auto
auto — 名詞
1. a passenger car; an everyday short form of 'automobile' used mostly in American
汽車
美式口語對小客車的稱呼
a passenger car; an everyday short form of 'automobile' used mostly in American English, especially in compounds about the car industry.
Wairimu parked her auto in front of the diner on Main Street.
Wairimu 把她的汽車停在大街上的小餐館前面。
countable noun: an auto / his auto
The auto show in Detroit drew thousands of visitors last weekend.
底特律的汽車展上週吸引了數千名訪客。
compound: auto show
Jin works at an auto repair shop near the train station.
Jin 在火車站附近的一家汽車修理廠上班。
Grandpa still calls every car an auto, even the new electric ones.
爺爺到現在還是把每一輛車都叫做汽車，連新的電動車也一樣。
- car
the standard everyday word in both British and American English
- automobile
more formal and technical; common in industry contexts
- motor vehicle
very formal, used in legal or official documents
用法筆記
Common in American English, often in compounds (auto show, auto industry, auto insurance). British speakers usually say 'car' instead.
常見錯誤
auto — 形容詞
1. working on its own without a person controlling each step; a short form of 'auto
自動的
automatic 的口語簡稱，放名詞前
working on its own without a person controlling each step; a short form of 'automatic', often used before nouns like 'pilot', 'mode', or 'reply'.
Kalani switched the camera to auto mode before taking the family photo.
Kalani 拍全家福之前把相機切到自動模式。
attributive: auto + noun (mode)
The pilot flipped on auto pilot once the plane reached cruising altitude.
飛機到達巡航高度後，機長就打開了自動駕駛。
compound: auto pilot
Dr. Rashida set up an auto reply on her email while she was on holiday.
Dr. Rashida 放假時在電子郵件設了自動回覆。
The new washing machine has an auto setting for delicate clothes.
這台新洗衣機有針對精緻衣物的自動模式。
- manual
operated by hand or by a person, step by step
用法筆記
Used before a noun (attributive only). You cannot say 'the system is auto'; say 'the system is automatic' instead.
常見錯誤
auto — 字首
1. a word part added to the start of another word to show that something happens to
自我；自動
字首，表示由自己或無需他人協助
a word part added to the start of another word to show that something happens to or by itself, without help from a person; for example, autobiography (a life story written by the same person whose life it tells).
Ines is reading the autobiography of a famous Taiwanese chef.
Ines 正在讀一位知名臺灣廚師的自傳。
auto- + biography: written by oneself
The new law gave the island region greater autonomy over its schools.
新法律讓這個島嶼地區在學校事務上擁有更大的自治權。
auto- + -nomy: governing oneself
Many cars now park themselves through autonomous driving systems.
現在很多車子透過自動駕駛系統自己停車。
The president signed an autograph for a young fan outside the hotel.
總統在飯店外為一位年輕粉絲簽了親筆簽名。
- self-
native English equivalent prefix, often interchangeable: self-portrait vs autobiography
文法句型
auto- + noun
auto- + adjective
用法筆記
Forms closed compounds (no hyphen) in most modern uses: autobiography, autonomy, autograph. Hyphenated 'auto-' appears mainly in newer or technical coinings.
auto — 構詞成分
1. a word part used in technical and scientific terms to mean 'oneself' or 'the sam
自身的；自體
用於醫學或生物術語，指作用於自身
a word part used in technical and scientific terms to mean 'oneself' or 'the same one'; for example, in 'autoimmune', the body's defence system attacks its own cells.
Dr. Wu explained that lupus is an autoimmune disease affecting the joints and skin.
Wu 醫師說明，紅斑性狼瘡是一種會影響關節和皮膚的自體免疫疾病。
auto- meaning 'self' in medical term 'autoimmune'
The clinic does autografts, taking healthy skin from the patient's own thigh.
這家診所做自體移植，從病人自己的大腿取下健康皮膚。
auto- + graft: tissue from the same person
Some plants reproduce through autogamy, fertilising themselves without another flower.
有些植物透過自花授粉繁殖，不需要另一朵花。
After death, autolysis begins as the body's own enzymes break down its tissues.
人死亡後，自體溶解便開始進行，身體自身的酵素會分解組織。
- self-
everyday English equivalent; 'self-' joins common words while 'auto-' joins Greek-rooted scientific terms
- allo-
scientific prefix meaning 'other', as in 'allograft' (tissue from a different person)
文法句型
auto- + noun root
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 2: this 'auto-' means 'self / same person', often in biology and medicine. Sense 2 means 'self-acting / automatic' and shows up in machines and software.
2. a word part added to verbs and nouns to show that a machine or program does the
自動化；自行
用於機器或軟體，表示自行運作
a word part added to verbs and nouns to show that a machine or program does the action by itself, with little or no human input; for example, autocorrect changes spelling for you while you type.
The phone's autocorrect changed 'duck' to a much funnier word again.
手機的自動校正又把『duck』改成一個更好笑的字了。
auto- + correct: software does it for you
Pilots rely on autopilot during long flights across the Pacific.
在飛越太平洋的長途航班中，飛行員會仰賴自動駕駛。
auto- + pilot: machine flies on its own
Jin turned on autosave so the report would not vanish if the laptop crashed.
Jin 打開自動儲存，這樣筆電當機時報告才不會不見。
Many shops use an autoresponder to thank customers for their messages.
很多店家會用自動回覆來感謝客戶的訊息。
- automatic
the free-standing adjective with the same idea; 'auto-' compresses it into a single word
- manual
describes the same task done step by step by a person
文法句型
auto- + verb
auto- + noun
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: this 'auto-' is about machines doing things by themselves (autopilot, autosave). Sense 1 is about a person or organism acting on itself (autoimmune, autobiography).