business

/ˈbɪznəs/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈbɪznəs/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈbiz-nəs -nəz Southern also ˈbid-/ (ame, mw)

business — 名詞

1. the general activity of trading — that is, making, selling, or supplying product

1.名詞A1
釋義

商業；生意

買賣與提供商品或服務的活動

the general activity of trading — that is, making, selling, or supplying products and services in order to earn money.

例句

Maya wants to study business at a university in Taipei next year.

Maya 想明年到台北的大學念商業。

uncountable: study business

Marcus has worked in the coffee business for nearly twenty years.

Marcus 在咖啡這一行做生意已經將近二十年。

in the [field] business

同義詞
  • trade

    narrower — usually buying and selling goods, less about making or services

  • commerce

    more formal; often used for trade across regions or countries

  • industry

    broader sector view (e.g. the music industry); 'business' can be smaller-scale

文法句型

in business

do business with

用法筆記

Uncountable in this sense — never 'a business' or 'businesses' for the activity itself; that meaning is sense 2.

常見錯誤

❌I want to start a businesses with my brother.
✅I want to start a business with my brother.
💡'business' as activity is uncountable; the company sense (sense 2) takes 'a/the' but not '-es' here.
❌She does business to a Korean factory.
✅She does business with a Korean factory.
💡the trading partner takes 'with', not 'to'.

2. one particular organisation — a firm, shop, or workshop, for example — whose pur

2.名詞A2
釋義

公司；商家

從事商業活動的特定企業或店家

one particular organisation — a firm, shop, or workshop, for example — whose purpose is to make or sell things, or to provide a paid service.

例句

Carlos runs a small business that repairs old motorbikes near the harbour.

Carlos 在港口附近開了一家專門修理舊機車的小公司。

run a small business

The Watanabe family has owned this noodle business for four generations.

Watanabe 一家經營這家麵店生意已經四代了。

own a [type] business

同義詞
  • company

    near-equivalent; 'company' is more formal and is the standard word for a registered firm

  • firm

    often a professional partnership (law firm, accounting firm)

  • enterprise

    more formal; often suggests something newly set up or ambitious

文法句型

run a business

a small/family/online business

用法筆記

Countable — takes 'a/an' and a plural in '-es'. Distinguish from sense 1 by checking whether you can replace 'business' with 'company' (sense 2) or with 'trade'/'commercial activity' (sense 1).

常見錯誤

❌Her father owns three business in Taipei.
✅Her father owns three businesses in Taipei.
💡countable plural needs '-es'.

3. the paid work or job that someone does, especially when this work involves deali

3.名詞B1
釋義

公務；業務

工作上要處理的事務，常涉及出差

the paid work or job that someone does, especially when this work involves dealing with other people or travelling.

例句

Dr. Tanaka is in Singapore on business until Friday evening.

Dr. Tanaka 因公務在新加坡，要待到星期五晚上。

on business (purpose of travel)

Lina insists on talking business at every family dinner, much to her brother's annoyance.

Lina 每次家庭聚餐都堅持要談公事，讓她哥哥很受不了。

talk business (= discuss work matters)

同義詞
  • work

    broader, covers any paid or unpaid effort; 'business' here implies dealings with others

  • job

    the specific position; 'business' here is the activity of doing that job

反義詞
  • leisure

    as in 'business or leisure?' at hotel check-in

  • pleasure

    as in 'mixing business with pleasure'

文法句型

on business

what's your business?

用法筆記

Often appears in fixed phrases: 'on business' (purpose of a trip), 'business trip', 'business hours'. The traveller meaning is the most frequent realisation of this sense.

常見錯誤

❌My uncle went to Tokyo for business meeting.
✅My uncle went to Tokyo on business.' / 'for a business meeting.
💡use 'on business' for the trip purpose, or add 'a' before 'business meeting'.

4. how much a shop or company is selling, or how many customers it has — for exampl

4.名詞B1
釋義

營業額；客流

店家或公司的銷售量或顧客多寡

how much a shop or company is selling, or how many customers it has — for example whether sales are going up, down, or staying steady.

例句

Business has been very slow at the restaurant since the highway opened.

自從高速公路開通以後，這家餐廳的生意就一直很冷清。

business is slow / good / bad

The bookshop lost a lot of business when a bigger store opened nearby.

附近開了一家更大的書店，這家小書店因此流失了不少客人。

lose business to a competitor

同義詞
  • trade

    near-equivalent for sales volume ('trade was slow today')

  • custom

    British; the customers a shop has ('thank you for your custom')

  • patronage

    formal; the regular support of customers

文法句型

lose business

business is good/bad/slow

用法筆記

Uncountable. Often the subject of 'is' + an evaluative adjective ('business is brisk/slow/booming'). 'Take your business elsewhere' means to spend your money at another shop.

常見錯誤

❌The shop got many businesses last weekend.
✅The shop got a lot of business last weekend.
💡uncountable in this sense; use 'a lot of business', not 'many businesses'.

5. a particular event or situation, especially one that you find odd, unpleasant, o

5.名詞B2
釋義

事情；事件

通常令人覺得奇怪、麻煩或不愉快的情況

a particular event or situation, especially one that you find odd, unpleasant, or hard to deal with — used when giving an opinion about it.

例句

This whole business with the missing keys is starting to worry me.

鑰匙不見的這整件事開始讓我有點擔心。

this whole business with...

Marcus called the divorce a sad business that nobody had wanted.

Marcus 把這場離婚形容成一件誰也不願見到的傷心事。

a [adj] business

同義詞
  • affair

    very close in meaning; slightly more formal

  • matter

    broader; less coloured by the speaker's opinion

  • situation

    neutral; lacks the slight 'odd / unpleasant' flavour of 'business'

文法句型

a strange/messy/serious business

用法筆記

Almost always singular with a determiner ('this/that/the/a + adjective + business'). Distinguish from sense 6 (something that concerns or belongs to a person): sense 5 labels a situation as a whole, while sense 6 talks about whose responsibility it is.

常見錯誤

❌These businesses with the keys are strange.
✅This business with the keys is strange.
💡this sense stays singular, even when many small events are involved.

6. the things, problems, or decisions that belong to one particular person and that

6.名詞B2
釋義

私事；本分

個人的事情或職責，旁人無權過問

the things, problems, or decisions that belong to one particular person and that other people have no right to ask about.

例句

How much Lina earns is her own business, not the neighbours' gossip.

Lina 賺多少錢是她自己的事，不是鄰居拿來八卦的話題。

[possessive] own business

Aunt Rosa kept poking into Marcus's business until he finally lost his temper.

Aunt Rosa 一直插手 Marcus 的私事，他最後終於忍不住發了脾氣。

poke into someone's business

同義詞
  • concern

    near-equivalent in 'no concern of yours'; slightly more formal

  • affair

    often plural ('my own affairs'); covers private matters more broadly

文法句型

my/your/his/their business

no business of yours

用法筆記

Frequently used to push back against a question or criticism, often with 'own', 'no', or 'none of': 'my own business', 'no business of yours', 'none of your business'. Distinguish from sense 5 — here the focus is on rights and responsibility, not on labelling a situation.

常見錯誤

❌It is not your businesses what I do at weekends.
✅It is not your business what I do at weekends.
💡uncountable in this sense; never plural.

7. small physical actions that an actor performs on stage — for example, slowly pol

7.名詞C1
釋義

舞台動作

演員為塑造氣氛或角色而加入的細微動作

small physical actions that an actor performs on stage — for example, slowly polishing a glass or fumbling with a hat — to make a scene feel real or to show what a character is like.

例句

The director gave the lead actor some funny business with a broken umbrella.

導演替男主角設計了一段拿著一把破傘的滑稽舞台動作。

[adj] business with a [prop]

Most of the comedy comes from the clown's silent business with a tiny chair.

大部分笑點來自那個小丑與一張小椅子之間默劇式的互動。

stage / comic business

同義詞
  • stage business

    the full technical term; 'business' alone is shorthand among theatre people

  • shtick

    informal; a comic actor's signature bit of stage action

文法句型

stage business

comic business

用法筆記

Specialist theatre/film vocabulary; learners will more often meet the full phrase 'stage business'. Almost always uncountable and used with an adjective ('comic', 'silent', 'funny') or with a prop.