embitter
make someone feel angry and unhappy over time; person-focused
文法句型
something sours
sour something
用法筆記
Distinguish from adjective sense 2 (BAD-TEMPERED): the verb describes a change that happens over time, while the adjective describes an existing state. Subject is typically an abstract noun like relationship, mood, atmosphere, or opinion.
sour — 名詞
1. a chilled cocktail prepared by shaking a liquor — typically whiskey or gin — tog
酸酒
烈酒加檸檬汁和糖的雞尾酒
a chilled cocktail prepared by shaking a liquor — typically whiskey or gin — together with citrus fruit juice and a sweetener, then served over ice.
Christopher ordered a whiskey sour at the bar to celebrate his promotion.
Christopher 為了慶祝升遷，在酒吧點了一杯威士忌酸酒。
common type: whiskey sour
The bartender made a delicious sour using fresh lime juice and gin.
酒保用了新鮮萊姆汁和琴酒調出一杯美味的酸酒。
Heather prefers a sour over other cocktails because it is not too sweet.
Heather 比較喜歡酸酒，因為它不像其他雞尾酒那麼甜。
Lotte ordered a gin sour because she wanted something refreshing and not too strong.
Lotte 點了一杯琴酒酸酒，因為她想喝點清爽又不太烈的飲料。
2. the taste that something has when it is sharp or acidic on the tongue — the basi
酸味
酸性物質在舌頭上的味覺
the taste that something has when it is sharp or acidic on the tongue — the basic taste sensation produced by lemons, vinegar, and similar acidic foods.
The sauce had a pleasant sour that balanced out its sweetness perfectly.
這醬汁帶有一股怡人的酸味，恰到好處地平衡了甜味。
usage: the sour = the sour taste
Roya could detect a faint sour in the wine that suggested it was turning.
Roya 可以聞到酒裡有一股淡淡的酸味，表示它可能快變質了。
The chef added vinegar to give the dish a gentle sour without making it sharp.
主廚加了醋，讓這道菜帶有溫和的酸味而不至於太刺激。
The sour of the lemon was too strong for the dessert, so the cook added more sugar.
檸檬的酸味對這道甜點來說太重了，所以廚師又多加了一些糖。
- sweetness
the quality of being sweet, opposite of sourness
用法筆記
This noun sense ('the sour') is less common in everyday conversation than the adjective form ('it tastes sour'). You are most likely to see it in food writing or wine tasting notes.