saga
/ˈsɑːɡə/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈsɑːɡə/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈsä-gə also ˈsa-/ (ame, mw)
saga — 名詞
1. a type of medieval prose tale from Iceland and Norway that recounts the deeds of
薩迦；傳奇
中世紀北歐英雄故事
a type of medieval prose tale from Iceland and Norway that recounts the deeds of heroes and the histories of early families, originally composed in Old Norse and preserved mainly from the twelfth through the fourteenth centuries
Jabari read the Saga of the Volsungs for his literature class last semester.
Jabari 上學期為了文學課讀了《沃爾松格薩迦》。
proper noun reference: the Saga of the Volsungs
The medieval library held an original manuscript of a thirteenth-century Icelandic saga.
那間中世紀圖書館裡收藏了一份十三世紀冰島薩迦的手稿。
Many of the old sagas describe the conflicts between rival families who settled in Iceland.
許多古老的薩迦描述的是定居冰島的家族之間的衝突。
Théo compared three different translations of Njáls saga for his research paper.
Théo 為了研究報告比較了三種不同版本的《尼雅爾薩迦》。
A new English version of the oldest Icelandic saga came out last spring.
去年春天出了一本最古老冰島傳奇的新英文譯本。
- epic
similar in being a long narrative of heroic deeds, but epics are usually in verse form, while sagas are prose
- legend
a traditional story that may be less detailed and historically grounded than a saga
- myth
a story about gods or supernatural beings, whereas sagas focus on human families and historical events
文法句型
the + Saga + of + [name]
a + Saga + about + [topic]
用法筆記
Commonly capitalised when referring to a specific known work (e.g. Egil's Saga, Laxdæla Saga). The word itself comes from Old Norse, and this sense is still closely tied to its original cultural context.
常見錯誤
2. a very long and detailed account of events that unfold over many years, often fo
長篇紀事
歷時多年的詳細敘述
a very long and detailed account of events that unfold over many years, often following a family, a group, or a community through several generations
Heather wrote a family saga tracing her ancestors from Ireland to Boston over four centuries.
Heather 寫了一部家族長篇紀事，追溯她的祖先從愛爾蘭到波士頓橫跨四個世紀的歷程。
a family saga + that-clause for scope
The novel is a sprawling saga of three generations of a Korean shipping dynasty.
這部小說描寫一個韓國航運王朝三代人的長篇紀事。
Camila's favourite book is the multigenerational saga set in a small village in Mexico.
Camila 最喜歡的書是那部以墨西哥小村莊為背景的跨世代長篇故事。
The reporter spent a year writing a saga about a tech company's rise and fall.
那位記者花了一年寫了一篇關於某科技公司興衰的長篇報導。
- chronicle
more formal and historically focused; a chronicle records events in time order without the same narrative drama
- epic
suggests grand scale and heroic qualities, but often in verse; can overlap with saga in modern usage
- sweeping narrative
a descriptive phrase rather than a single word, emphasising wide scope across time
- anecdote
a short, personal, and often amusing story — the opposite in scope and length
文法句型
a + saga + of + [noun phrase]
the + [possessive] + saga
用法筆記
In this sense the word carries a positive or neutral tone — it emphasises length and detail without implying anything negative. Unlike sense 3, this sense is about the telling of a story, not about a difficult experience.
常見錯誤
3. a long and complicated series of connected events, especially ones that cause fr
長期折騰
漫長而令人厭煩的系列事件
a long and complicated series of connected events, especially ones that cause frustration, worry, or trouble, and seem to take an unnecessarily long time to resolve
João's saga with the insurance company dragged on for eight months after the storm.
João 跟保險公司之間的長期折騰在風暴過後拖了八個月。
collocation: saga with [organisation]
The whole saga of getting the building permit took over a year and countless forms.
申請建築許可證的整個波折花了一年多的時間和無數份表格。
Layla told us the saga of her lost luggage, which involved three different countries.
Layla 跟我們講了她行李遺失的折騰經過，牽涉到三個不同的國家。
After the visa saga finally ended, Sirin could begin her new job in Tokyo.
簽證的波折總算結束之後，Sirin 終於可以在東京開始她的新工作了。
A simple refund request turned into a customer-service saga lasting six weeks.
原本一件簡單的退費申請，變成了長達六週的客服折騰。
- ordeal
focuses on the suffering aspect rather than the length; a saga involves successive problems over time
- saga (informal)
the word itself in this informal use is its own synonym category
- drama
suggests emotional intensity but can be shorter; a saga implies cumulative length
- breeze
informal; describes something that was surprisingly easy and quick
文法句型
a + whole + saga
a + long + saga
the + [possessive] + saga
用法筆記
Usually appears informally in conversation or journalism. Frequently pairs with possessive determiners (my saga, their visa saga) and carries a tone of exasperation or complaint. Distinguish from sense 2: this sense is about a frustrating experience, not a narrated story.