queens

IPA/kwiːn/
KK[kwˈinz]IPA/kwiːn/

queens — 名詞

  • queenssingular
  • queensesplural

1. a female member of a royal line who governs an independent state as its official

1.名詞A2
釋義

女王

繼承王位或嫁給國王的女性國家元首

a female member of a royal line who governs an independent state as its official head, or a king's spouse

例句

Queen Tamar of Georgia led her kingdom through a golden age of culture.

喬治亞的塔馬爾女王帶領王國度過了一段文化黃金時代。

title usage: Queen + name of monarch

Lakan read a biography of a famous queen who ruled for over sixty years.

Lakan 讀了一本關於某位在位超過六十年的著名女王的傳記。

同義詞
  • monarch

    neutral term for a royal ruler of any gender

  • sovereign

    more formal, emphasises supreme authority

  • ruler

    general term, not specific to royalty

反義詞
  • subject

    a person under the authority of a monarch

常見錯誤

❌The queen's husband is called a queen too.
✅The queen's husband is called a prince consort or king consort.
💡'queen' refers to a female ruler or the wife of a king, not to the husband of a queen.

2. a woman who is widely recognised as the finest or most outstanding person in a p

2.名詞B2
釋義

之后

某領域中最頂尖的女性

a woman who is widely recognised as the finest or most outstanding person in a particular area of activity

例句

Rohan called his sister the queen of the kitchen after she cooked the feast.

Rohan 在妹妹煮完大餐後，說她是廚房之后。

pattern: queen of [domain] for top performer

The actress was crowned queen of the film festival for the third time.

那位女演員第三度獲封為影展之后。

同義詞
  • champion

    stresses competitive victory rather than general superiority

  • star

    less formal, emphasises fame rather than skill

  • leading figure

    neutral and gender-inclusive

用法筆記

Commonly paired with 'of' followed by a domain or field. The subject of the domain is typically a woman, though the pattern 'queen of [area]' is also used metaphorically for places or things.

常見錯誤

❌He is the queen of basketball.
✅He is the king of basketball.
💡'queen' is used for women; for men the equivalent is 'king'.

3. the playing piece in chess with the greatest freedom of movement, able to travel

3.名詞B1
釋義

后

西洋棋中威力最強的棋子

the playing piece in chess with the greatest freedom of movement, able to travel any distance along a straight row, column, or diagonal line on the board

例句

Christopher moved his queen across the board and captured the opponent's knight.

Christopher 將他的后移到棋盤對角，吃掉了對手的騎士。

pattern: move + possessive + queen

In chess, the queen is often described as the most powerful piece on the board.

在西洋棋中，后常被稱為棋盤上威力最強的棋子。

用法筆記

Frequently appears in chess instruction contexts. Unlike other senses, this one is always a countable game piece and never takes a personal name.

常見錯誤

❌The queen can only move one square at a time.
✅The queen can move any number of squares in a straight line.
💡the queen is the most mobile piece, not the least.

4. a playing card that shows a queen's picture and ranks below the king in most car

4.名詞A2
釋義

皇后

撲克牌中印有皇后圖案的牌

a playing card that shows a queen's picture and ranks below the king in most card games

例句

Zola drew a queen from the deck and placed it on top of the pile.

Zola 從牌堆中抽到一張皇后，放在牌疊最上面。

pattern: draw + queen

The queen of hearts was the only card Rohan needed to complete his hand.

紅心皇后是 Rohan 湊齊手牌所需要的最後一張牌。

用法筆記

Always takes an article or determiner (a queen, the queen of hearts). The pattern 'queen of [suit]' is the standard way to identify a specific card.

常見錯誤

❌I have five queen in my hand.
✅I have five queens in my hand.
💡'queen' is a countable noun and needs plural -s.

5. a single fertile member of a social insect species that produces eggs and mainta

5.名詞B1
釋義

蜂后；蟻后

群居昆蟲中唯一負責產卵的雌蟲

a single fertile member of a social insect species that produces eggs and maintains the population of the hive, nest, or mound

例句

A single queen bee can lay over a thousand eggs in one day during summer.

一隻蜂后在夏天的某一天內可以產下超過一千顆卵。

compound: queen bee / queen ant

The ant colony stopped growing after the queen died in the winter cold.

蟻后在寒冬中死去之後，蟻群的數量便不再增長。

用法筆記

Almost always paired with the type of insect in compounds like 'queen bee', 'queen ant', or 'queen termite'. The word 'queen' alone in this sense may confuse readers outside a clear insect context.

常見錯誤

❌We saw a queen at the zoo.
✅We saw a queen bee at the insect exhibit.
💡specify the insect type to avoid confusion with the royal sense.

6. a gay man whose mannerisms and style of dress are noticeably showy or theatrical

6.名詞C1
釋義

豔麗男同志

言行高調豔麗的男同性戀者，可能帶貶義

a gay man whose mannerisms and style of dress are noticeably showy or theatrical, a term sometimes used as a mildly offensive description

例句

The older man was called a queen by the group, which upset his friend.

那位年長男性被一群人稱為豔麗男同志，這讓他的朋友很不高興。

used as potentially offensive label

Many younger gay men dislike being called a queen because of the negative meaning.

許多較年輕的男同志不喜歡被稱為豔麗男同志，因為這個詞帶有負面含義。

用法筆記

This sense can be offensive depending on context and intent. Some members of the LGBTQ+ community have reclaimed the word, but outside of in-group usage it is generally considered derogatory. Distinguish from 'drag queen', which refers to a performer who dresses in exaggerated female attire.

常見錯誤

❌All gay men are queens.
✅Some gay men may identify as queens, but the term can be offensive.
💡do not assume all gay men fit this description.

7. a term used in informal speech, especially by younger people, to describe someon

7.名詞B1
釋義

強者；達人

年輕人間用語，指非常出色的人

a term used in informal speech, especially by younger people, to describe someone who has done something admirable or is extremely good at something

例句

Thanks for helping me move, Iris — you are an absolute queen!

Iris，謝謝你幫我搬家——你真是個強者！

informal slang pattern: you're a queen

Daniel finished writing his novel in one month — what a queen!

Daniel 一個月就寫完他的小說了——太強了吧！

同義詞
  • legend

    broader slang term for an impressive person, not gender-restricted

  • star

    more general, used across all age groups

  • champion

    stronger emphasis on winning or achieving something

文法句型

be + a + queen

you are a queen / what a queen

用法筆記

Used irrespective of the person's gender — can describe men as well as women. This is a relatively recent slang development and may sound out of place in formal writing.

常見錯誤

❌The queen of our team is a man.
✅People call him a queen because he's so good at his job.
💡The slang sense is a compliment, not a literal title.

queens — 地名