dah
dah — 形容詞
- dahpositive
- dahercomparative
- dahestsuperlative
1. behaving or speaking in a way that tries too hard to seem elegant, upper-class,
裝模作樣
矯揉造作、自命不凡的
behaving or speaking in a way that tries too hard to seem elegant, upper-class, or culturally refined; a short, old-fashioned form of 'la-di-da'.
Valentina found the whole ceremony terribly dah, with actors putting on exaggerated upper-class voices.
Valentina 覺得整場典禮裝模作樣到了極點，演員們全用誇張的上流社會腔調講話。
collocation: terribly dah (intensifier + adjective)
Sari's uncle would say 'how perfectly dah!' whenever he saw something too fancy for ordinary people.
Sari 的叔叔一看到什麼普通人用不起的講究東西，就會說『多麼裝模作樣啊！』。
exclamation pattern: how + dah
The reviewer called the new restaurant 'dah and overpriced,' criticising its velvet ropes and gold-leaf menus.
評論家批評這家新餐廳『矯揉造作又貴得離譜』，並指責其天鵝絨繩和金色菜單。
Owen's grandmother used a dah little laugh whenever she spoke about the neighbours.
Owen 的祖母每次聊到鄰居時，都會發出裝模作樣的小笑聲。
- la-di-da
the full form; still old-fashioned but slightly more common than 'dah'
- pretentious
the standard modern term; less playful and more direct than 'dah'
- affected
more formal and descriptive of unnatural behaviour, without the mockery
- natural
unforced, genuine in manner
- unpretentious
not trying to seem more important or refined than one is
文法句型
dah + noun
be + dah
用法筆記
Almost never used in modern everyday speech; learners are more likely to encounter 'la-di-da' or 'pretentious'. When used, it carries a mocking tone.
常見錯誤
dah — 名詞
1. in Morse code, a signal that lasts about three times as long as a short 'dit', w
長劃；嗒
摩斯密碼中的長信號
in Morse code, a signal that lasts about three times as long as a short 'dit', written on paper as a dash (—) and sounded as a long tone.
The old radio operator tapped out three long dahs — the letter O — to begin the distress call.
年邁的無線電操作員敲出三下長劃——字母 O——作為求救信號的開頭。
pattern: three + [number] + dahs + dash + explanation
Darius learned to tell a dit from a dah by counting: one beat for the dot, three for the dash.
Darius 學會了用計數來區分短音與長劃：一點是一拍，一劃是三拍。
contrast: dit vs dah
Each letter in Morse code is a unique sequence of dits and dahs — for example, the letter L is dit-dah-dit-dit.
摩斯密碼中的每個字母都由一連串的短音與長劃組成——例如，字母 L 就是「短長短短」。
Lan practised sending her name in Morse code, holding the key down for each dah.
Lan 練習用摩斯密碼打出自己的名字，每次長劃都按住發報鍵。
The ship's telegraph clicked a single clear dah, and the engine room answered with two short dits in reply.
船上的電報機發出清晰的單一長劃，輪機室則回了兩聲短音。
- dash
the visual representation of a dah on paper; interchangeable in written contexts but not in audio contexts
- long signal
descriptive but less precise; used in teaching contexts
文法句型
a dah
three dahs
long dah
用法筆記
Countable: you can say 'a dah' or 'three dahs'. The visual equivalent on paper or screen is called a 'dash'; 'dah' refers specifically to the audible signal.