grains
grains — 名詞
- grainssingular
- grainsesplural
1. The small hard seeds produced by plants such as wheat, rice, and corn, which peo
穀物
穀類植物的可食用種子
The small hard seeds produced by plants such as wheat, rice, and corn, which people grow and eat as a basic food.
Marta buys whole grain bread from the bakery near her apartment every Sunday.
Marta 每個星期天都會在她家附近的麵包店買全麥麵包。
whole grain bread — common food collocation
Farmers store their grain in metal silos to keep it dry and safe from pests.
農夫把穀物存放在大型金屬穀倉裡，保持乾燥並防止蟲害。
Rachid added a cup of cooked grain to the soup to make it more filling.
Rachid 往湯裡加了一杯熟穀粒，讓湯更有飽足感。
The government imported grain after the drought destroyed most of the local rice fields.
乾旱摧毀了當地大部分稻田後，政府進口了穀物。
Yuki prefers ancient grains like quinoa and millet over regular white rice.
Yuki 偏好藜麥和小米這類古早穀物，而不是一般的白米。
文法句型
grain + of + noun
用法筆記
Often used in the singular form (grain) as an uncountable mass noun to refer to the food category, e.g. 'Grain is a major export.'
常見錯誤
2. A very small hard piece of a substance such as sand, salt, or sugar.
顆粒
固體物質的極小粒子
A very small hard piece of a substance such as sand, salt, or sugar.
A single grain of sand can irritate your eye and make it water for hours.
一顆沙粒跑進眼睛就能刺激好幾個小時，讓眼睛不斷流淚。
a grain of sand — most common fixed phrase
Cyrus noticed a few grains of salt on the kitchen counter near the kettle.
Cyrus 注意到水壺附近的廚房流理臺上有幾粒鹽巴。
The wind blew tiny grains of dust into every corner of the old wooden house.
風把細小的塵粒吹進了老木屋的每個角落。
Isabela carefully poured sugar through a sieve to break up any hard grains.
Isabela 小心翼翼地把糖倒進篩子，把結塊的糖粒弄散。
文法句型
a grain of + substance noun
用法筆記
Almost always followed by 'of + noun' naming the substance. The substance noun is typically uncountable, e.g. a grain of sand / salt / rice / sugar / dust.
常見錯誤
3. A very small quantity of a quality or feeling, especially truth, honesty, or sen
微量
特質或情感的極小量
A very small quantity of a quality or feeling, especially truth, honesty, or sense, in a statement or situation.
There is not a single grain of truth in the rumor about the school closing.
關於學校要關閉的謠言，連一絲真實性都沒有。
not a grain of truth — common fixed expression
Renata's explanation had a grain of honesty, but she was still hiding the main facts.
Renata 的解釋帶有一絲誠意，但她仍然隱瞞了主要事實。
Minh found a grain of comfort in knowing that the test results would arrive soon.
Minh 從得知考試成績即將公布這件事中找到了一絲安慰。
If you have a grain of sense, you will put some money aside before traveling.
如果你還有一點理智，出國旅行前就該存一些錢。
- lot
a large amount, the opposite extreme
文法句型
a grain of + abstract noun
用法筆記
This sense is almost always found in the fixed pattern 'a grain of + abstract noun'. By far the most common pairing is 'a grain of truth'. Commonly used with negative structures ('not a grain of...').
常見錯誤
4. The visible pattern of tiny colored or black-and-white spots that make up a phot
銀粒
照片或底片中的可見微粒紋理
The visible pattern of tiny colored or black-and-white spots that make up a photographic image, especially when the image looks rough rather than smooth.
The heavy grain in the photo made the portrait look rough and old-fashioned.
照片中濃重的銀粒讓那張肖像看起來粗糙又老舊。
heavy grain / visible grain — common photography descriptors
Old film cameras often produce visible grain when you take pictures in dim light.
舊式底片相機在光線昏暗時拍照，通常會產生明顯的銀粒。
The photographer adjusted the camera settings to reduce grain and get a smoother final image.
攝影師調整了相機設定，以減少銀粒，得到更平滑的最終影像。
Digital cameras create much less visible grain than traditional film cameras do.
數位相機產生的可見銀粒比傳統底片相機少得多。
文法句型
[high/low] grain
visible grain
用法筆記
Typically uncountable when describing the overall pattern ('this photo has too much grain'). Countable when referring to individual spots ('the grains in the negative are visible under a magnifying glass').
5. The visible lines, fibers, or layers found in materials such as wood, leather, s
紋理
木材、皮革或石材表面的天然紋路
The visible lines, fibers, or layers found in materials such as wood, leather, stone, or cloth.
Sven sanded the wooden table until the grain felt smooth and shone in the sunlight.
Sven 把木桌打磨到木紋摸起來光滑、在陽光下閃閃發亮。
wood grain — most common material collocation
Leather with a tight grain is usually more expensive and lasts much longer.
紋理緊密的皮革通常比較昂貴，也耐用得多。
tight grain — quality descriptor for leather
Gita chose a kitchen counter with a beautiful stone grain that matched the wall color.
Gita 選擇了一塊石紋漂亮的廚房流理檯面，和牆壁顏色很搭配。
The carpenter followed the grain of the wood when cutting to avoid splitting the board.
木工順著木紋的方向切割，以免木板裂開。
Brushing against the grain of the velvet made the fabric look patchy and worn.
逆著天鵝絨的紋理刷過去，會讓布料看起來斑駁磨損。
文法句型
follow the grain
against the grain
the grain of + material
用法筆記
When working with wood, 'against the grain' means cutting or sanding in the opposite direction of the fibers, which tends to damage the surface. This literal meaning is also the origin of the idiom 'go against the grain'.
常見錯誤
6. An old unit for measuring weight, equal to about 0.065 grams, used for very smal
格令
約0.065克的微量重量單位
An old unit for measuring weight, equal to about 0.065 grams, used for very small amounts of medicine, precious stones, or bullets.
A single grain of the medication was enough to calm the patient's cough within minutes.
僅僅一格令的藥物就足以在幾分鐘內緩解病人的咳嗽。
grain as a unit of weight — historical/technical measure
Jewelers sometimes use grains to measure the weight of very small diamonds.
珠寶商有時會用格令來衡量非常小的鑽石重量。
The antique recipe for gunpowder called for exactly forty grains of powder for each shot.
這份古老的火藥配方要求每發子彈使用正好四十格令的火藥。
Nineteenth-century pharmacists often measured ingredients in grains rather than in milligrams.
十九世紀的藥劑師通常用格令來測量藥材，而不是用毫克。
- milligram
modern metric equivalent; 1 grain = about 64.8 milligrams
文法句型
[number] + grain(s)
grain of + [substance]
用法筆記
This is an old measurement unit, now mostly replaced by grams and milligrams. You will mainly encounter it in historical documents, antique recipes, and very specialized fields like ammunition handloading.
grains — 動詞
- grainspresent simple I / you / we / they
- grainses3rd person singular
- grainsing-ing form
- grainsedpast simple
1. To form or change into small grains or granular pieces, either naturally or thro
結粒
形成細小粒狀或結晶
To form or change into small grains or granular pieces, either naturally or through a process.
The sugar solution cooled and began to grain into tiny crystals in the pot.
糖水冷卻後，開始在鍋內結成細小的結晶顆粒。
grain into — intransitive use with 'into'
The factory machines grain the metal powder into uniform particles for industrial use.
工廠的機器把金屬粉末結粒成均勻的工業用粒子。
grain [noun] into [form] — transitive use pattern
A machine grains the salt into a fine powder for use in commercial food production.
機器把鹽結粒成細粉末，用於商業食品生產。
Honey stored for a long time can grain and turn into a thick sugary mass.
蜂蜜長時間存放後可能會結粒，變成濃稠的糖質塊狀物。
- granulate
more common and formal; the preferred term in scientific writing
- crystallize
refers specifically to forming crystals, not general granules
文法句型
grain into [form]
grain [noun]
用法筆記
This verb is quite rare in everyday speech. It is more common in technical or industrial contexts. The intransitive use (no direct object) describes a natural process; the transitive use describes an intentional action.
2. To fix something deeply into a material or into a person's character through rep
根植
使其深入固定在物質或性格中
To fix something deeply into a material or into a person's character through repeated action or long experience.
The leatherworker grained the oil into the leather by rubbing it with a soft cloth for several minutes.
皮革師傅透過反覆以軟布擦拭，把油根植進皮革中。
transitive active: grain [substance] into [material] — leatherworking context
The dark dye was so deeply ingrained in the wood that sanding could not remove it completely.
這深色染料深深根植於木材中，連打磨都無法完全去除。
passive: be deeply ingrained in [material] — modern common form
Respect for teachers is deeply ingrained in Japanese school culture from an early age.
尊師重道從小就深深根植於日本的學校文化中。
文法句型
be grained in/into [noun]
grain [noun] into [noun]
用法筆記
This verb sense is extremely rare in modern English. The bare verb 'grain' survives mainly in material-working contexts (leather, dye, wood). In modern English the prefixed form 'ingrained' is standard for both physical and abstract meanings ('ingrained in the wood', 'ingrained in culture'). All three examples above reflect actual documentable usage patterns.
3. To paint a surface so that it has the appearance of natural wood grain or stone
仿紋
仿繪木材或石材紋理於表面上
To paint a surface so that it has the appearance of natural wood grain or stone pattern.
The painter grained the metal door to look like oak, making the room feel warmer.
油漆師傅把那扇金屬門仿繪成橡木紋，讓建築物感覺更溫馨。
grain [object] to look like [material] — decorative painting pattern
Renata learned how to grain cabinets at her uncle's furniture workshop near Taipei.
Renata 在她叔叔位於台北附近的家具工廠學習如何仿繪木紋。
Cheaper furniture is often grained by machine to imitate expensive wood patterns.
較便宜的家具通常由機器仿繪木紋，以模仿昂貴的木紋圖案。
- stain
staining changes the color but does not add a false grain pattern
- faux-finish
broader term for any decorative paint technique that imitates a material
文法句型
grain [noun]
grain [noun] to look like [material]
用法筆記
This is a specialist craft term used mainly in interior decoration and furniture making. The technique is called 'graining' and is different from simply painting a surface one color.