grain

/ɡreɪn/ (bre, ipa) · /ɡreɪn/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈgrān/ (ame, mw)

grain — 名詞

  • grainsingular
  • grainsplural

1. one of the tiny edible seeds that food plants produce — including wheat, rice, c

1.名詞B1
釋義

穀物；穀粒

稻、麥等禾本科植物的可食用種子

one of the tiny edible seeds that food plants produce — including wheat, rice, corn, and barley; also, these seeds thought of as a group when harvested: 'The country exports millions of tons of grain each year.'

例句

Farmers in the region store their grain in large metal silos after the harvest.

該地區的農民在收成後將穀物儲存在大型金屬穀倉裡。

uncountable: grain as a crop stored in silos

A sparrow picked up a grain of rice that had fallen on the kitchen floor.

那隻麻雀從廚房地板上啄起一粒掉落的米。

countable: a grain of [specific plant]

同義詞
  • cereal

    usually refers to the plant or the breakfast food; 'cereal crops' is more formal than 'grain crops'

  • kernel

    a single seed inside a hard shell; used especially for corn and wheat

  • seed

    broader term that covers all seeds, not just food grains

文法句型

grain of [specific plant]

grain + noun (grain silo, grain harvest)

用法筆記

This sense can be countable (a single seed: 'a grain of wheat') or uncountable (the crop in general: 'grain prices are rising'). In everyday conversation, the uncountable use is more common.

常見錯誤

❌I bought some corns from the market.
✅I bought some grain / some corn from the market.
💡'corn' is usually uncountable in general contexts.
❌This bread contains many grains.
✅This bread contains many types of grain / whole grains.
💡when referring to types of grain, specify 'types of grain' or use 'whole grains'.

2. a tiny hard fragment or crystal of a substance, especially one that is normally

2.名詞B1
釋義

顆粒；微粒

沙子、鹽等物質的細小硬顆粒

a tiny hard fragment or crystal of a substance, especially one that is normally found in powder or granular form: 'A grain of sand blew into her eye.'

例句

A grain of sand lodged in Talia's eye and made it water all afternoon.

一粒沙子跑進 Talia 的眼睛裡，讓她整個下午都在流淚。

a grain of [substance]

Meera added a few grains of salt to the soup to bring out the flavor.

Meera 在湯裡加了幾粒鹽來提味。

同義詞
  • particle

    more scientific; used for any tiny piece, including non-hard substances like smoke particles

  • speck

    very tiny spot; often used for dirt or dust; less precise than 'grain'

  • granule

    a small particle that is slightly larger and more rounded than a grain; common in scientific contexts

文法句型

a grain of [substance]

用法筆記

Commonly used with substances that naturally form small separate particles: sand, salt, sugar, pollen, dust. The pattern 'a grain of [substance]' is highly productive.

常見錯誤

❌There was a grain of sand on the beach.' (trivial — beaches are made of sand)
✅A grain of sand blew into my eye.
💡use this sense when referring to an individual particle, not the bulk substance

3. the smallest possible amount of a quality or feeling — typically truth, sense, h

3.名詞B2
釋義

一點；微量

某種抽象特質的極小數量

the smallest possible amount of a quality or feeling — typically truth, sense, honesty, or decency — often used in negative statements or questions to emphasize that none exists: 'There is not a grain of truth in that rumor.'

例句

There is not a grain of truth in the rumor Defne spread about her coworker.

Defne 散播關於她同事的謠言中沒有一絲真實性。

negative: not a grain of truth

If you had a grain of common sense, you would never walk home alone after dark.

如果你有一點常識，就不會在午夜獨自走路回家。

conditional: a grain of [quality]

同義詞
  • bit

    more general and less emphatic than 'grain'; works with both abstract and concrete nouns

  • trace

    slightly more formal; suggests evidence of something's existence rather than amount

  • speck

    emphasizes smallness; works with both abstract qualities and physical substances

反義詞

文法句型

a grain of [abstract quality]

not a grain of [quality]

用法筆記

Overwhelmingly used in negative contexts ('not a grain of'), questions ('is there a grain of?'), or conditionals ('if you had a grain of'). The most common collocation is 'a grain of truth', often appearing in the phrase 'take it with a grain of salt' (meaning: do not believe it completely).

常見錯誤

❌I have a grain of money.
✅I have a bit of money.
💡'a grain of' is only used with abstract qualities (truth, sense, decency), not concrete things like money.
❌Take it with a grain of sugar.
✅Take it with a grain of salt.
💡the idiom is fixed; 'salt' cannot be replaced.

4. the visible pattern of tiny specks that form a picture on a photo or a strip of

4.名詞C1
釋義

顆粒感；粒子

照片或底片上的細小粒狀圖案

the visible pattern of tiny specks that form a picture on a photo or a strip of film; the pattern becomes more obvious when the picture is made larger: 'The old film's heavy grain gave the pictures a cozy, old-fashioned feel.'

例句

The old photograph had visible grain that gave it a nostalgic, old-fashioned look.

那張老照片有明顯的顆粒感，給人一種懷舊復古的感覺。

Yuki adjusted the camera settings to reduce the digital grain in her night-time shots.

Yuki 調整了相機設定，以減少夜拍照片中的數位粒子。

digital grain in photography

同義詞
  • noise

    the modern digital equivalent; technically different but used similarly in casual conversation

  • texture

    broader term; can describe grain but also other surface qualities

文法句型

film grain

grain in [photo/film]

用法筆記

In traditional photography, grain refers to the physical silver-halide crystals in film emulsion. In digital photography, the equivalent phenomenon is called 'digital noise', though 'grain' is often used casually for both.

常見錯誤

❌This photo has too much grain in the wood.' (confused with wood grain)
✅This photo has too much grain in the image.
💡keep the photography sense separate from wood texture.

5. the natural arrangement of fibers or threads in wood, cloth, leather, or stone,

5.名詞B2
釋義

紋理；紋路

木材、布料等表面的天然纖維走向

the natural arrangement of fibers or threads in wood, cloth, leather, or stone, visible as lines or a pattern on the surface: 'The carpenter cut the board along the grain to prevent splitting.'

例句

Folake chose a dining table with a beautiful oak grain that ran in sweeping curves.

Folake 選了一張有著美麗橡木紋理的餐桌，紋路呈流線弧形。

wood grain pattern

When sanding the wood, always work in the direction of the grain to avoid scratches.

打磨木材時，一定要順著紋理方向進行，才不會刮傷表面。

direction: with the grain

同義詞
  • texture

    focuses on how the surface feels to touch rather than the visible line pattern

  • fibre (fibers)

    the individual strands that create the grain; more technical

  • pattern

    general term for the visible design; less specific than 'grain' for natural materials

文法句型

grain of [wood/leather/fabric]

against the grain

with the grain

用法筆記

The phrase 'against the grain' has both a literal meaning (cutting or sanding across the fiber direction, which damages the surface) and a figurative meaning (doing something that feels unnatural or goes against one's character): 'It goes against the grain for him to lie.'

常見錯誤

❌He sanded against the grain' (without context).
✅He sanded against the grain and left rough marks on the wood.
💡the phrase alone is ambiguous between literal and figurative meanings.

❌ 'This wood has a nice grain of truth.' — mixing two senses; 'grain of truth' belongs to sense 3 (abstract amount), not wood texture.

6. a tiny measure of weight from an older counting system, equal to about 0.0648 gr

6.名詞C2
釋義

格令

等於 0.0648 克的歷史質量單位

a tiny measure of weight from an older counting system, equal to about 0.0648 grams; in the past it was used for medicines, valuable metals, and ammunition: 'The old recipe called for ten grains of powdered willow bark.'

例句

The pharmacist measured the ingredients in grains, following a recipe from the 1800s.

藥劑師依照一份 19 世紀的配方，用格令來計量藥材。

historical measurement unit

A single grain is roughly the weight of a small drop of water.

一格令大約相當於一小滴水的重量。

文法句型

[number] grains [of [substance]]

用法筆記

This unit is almost never used in everyday modern contexts. Learners will mainly encounter it in historical texts, antique recipes, or ammunition specifications. The symbol for grain is 'gr'.

grain — 動詞