ashes
ashes — 名詞
1. the soft grey or black powder that stays behind after wood, coal, paper, or othe
灰燼
燃燒後留下的粉末殘留物
the soft grey or black powder that stays behind after wood, coal, paper, or other materials have been completely burned
Ryo swept the grey ash out of the fireplace and into a metal bucket.
Ryo 將壁爐中的灰色灰燼掃進金屬桶裡。
collocation: sweep ash / ash from a fireplace
Devika tipped the ashtray into the bin, raising a puff of grey ash.
Devika 將煙灰缸倒進垃圾桶，揚起一陣灰色灰燼。
collocation: empty an ashtray / ash from smoking
Thick layers of ash covered the ground where the barn had burned down last night.
昨晚穀倉燒毀的地方，地面上覆蓋著厚厚的一層灰燼。
Anong mixed the wood ash from the stove into the soil to add nutrients for her vegetables.
Anong 將爐灶的木灰混入土壤中，為蔬菜增加養分。
collocation: wood ash / mix into soil
Theo tapped his pipe on the wall, and ash showered onto the stone floor.
Theo 將菸斗在牆上輕輕敲了敲，灰燼紛紛落在石板地上。
- sweep ash
- ash from the fireplace
- wood ash
- ash tray
- coat of ash
- pile of ash
用法筆記
This sense is typically uncountable (ash not ashes) when referring to the substance itself. The plural form 'ashes' can also be used for the same meaning, especially when talking about a large quantity or scattered pieces.
常見錯誤
2. the light grey powder that is left after a dead person's body has been cremated,
骨灰
人體火化後留下的粉末
the light grey powder that is left after a dead person's body has been cremated, often kept in a container called an urn or scattered in a place that was meaningful to the person
Talia scattered her grandmother's ashes along the river where the old woman had walked as a child.
Talia 將祖母的骨灰撒在那條老太太小時候常走的河邊。
collocation: scatter ashes
Amani's family placed her ashes in a simple wooden urn on the mantelpiece above the fireplace.
Amani 的家人將她的骨灰放在一個簡單的木製骨灰罈中，置於壁爐架上。
collocation: place/keep ashes in an urn
Kian carried his father's ashes back to the village where the old man had been born eighty years earlier.
Kian 將父親的骨灰帶回那位老人出生的小村莊。
Brooke asked the funeral director to divide her mother's ashes evenly among her three children.
Brooke 請葬儀社將母親的骨灰平均分給她的三個孩子。
Hui felt a deep sadness as she watched her husband's ashes slowly sink beneath the ocean waves.
Hui 看著丈夫的骨灰緩緩沉入海浪中，心中充滿了深深的悲傷。
- scatter ashes
- collect ashes
- keep ashes
- ashes in an urn
- spread ashes
- divide ashes
- remains
more general term that can include the body before cremation or buried bones; 'ashes' specifically means cremated remains
用法筆記
This sense always uses the plural form 'ashes'. Unlike sense 1, the uncountable singular 'ash' is never used for cremated human remains. Common verbs include 'scatter', 'spread', 'collect', 'keep', and 'place'.
常見錯誤
3. very small pieces of rock, minerals, and volcanic glass that are thrown into the
火山灰
火山噴發產生的細小礦物顆粒
very small pieces of rock, minerals, and volcanic glass that are thrown into the air when a volcano erupts and later fall back to the ground, sometimes covering large areas
The eruption covered the entire village with a thick blanket of grey volcanic ash.
火山噴發使整個村莊覆蓋上一層厚厚的灰色火山灰。
collocation: volcanic ash / blanket of ash
Felipe wore a protective mask to keep the volcanic ash out of his lungs while he cleared the driveway.
Felipe 戴上防護口罩，防止火山灰進入肺部。
Sven had to cancel his flight to Tokyo because the ash cloud from the volcano grounded all aircraft.
Sven 不得不取消前往東京的班機，因為火山灰雲導致所有航班停飛。
collocation: ash cloud / ground flights
The farmers worried that the heavy layer of volcanic ash would ruin their wheat harvest for the whole season.
農民們擔心厚重的火山灰層會毀掉這一整季的小麥收成。
Ezra spent the entire morning shovelling volcanic ash from his driveway after the mountain erupted overnight.
Ezra 花了一整個上午把火山噴發後堆積在車道上的火山灰剷除乾淨。
- volcanic ash
- ash cloud
- blanket of ash
- layer of ash
- ash fall
- tephra
the scientific term for all material ejected by a volcano, including ash, larger rocks, and dust; 'ash' is the everyday word for the fine particles
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: volcanic ash is a geological term for specific mineral particles ejected by a volcano, while sense 1 refers to the residue from burning organic materials. Volcanic ash also damages machinery and aircraft engines, which is why flights are cancelled during eruptions.
ashes — 動詞
- ashespresent simple I / you / we / they
- asheses3rd person singular
- ashesing-ing form
- ashesedpast simple
1. to burn something so completely that nothing remains except a fine grey powder;
燒成灰
完全燃燒至只剩灰燼
to burn something so completely that nothing remains except a fine grey powder; to reduce something to ash through intense heat or chemical action
In a crematorium, a human body is reduced to ash at temperatures over eight hundred degrees Celsius.
在火葬場中，人體在高於攝氏八百度的高溫下被化為灰燼。
passive: be reduced to ash
The intense heat of the kiln reduced the dry wooden planks to a fine grey powder in minutes.
窯爐的高溫在幾分鐘內將乾燥的木板燒成細小的灰色粉末。
reduce + object + to [ash/powder]
Gabriel threw the old love letters into the bonfire and watched them turn to ash in seconds.
Gabriel 把舊情書丟進營火中，看著它們在幾秒鐘內化為灰燼。
burn + object + to ash
Mert used a blowtorch to burn the fabric scraps down to ash in the metal disposal bin.
Mert 用噴燈將金屬廢料桶裡的碎布頭燒成了灰。
burn + object + down to ash
- incinerate
more general term for destroying by burning; 'ash' specifically means reducing to powder, while 'incinerate' may leave some residue
文法句型
be reduced to ash
reduce + object + to ash
burn + object + down to ash
用法筆記
This verb is uncommon in everyday speech. Most English speakers prefer the phrasal alternative 'burn to ash' or 'reduce to ash'. It appears most frequently in technical, scientific, or formal written contexts such as cremation manuals, chemistry reports, or industrial documentation.
常見錯誤
2. to tap or flick the burned end of a cigarette, cigar, or pipe so that the used g
彈菸灰
輕敲香菸使菸灰掉落
to tap or flick the burned end of a cigarette, cigar, or pipe so that the used grey powder falls away into an ashtray or onto the ground
James ashed his cigarette into the glass tray beside his coffee cup while he read the newspaper.
James 一邊看報紙，一邊把香菸灰輕輕彈進咖啡杯旁邊的玻璃煙灰缸中。
object is a cigarette; preposition: into
Anong tapped her cigar against the edge of the crystal ashtray to ash it before taking another slow puff.
Anong 在抽出下一口之前，先將雪茄在水晶煙灰缸邊緣輕敲了一下。
Devika ashed her cigarette out the car window while her brother drove them along the coastal highway.
Devika 在哥哥沿著海岸公路開車時，把香菸灰從車窗外彈掉。
The old man ashed his pipe into his cupped hand and then blew the warm dust away into the garden.
老人將菸斗的灰燼彈進自己的手掌心，然後把溫暖的灰塵吹向花園。
- ash a cigarette
- ash a cigar
- ash into an ashtray
文法句型
ash + object (cigarette, cigar, pipe)
用法筆記
This sense is the more common of the two verb senses, though still less frequent than the noun. It is used almost exclusively with smoking-related objects (cigarette, cigar, pipe). The action is typically done with a small flick or tap of the finger.
常見錯誤
ashes — 慣用語
the state of being completely destroyed by fire, so that only a grey powder or rubble remains; often used figuratively to describe the total ruin of plans, hopes, or buildings
化為灰燼；夷為廢墟
The old theatre was reduced to ashes in the fire that swept through the town centre.
After the wildfire swept through the valley, the village lay in ashes and the survivors had to rebuild from nothing.
the Ashes
idioma famous trophy in international cricket, awarded to the winner of a test-match series between England and Australia, represented by a small urn said to contain the ashes of a cricket bail
灰燼盃（英澳板球對抗賽優勝獎盃）
Australia won the Ashes in 2023 after defeating England in the fifth test match at the Oval.
Walid stayed up late to watch the Ashes — the Test cricket series between England and Australia.
同根字
- ash名詞B1
- ashen形容詞C1
- ashy形容詞C2