beside

/bɪˈsaɪd/ (bre, ipa) · [bɪsˈaɪd] /bɪˈsaɪd/ (ame, ipa) · [bɪsˈaɪd] /bi-ˈsīd bē-/ (ame, mw)

beside — 介系詞

1. right next to someone or something, with nothing between you

1.介系詞A2
釋義

在…旁邊

緊鄰某人或某物的位置

right next to someone or something, with nothing between you

例句

Ezra always keeps a glass of water beside his bed at night.

Ezra 晚上總會在床邊放一杯水。

beside + [object] showing physical position

Nila sat beside her grandmother during the long bus ride.

Nila 在漫長的巴士車程中坐在奶奶旁邊。

同義詞
  • next to

    everyday equivalent; slightly more informal in spoken English

  • alongside

    suggests a longer or parallel arrangement, often used of vehicles or objects in a row

  • by

    shorter and looser; can mean 'near' without strict adjacency

反義詞
  • far from

    opposite spatial relation

  • away from

    movement or distance away rather than adjacency

文法句型

beside + noun (location)

用法筆記

Subject is usually a person, animal, or object placed in close physical proximity to another. Stronger than 'near' — implies the two are immediately adjacent with no gap.

常見錯誤

❌Élise lives beside Paris.
✅Élise lives near Paris.
💡'beside' means immediately adjacent, so it does not fit cities or wide areas.
❌I will sit beside to him.
✅I will sit beside him.
💡'beside' is followed directly by a noun phrase, never by 'to'.

2. used when you place two things side by side in the mind so that one comes out lo

2.介系詞B2
釋義

相較於；比起

與另一事物相比後顯得遜色

used when you place two things side by side in the mind so that one comes out looking weaker, smaller, or less impressive

例句

Adina's painting looked rather small beside the huge mural on the wall.

Adina 的畫作擺在牆上那幅巨大壁畫旁，顯得相當小。

[noun] + look/seem + adjective + beside + [comparison]

Mauricio's cooking seems plain beside the meals his uncle makes for the family.

比起 Mauricio 叔叔為家人做的菜，他自己做的就顯得平凡多了。

同義詞
  • compared with

    neutral and more general; works for any comparison, not just diminishing ones

  • next to

    informal in this comparison sense; less common in writing

  • in comparison to

    more formal, especially in academic or written contexts

文法句型

[X] seems/looks + adjective + beside + [Y]

用法筆記

Frequently paired with adjectives like 'small', 'dull', 'weak', 'plain', or 'cheap' that name how the first thing comes out looking after the comparison. Distinguish from sense 1: here no physical adjacency is needed — the two items are weighed against each other, not placed side by side.

常見錯誤

❌Beside other students, Walid studies harder.
✅Compared with other students, Walid studies harder.
💡'beside' for comparison only works when the comparison makes one side look worse or smaller, not for general comparisons.

3. having nothing to do with the topic that is being talked about, so it should be

3.介系詞C1
釋義

與…無關

和正在討論的主題沒有關連

having nothing to do with the topic that is being talked about, so it should be set aside

例句

Whether Eshe felt tired is beside the question of why her report was late.

Eshe 累不累，跟她的報告為什麼遲交無關。

[topic A] + be + beside + [topic B] — A does not belong to B

The ticket price is beside our main concern: keeping the children safe on the trip.

票價跟我們的主要顧慮無關：那就是讓孩子們在旅途中保持安全。

同義詞
反義詞
  • central to

    directly the opposite — at the heart of the topic

  • relevant to

    neutral opposite, used in formal writing

文法句型

[X] + be + beside the point

beside + [topic]

用法筆記

Almost always appears in the fixed expression 'beside the point' (see idioms), but can also take a more specific noun phrase such as 'beside the question of...' or 'beside the issue of...'. Distinguish from sense 1 and 2: the relationship here is purely about relevance, not space or comparison.

常見錯誤

❌His age is beside.
✅His age is beside the point.
💡'beside' in the relevance sense needs an object such as 'the point', 'the question', or 'the issue'.

beside — 副詞