babble
/ˈbæb.əl/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈbæb.əl/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈba-bəl/ (ame, mw) · /ˈbæbl/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈbæbl/ (ame, ipa)
babble — 動詞
1. to speak rapidly and at length without making much sense, often because you are
喋喋不休
因興奮、緊張或喝醉而快速、含糊地說話
to speak rapidly and at length without making much sense, often because you are excited, nervous, or have had too much to drink.
Zara was so nervous that she babbled about her hobbies for ten minutes.
Zara 太緊張了，喋喋不休地講了十分鐘自己的興趣。
babble about + noun for excited/nervous talk
Aunt Rosa kept babbling on about her neighbour's new puppy throughout the whole dinner.
Rosa 阿姨整頓晚餐都在喋喋不休地講鄰居家的新小狗。
babble on about + noun for tedious chatter
After two glasses of wine, Eitan started babbling in a mix of Spanish and English.
喝了兩杯紅酒後，Eitan 開始用西班牙語和英語混著胡扯起來。
The frightened witness babbled something about a man in a red jacket near the bank.
受驚的目擊者語無倫次地說著銀行附近一個穿紅外套的男人。
Stop babbling and tell me clearly what happened to the car.
別再胡扯了，清楚告訴我那台車到底怎麼了。
- articulate
to speak clearly and with structure
文法句型
babble on about + noun
babble + direct speech
用法筆記
Often carries a mildly negative tone — the speaker is presented as silly, drunk, or hard to follow. Frequently followed by 'on' or 'about' for prolonged talk on a trivial topic.
常見錯誤
2. (of a small stream or brook) to produce a soft, bubbling sound as the water pass
潺潺作響
小溪流過石頭時發出柔和的水聲
(of a small stream or brook) to produce a soft, bubbling sound as the water passes over rocks or pebbles.
A clear stream babbled gently over smooth stones at the edge of the meadow.
一條清澈的小溪在草地邊緣的光滑石頭上潺潺流過。
[stream] + babble over + noun
We could hear a small brook babbling somewhere behind the trees.
我們聽得到樹林後方有一條小溪在潺潺作響。
intransitive use with -ing form to set a scene
The creek babbled softly through Mrs. Jamal's back garden all summer.
那條小溪整個夏天都在 Jamal 太太的後院裡潺潺流淌。
Cold mountain water babbled past the picnic blanket where the children were sleeping.
冰涼的山泉水在孩子們睡覺的野餐墊旁潺潺流過。
文法句型
[stream] + babble + over/through + noun
用法筆記
Subject is almost always a small body of moving water (stream, brook, creek). Common in descriptive or literary writing rather than everyday speech. Distinguish from sense 1, which always has a human subject.
常見錯誤
babble — 名詞
1. a soft, unclear hum of many voices speaking at once, so that no single conversat
嘈雜人聲
許多人同時說話而聽不清內容的嗡嗡聲
a soft, unclear hum of many voices speaking at once, so that no single conversation can be picked out.
A cheerful babble of voices filled the cafeteria as the lunch break began.
午休一開始，自助餐廳裡就充滿了愉快的嘈雜人聲。
a babble of voices — typical full collocation
Noa could barely hear her own thoughts above the babble in the crowded train station.
在擁擠的火車站裡，Noa 幾乎聽不見自己在那片喧鬧聲中的想法。
above the babble — talking over background noise
From the kitchen, Amara heard a babble of guests laughing in the dining room.
從廚房裡，Amara 聽見餐廳傳來客人們嘈雜的笑語聲。
The babble of the morning market drifted through the open bedroom window.
早市的嘈雜人聲從敞開的臥室窗戶飄進來。
- silence
complete absence of sound
文法句型
a babble of + plural noun
the babble of + noun
用法筆記
Often appears as 'a babble of voices' or 'a babble of [people noun]'. Implies the listener cannot make out individual words, only a general blur of sound.
常見錯誤
2. the early speech-like sounds an infant produces, made up of repeated syllables t
牙牙學語
嬰兒發出尚未成詞的重複音節
the early speech-like sounds an infant produces, made up of repeated syllables that do not yet form real words.
The baby's happy babble filled the living room while her father cooked dinner.
嬰兒愉快的牙牙學語充滿了客廳，她爸爸正在廚房做晚餐。
[baby's] + babble — possessive pattern
Dr. Jamal explained that a child's babble usually begins around six months of age.
Jamal 醫師說明，孩子的牙牙學語通常從六個月大左右開始。
a child's babble — clinical/parenting context
Eitan recorded her son's first babble on her phone to send to her parents.
Eitan 用手機錄下兒子第一次的牙牙學語，要傳給父母聽。
The soft babble from the cot told Zara that her daughter was finally awake.
從嬰兒床傳來輕柔的牙牙學語，Zara 知道女兒終於醒了。
文法句型
[baby's] + babble
the babble of + young child
用法筆記
Refers specifically to pre-linguistic infant sounds (such as 'ba-ba' or 'da-da'). Distinguish from noun sense 1, which is about a crowd of voices, not a single baby.