不能错过的英文中各种“水”的表达以及俚语
You probably interact with water every day, even if you aren’t aware of it. Because water is so important in our daily lives, it’s also crucial in language! The word water has both literal and metaphorical meanings, and there are many phrases and idioms that use water to describe something. Collocations with water are plentiful – just see below!
你可能每天都和水互动，即使你不知道。因为水在我们的日常生活中非常重要，它在语言中也很重要！水这个词既有字面意义，也有隐喻意义，有许多短语和习语用水来形容事物。与水的搭配很丰富-请看下面！
Types of water (literally)
水的类型（字面意思）
Because there are so many ways that you can describe water, it is very easy to get confused. These are some common adjectives that help you understand how it is being described.
因为描述水的方法有很多种，所以很容易混淆。这些是一些常见的形容词，可以帮助你理解它是如何被描述的。
The water’s edge
站在水边
If you are standing at the edge of a body of water looking into it, you are standing at the water’s edge. This is usually used to describe smaller bodies of water, like ponds and lakes, but can be used for oceans and seas. If you are on a beach but not right next to the water, the water’s edge usually does not describe you.
如果你站在一个水体的边缘往里看，你就是站在水边。通常用于描述较小的水体，如池塘和湖泊，但也可用于海洋。如果你在海滩上，但不在水的旁边，水的边缘通常不能描述你。
Examples
例子
To really get a good look at the starfish in the water, you have to stand at the water’s edge.
要想真正看清水中的海星，你必须站在水边。
The mother thought that standing at the water’s edge to take pictures of her children would prevent her from getting wet herself, but her son splashed her with water anyways.
母亲以为站在水边给孩子们拍照可以防止她自己淋湿，但她儿子还是用水泼了她一身。
Salt water
咸水
The water in the ocean, which is full of salt and other minerals, is salt water. Water that has any amount of salt in it can be considered salt water. Most of the world’s water is salt water, which can also be written as one word, saltwater, without changing the meaning. Salt water can be a noun or adjective.
海洋中充满盐和其他矿物质的水是咸水。任何含盐量的水都可以被认为是盐水。世界上大部分的水都是咸水，也可以写成一个词，咸水，意思不变。盐水可以是名词或形容词。
Examples
例子
Even if you are extremely thirsty, don’t drink salt water. It can dehydrate you even more. It always feels uncomfortable to have the salt from evaporated salt water on your skin after you get up from swimming in the ocean.
即使你非常渴，也不要喝盐水。它会让你更加脱水。当你在海里游泳起床后，把蒸发的盐水中的盐分沾到皮肤上，总是感觉不舒服。
Fresh water
淡水
The opposite of salt water is fresh water, which is used to describe water that is pure, and does not have salts. Humans can only drink fresh water, and some marine life survive only in fresh water. Freshwater can be used as a noun or adjective.
与盐水相反的是淡水，淡水是用来描述纯净的，不含盐的水。人类只能饮用淡水，有些海洋生物只能在淡水中生存。淡水可用作名词或形容词。
Examples
例子
Only about 3% of the world’s water is fresh water, and most of that water is trapped in frozen glaciers. /It’s important to conserve fresh water because there is so little of it in the world. I have some fresh water fish in my house.
世界上只有大约3%的水是淡水，而这些水大部分被困在冰冻的冰川中。/保护淡水是很重要的，因为世界上淡水太少了。我家里有一些淡水鱼。
White water
白水
In some streams and rivers that flow downhill, the water can flow extremely fast. In the cases in which water flows fast enough to create white waves, it is called white water. The phrase is commonly used to describe extreme sports like white water rafting, where people raft down these fast-flowing waters for entertainment. White water can also be written as whitewater, as both the noun and adjective.
在一些向下流动的溪流和河流中，水流速度极快。在水流速度足以产生白色波浪的情况下，它被称为白水。这个短语通常用来形容极限运动，如白水漂流，人们从这些快速流动的水域漂流下来娱乐。white water也可以写成whitewater，兼作名词和形容词。
Examples
例子
It’s dangerous to be trapped in white water, because the force of water is actually very large. I have never been whitewater rafting, but my brother swears that it’s the most enjoyable thing he has ever done. You only get white water where there are lots of mountains and valleys.
困在白水里很危险，因为水的力量实际上非常大。我从未参加过漂流，但我哥哥发誓这是他做过的最愉快的事。你只能在有很多山脉和山谷的地方得到白水。
Running water
流动的水
Water that comes out of the faucet and usually has been purified is running water. This phrase is usually used to describe a luxury of the developed world, in contrast to places where you have to get water from large wells or other water containers.
从水龙头里出来的水通常已经被净化了，这就是自来水。这句话通常用来形容发达国家的奢华，与那些必须从大水井或其他水容器取水的地方形成对比。
Examples
例子
When I went camping with my Girl Scout Troop, we didn’t even have running water! Most people don’t think of it that way, but having running water, hot and cold, at all times of the day is a real luxury.
当我和我的女童子军去露营时，我们连自来水都没有！大多数人不这么认为，但是在一天中的任何时候都有自来水，不管是热的还是冷的，都是一种真正的奢侈。
Bottled water
瓶装水
A solution to not having running water is using a lot of bottled water instead. You can buy water that is already packaged in bottles, which is often safer than water that comes from the faucet.
解决没有自来水的办法是用大量瓶装水代替。你可以买已经包装在瓶子里的水，这通常比水龙头里的水更安全。
Examples
例子
You are not allowed to bring bottled water on the plane, even if you have not opened the bottle yet. Apparently, bottled water is one of the most expensive types of liquids in the world – more expensive than oil!
你不能带瓶装水上飞机，即使你还没有打开瓶子。显然，瓶装水是世界上最昂贵的液体之一，比石油还贵！
Mineral water
矿泉水
A special type of bottled water that contains different types of nutrients is mineral water. Most of the time, the extra nutrients are artificially added, even if the label says something different. Much of the bottled water that is sold in restaurants is mineral water.
矿泉水是一种特殊类型的瓶装水，含有不同类型的营养成分。大多数情况下，额外的营养素是人为添加的，即使标签上写的是不同的。餐馆里出售的瓶装水大部分是矿泉水。
Examples
例子
I would rather drink tap water than mineral water. Yan has no idea whether mineral water is actually healthier than other types of water, but he buys a lot of it anyways.
我宁愿喝自来水也不愿喝矿泉水。严不知道矿泉水是否真的比其他类型的水更健康，但他还是买了很多。
Sparkling water
苏打水
Popular in many European cafes, sparkling water is usually lightly carbonated and served from a bottle. Most types have some very light flavoring, often with fruit, but usually lacks any sugar. The default water in some European restaurants is sparkling water.
在许多欧洲咖啡馆都很受欢迎，起泡水通常是轻碳酸化的，用瓶子饮用。大多数类型都有一些非常轻的调味品，通常是水果，但通常不含糖。一些欧洲餐馆的默认饮用水是起泡水。
Examples
例子
I think the carbonation of sparkling water is the best! I really wish they would serve regular water since I hate sparkling water.
我认为碳酸化的起泡水是最好的！我真希望他们能提供普通的水，因为我讨厌汽水。
Flat water
静水
The opposite of sparkling water and carbonation is flat water, which is not carbonated. Because flat water is the default state of water, most of the time calling it flat water is unnecessary. Using this term is usually just to call attention to the contrast between it and sparkling or other carbonated drinks.
与起泡水和碳酸化相反的是不碳化的静水。因为静水是水的默认状态，所以大多数时候称之为静水是没有必要的。使用这个词通常只是为了提醒人们注意它与起泡或其他碳酸饮料之间的对比。
Examples
例子
In European countries such as France, you have to specify that you want flat water or else they will give you sparkling water by default. I really hate when soda goes flat, but I definitely prefer flat water to sparkling water. After having sparkling water, it seems boring to go back to drinking flat water.
在法国等欧洲国家，你必须指定你想要平水，否则他们会默认给你提供起泡水。我真的很讨厌苏打水变淡，但比起汽水，我更喜欢淡水。喝过起泡水后，再去喝无气泡的水似乎很无聊。
Hard water
硬水
Hard water is usually a term used in water purification or any conversation related to water pipes. It refers to water that is filled with natural solutes, or substances that are dissolved in it. Sometimes, hard water must be treated before it is filtered through pipes because the minerals in the water can build up in water pipes and cause them to stop up.
硬水通常是水净化或任何与水管有关的谈话中使用的术语。它是指充满天然溶质或溶解在其中的物质的水。有时，硬水在通过管道过滤之前必须经过处理，因为水中的矿物质会积聚在水管中，导致水管堵塞。
Examples
例子
It’s a costly process but the hard water that comes must be purified before we send it back out for regular people to use in their homes. Hard water can really damage your water pipes, so make sure you are careful to prevent that from happening.
这是一个昂贵的过程，但是在我们把硬水送回去给普通人在家里使用之前，必须对其进行净化。硬水真的会损坏你的水管，所以一定要小心防止这种情况发生。
Tap water
自来水
Another common type of water is tap water, or water that comes from the faucet directly. Tap is another word for faucet, so any water that comes directly from the piped supply is known as tap water.
另一种常见的水是自来水，或者直接从水龙头里出来的水。Tap是水龙头的另一个词，所以任何直接从管道供水的水都被称为自来水。
Examples
例子
In most developed countries, tap water is safe to drink. If you are unsure about the safety, don’t drink the tap water.
在大多数发达国家，饮用自来水是安全的。如果你不确定安全性，不要喝自来水。
Murky water
浑水
Water that is not clear, usually because it has mud, algae, and dirt in it, is murky. Even though clear water is not always cleaner than murky water, the murkiness of the water often makes it appear dirtier.
不清澈的水是浑浊的，通常是因为里面有泥、藻类和污垢。尽管清澈的水并不总是比浑浊的水干净，但浑浊的水常常使它显得更脏。
Examples
例子
To clean most water supplies in the wild, let the murky water sit for a while to filter out the sand and creatures in it. Most people reach for the clear water than the murky water, but bacteria that make you sick are microscopic, so you can’t tell which water is actually safer to drink.
为了清洁野外的大部分水源，让浑浊的水静置一会儿，过滤掉其中的沙子和生物。大多数人接触到的是清澈的水，而不是浑浊的水，但是让你生病的细菌是微小的，所以你无法判断哪种水喝起来更安全。
Shallow water
浅水
Shallow water has a literal meaning – the opposite of deep. If water is shallow, you can usually see through it to the bottom. However, if you compare it to a very deep body of water such as the ocean, you could say that any water shallower than that is shallow water.
浅水有字面意思，与深水相反。如果水很浅，你通常可以透过它看到底部。然而，如果你把它与一个非常深的水体，比如海洋，你可以说任何比它浅的水都是浅水。
Examples
例子
Let the infants go to the kiddie pool; the shallow water there makes it less likely for anything bad to happen. Murky water will make anything look deep, even if it is actually shallow water.
让孩子们去儿童游泳池吧，那里的浅水使得不太可能发生任何不好的事情。浑浊的水会使任何东西看起来很深，即使它实际上是浅水。
Water table
地下水
A water table is a layer of water under the surface of the ground. It stores rainwater that has trickled through the ground, and can be piped up to use. Water from the water table is usually purified already because it has to seep through the tiny cracks of layers of rocks, so many wells directly tap into this water source.
地下水位是地下的一层水。它储存了从地下滴下的雨水，可以通过管道输送到地面上使用。来自地下水位的水通常已经被净化了，因为它必须从岩石层的微小裂缝中渗出，所以很多井都直接将水注入这个水源。
Examples
例子
The water table under our city is extensive, so we haven’t been impacted by the drought as much. Water tables can only be formed in places where the rock is porous, or allows water to seep through, such as limestone.
我们城市地下水位很广，所以我们没有受到干旱的影响。地下水位只能在岩石多孔或允许水渗入的地方形成，比如石灰岩。
Water metaphors
关于水的隐喻
To be in hot water
处于水深火热之中
If you are in hot water, you are in major trouble. This means that you have done something wrong and are about to be yelled at by a boss, parent, significant other, etc. Usually, this is used to describe a sudden or temporary problem.
如果你处于困境，你就有大麻烦了。这意味着你做了错事，即将被老板、父母、重要的其他人等大喊大叫。通常，这是用来描述一个突然或暂时的问题。
Examples
例子
The politician was in hot water after he completely turned on his campaign promises. The media made sure to talk about the CEO’s mistake so much that the whole nation knew he was in hot water.
他在竞选中完全违背了他的诺言。媒体对这位首席执行官的错误大谈特谈，全国人民都知道他处境艰难。
Throw cold water on something
泼冷水
If you really don’t appreciate what someone else is doing or saying, you can throw cold water on it to decrease other peoples’ enthusiasm for it. While you can do this because the thing you are disparaging is bad in itself, throwing cold water is usually done out of jealousy or spite.
如果你真的不欣赏别人的言行，你可以泼冷水来降低别人对它的热情。虽然你可以这样做，因为你鄙视的东西本身是不好的，泼冷水通常是出于嫉妒或怨恨。
Examples
例子
Jack was really throwing cold water on Jane’s new company, so we knew something was going on with him. Stop throwing cold water on this presentation! If you don’t like it, just leave!
杰克真是对简的新公司泼冷水，所以我们知道他出了什么事。别再给这个演示泼冷水了！如果你不喜欢，就走吧！
To go under water
处于低谷
Going under water usually refers to a situation with money. If a business goes under water, it usually loses so much money that it is no longer practical to continue. An individual can go under water on their house if the money they own on their mortgage is too much for them to continue paying. In either case, people usually have to file for bankruptcy.
下水通常指的是和钱有关的情况。如果一个企业陷入水深火热之中，它通常会亏损太多，以致于无法继续经营下去。如果个人抵押贷款的钱太多而无法继续支付，那么他们的房子可能会处于低谷。无论哪种情况，人们通常都要申请破产。
Examples
例子
I thought that Caleb’s startup was making a lot of money, but it turns out it went under water last week. The Great Recession in 2008 led to millions of people going under water on their mortgages because they lost their jobs and couldn’t afford to keep paying.
我原以为卡莱布的初创公司赚了很多钱，但结果上个星期就泡汤了。2008年的大萧条导致数百万人的抵押贷款陷入困境，因为他们失业，无力继续支付。
To be in deep water
处于困境
Similar to being in hot water, deep water means that someone is in big trouble. The difference is that deep water is usually something that is more gradual, so a financial problem that has been brewing for years is a deep water problem rather than a hot water problem.
就像在热水中一样，深水意味着某人有大麻烦。不同的是，深水通常是比较渐进的，所以酝酿多年的金融问题是深水问题，而不是热水问题。
Examples
例子
It makes sense that the Mccarthys were in deep water financially because they had avoided paying taxes for years. It seems surprising to a lot of people that Mary was in deep water with her family, but those of us who really knew her had expected it all along.
麦卡锡一家之所以陷入财政困境，是因为他们多年来一直逃避纳税。对很多人来说，玛丽和她的家人陷入困境似乎让很多人感到惊讶，但我们这些真正了解她的人早就预料到了这一点。
Water under the bridge.
覆水难收。
If you decide to forgive something, that thing becomes water under the bridge. In other words, it is something that is forgiven and forgotten.
如果你决定原谅某件事，那件事就会变成桥下的水。换句话说，它是被原谅和遗忘的东西。
Examples
例子
I was really angry with my boyfriend at the time, but now it just seems like water under the bridge. The worst kind of communication is when one person thinks that her mistake is water under the bridge, but the other holds on to a grudge.
我当时真的很生我男朋友的气，但现在看来就像是往事随风。最糟糕的沟通方式是，一个人认为自己的错误是覆水难收，而另一个人却怀恨在心。
To be in uncharted waters
摸石头过河
Someone who is in new, undiscovered territory – literally and metaphorically – is in uncharted waters. This often refers to new situations and possibilities – especially those that no one has ever explored before. The phrase implies a little bit of naiveté and sometimes a little skepticism at the person’s ability to navigate the situation.
一个人在一个新的，未被发现的领域-字面上和隐喻-是在未知的水域。这通常指的是新的情况和可能性，尤其是那些从未有人探索过的情况和可能性。这句话暗含着一点天真，有时也有点怀疑这个人驾驭形势的能力。
Examples
例子
Smith’s research group is really venturing out into uncharted waters this semester – they have been experimenting with gene insertion! Jared is in uncharted waters with his business; he doesn’t have any idea how to handle the new demands!
史密斯的研究小组这学期真的是在探索未知的领域——他们一直在试验基因插入！贾里德的生意陷入了未知的境地；他不知道如何处理新的需求！
Doesn’t hold water
不起作用
If an argument doesn’t hold water, it means that it has a lot of holes and can easily be disproven. It is often used to describe a viewpoint, but can also apply to anything that can be proven false.
如果一个论点站不住脚，那就意味着它有很多漏洞，很容易被驳倒。它经常被用来描述一个观点，但也适用于任何可以证明是错误的东西。
Examples
例子
I definitely thought that the politician’s claims didn’t hold water, but it seemed that the voters felt differently. Patty doesn’t want the jury to find that her argument doesn’t hold any water, so she stayed up all night preparing her case.
我肯定认为这位政客的说法站不住脚，但选民们的感受似乎不同。帕蒂不想让陪审团发现她的论点站不住脚，所以她通宵准备她的案子。
Come hell or high water
不择手段
This is a phrase that means regardless of anything that happens. Whether it is hell, high water, or any other challenge, that will not deter the person from doing what they need to. Come hell or high water is commonly used in Western films, but the phrase can be used in any trying situation.
这个短语的意思是不管发生什么事。无论是地狱、高水位，还是任何其他挑战，这都不会阻止人们去做他们需要做的事情。西方电影中常使用地狱或高潮，但这句话可以用在任何艰难的情况下。
Examples
例子
Come hell or high water, the festival will go on tomorrow as planned. She has been incredibly consistent over the last few decades; she has gone to the farmer’s market to sell her family’s fruits come hell or high water every Sunday.
不管怎样，这个节日明天照常举行。在过去的几十年里，她一直保持着令人难以置信的稳定；她每个星期天都会去农贸市场卖家里的水果。
Keep one’s head above water
保持头脑清醒
If you are struggling significantly to keep up with other people or any expectations, you may struggle to keep your head above water. This has a literal meaning, but the figurative meaning is more commonly used. The imagery comes from people who can be literally drowning, or figuratively drowning in tasks such as paperwork or homework.
如果你在努力跟上别人或任何期望，你可能很难保持头脑清醒。这有字面意义，但比喻意义更常用。这些图像来自于人们，他们可以是字面上的溺水者，也可以是象征性地淹没在诸如文书工作或家庭作业之类的任务中的人。
Examples
例子
If you overload yourself before you establish a routine in college, you may really struggle to keep your head above water. Nancy definitely didn’t expect running her own business to be this difficult, but she has done a good job of keeping her head above water so far.
如果你在大学里养成一套固定的生活习惯，你可能真的很难保持头脑清醒。南希绝对没想到自己的生意会这么难做，但到目前为止，她在保持头脑清醒方面做得很好。
Verbs associated with water
与水有关的动词
Turn on the water
打开水
If you have a faucet or tap and want water to come out of it, you turn on the water. Turn on the water, will you? I’m about to wash the dishes.
如果你有水龙头或水龙头，想让水从里面流出，你就把水打开。把水打开，好吗？我正要洗碗。
Pour water
倒水
To move water from one place (usually a bucket, pitcher, or other container for water) to another, you can pour water. Pour is a verb associated only with transferring liquids from one container to another. I poured the water from my pitcher into my glass.
把水从一个地方（通常是水桶、水罐或其他盛水的容器）移到另一个地方，你可以倒水。Pour是一个动词，只与将液体从一个容器转移到另一个容器有关。我把水罐里的水倒进杯子里。
Slosh water
晃动水
To slosh water means to move it actively in a container. The water probably will move quickly from side to side, and even go over the edge of the bucket, glass, etc. Sloshing water means that you splash it, or almost spill it. Marie sloshed the water so much that most of it ended up on the floor rather than stayed in the bucket.
晃动水意味着在容器中主动地移动水。水可能会迅速地从一边移到另一边，甚至会越过水桶、玻璃等的边缘。晃动的水意味着你泼了它，或者几乎把它洒了。玛丽把水泼得太厉害了，大部分都倒在地板上，而不是留在桶里。
Water down
To water down something means to make it less extreme or intense. This can apply to a metaphorical thing (watering down your nationalist philosophy) or something physical (water down the lemonade to make it taste less sweet). Another synonym for water down is to dilute – which can be used for both literal and figurative things. I thought that the latte I ordered was too sweet and tried to water it down with milk, but I put too much and it ended up tasting like milk flavored with some coffee. The political party decided to rebrand its image in order to water down its hard stances on immigration and foreign trade.
淡化某物意味着使它不那么极端或激烈。这可以应用于隐喻性的东西（淡化你的民族主义哲学）或一些物质的东西（把柠檬水浇下去，让它尝起来不那么甜）。水淡化的另一个同义词是稀释-它可以用于字面和比喻的东西。我觉得我点的拿铁太甜了，想用牛奶把它冲淡，但我放太多了，结果尝起来像加了咖啡的牛奶。该政党决定重塑自己的形象，以淡化其在移民和对外贸易问题上的强硬立场。
Splash water
Splashing water is something that children, especially babies, like to do in the bath! They will let the water spray or flow over the edge of the container. You can also splash water when you try to throw it at someone and get them wet.The baby did not like to take baths so she splashed water all over the bathroom and her mother when she was put in the water.
Spray water
喷水
Spraying and splashing water are similar, but spraying usually involves a tool. Common tools to spray water include a spray bottle or water gun, where water is deliberately shot at something. Spraying is usually more purposeful. Be careful where you spray the water!
喷洒和溅水是相似的，但喷洒通常需要工具。常用的喷水工具包括一个水壶或水枪，水被故意射向某物。喷洒通常更有目的性。小心你喷水的地方！
Sprinkle water
洒水
Sprinkling is another verb associated with moving water, but more slowly and with less volume at a time. To sprinkle water is like dropping small droplets of water on something, the way a sprinkler in your yard will spray small amounts of water all over your yard to make sure all your plants get water. The best way to water your lawn is to sprinkle the water around everywhere.
洒水是另一个与移动的水有关的动词，但速度较慢，每次的体积也较小。洒水就像是把小水滴滴在某物上，就像你院子里的洒水器会把少量的水喷洒到你的院子里，以确保你所有的植物都能得到水。给你的草坪浇水的最好方法就是到处洒水。
Spurt water
喷水
Water spurts when it comes out of a pipe, hose, or other place very suddenly and in large volumes. A steady stream of water can come out all at once and spurt everywhere, getting everyone wet in the process. Bob wasn’t be careful so he accidentally spurt water all over the car!
当水从管道、软管或其他地方流出时，水会突然大量喷出。一股源源不断的水流可以一下子流出来，喷得到处都是，在这个过程中，每个人都会湿透。鲍勃不小心，所以他不小心把水溅到了车上！
Squirt water
喷水
Squirting water is similar to a medium between spraying and spurting. The water, if squirted, comes out as a small stream. Usually squirting is done by a person with a tool, such as a water gun, and is directed at a specific target. My son really likes to poke a small hole in his water bottle so he can squirt water with it.
喷射介质与喷射介质相似。水如果喷出来，就会变成一条小溪。通常喷射是由一个人用工具（如水枪）来完成的，并且是针对特定目标的。我儿子真的很喜欢在他的水瓶上戳个小洞，这样他就可以用水壶喷水了。
