under-the-table
under-the-table — 慣用語
1. in a way that is kept hidden from officials or the law, especially when money is
私下；暗地
秘密進行，常指避稅或違法
in a way that is kept hidden from officials or the law, especially when money is involved — for example, paying an employee cash so that the payment is not taxed or recorded.
The cafe paid Karim under the table to avoid reporting his wages for tax.
那家咖啡館私下付錢給 Karim，以便不用申報他的薪資所得稅。
pay + under the table to avoid tax reporting
Sana's landlord asked her to pay rent under the table in cash with no written agreement.
Sana 的房東要求她私下用現金付房租，不簽任何書面合約。
pay rent + under the table + in cash
Several construction workers were hired under the table and got no health insurance.
好幾名建築工人被私下僱用，沒有健康保險也沒有安全訓練。
The politician admitted receiving campaign donations under the table from foreign companies.
那位政治人物承認私下收受外國公司的競選捐款。
Nkechi refused to be paid under the table because she wanted her income to be legal.
Nkechi 拒絕私下領薪，因為她希望自己的收入都合法。
- covertly
more formal and broader in scope
- on the sly
similar register but less specific to payments
- illicitly
strongly implies the action breaks the law
- above board
opposite — open, honest, and legal
- legally
focus on compliance with the law
文法句型
pay + under the table
work + under the table
receive + under the table
用法筆記
Common in contexts involving tax evasion, bribery, or other financial misconduct. The phrase usually appears after a verb of giving or receiving payment.
常見錯誤
under-the-table — 形容詞
1. kept hidden from tax officials, regulators, or the law because the activity or a
檯面下的
祕密且通常違法的
kept hidden from tax officials, regulators, or the law because the activity or arrangement is not legal — describing payments, deals, or transactions that are done secretly.
The company's accountant discovered several under-the-table payments to a supplier in the financial records.
公司會計在財務記錄中發現了幾筆檯面下的供應商付款。
under-the-table payments + financial records
William was offered under-the-table wages but turned the job down for legal work.
William 得到一份檯面下的薪資，但他拒絕了，因為他想找合法的工作。
Government investigators found evidence of an under-the-table deal between the developer and the city planner.
政府調查人員找到了建商與都市規劃人員之間進行檯面下交易的證據。
The shop owner kept a separate notebook to track his under-the-table transactions with unregistered suppliers.
那家商店老闆另外準備了一本筆記本，記錄他與未註冊供應商之間的檯面下交易。
Henrik later learned that his boss had made under-the-table payments to avoid paying company taxes.
Henrik 後來才知道他的老闆為了避稅而進行了多筆檯面下的付款。
- covert
more formal; can be used in military, intelligence contexts
- illicit
emphasises that the action is against the law
- clandestine
strongly suggests secrecy as the main feature
- above-board
opposite — open, honest and legal
- legal
allowed by the law
文法句型
under-the-table + noun
用法筆記
Always used before a noun — you cannot say 'the payments were under-the-table'. Use the separate idiom 'under the table' (without hyphens) after a verb instead.