waif
waif — 名詞
- waifsingular
- waifsplural
1. a child, or sometimes a stray animal, that looks thin, dirty, and uncared for be
流浪兒
無家可歸且瘦弱髒亂，也可指流浪動物
a child, or sometimes a stray animal, that looks thin, dirty, and uncared for because it has no safe home.
The shelter worker wrapped the waif in a wool blanket by the heater.
收容所員工把那名流浪兒裹進羊毛毯裡，放在暖爐旁。
waif as a child needing protection
A volunteer fed the waif after spotting the puppy beside the rubbish bins.
志工在垃圾桶旁發現那隻流浪狗後，先餵了牠。
waif used for a stray animal
Police found the young waif sleeping under cardboard near the bus station.
警方發現那名年幼的流浪兒睡在公車站旁的紙板下。
The novel opens with a waif following food carts through winter streets.
小說一開頭，一名流浪兒在冬天的街上跟著食物推車走。
literary image of a lonely street child
- poor little waif
- street waif
- hungry waif
- rescue a waif
- street child
a modern and more neutral phrase for a homeless child
- stray
mainly used for animals; much less often for people
- orphan
focuses on parents being dead, not on homelessness or neglect
- foundling
usually a baby or child who was abandoned and later found
文法句型
a waif sleeping in a doorway
rescue a waif
a little waif from the streets
用法筆記
Usually appears in literary or emotional descriptions rather than neutral everyday speech. It most often refers to a child, but writers sometimes extend it to a thin stray animal.
常見錯誤
2. a girl or young woman whose body is unusually thin and who has a fragile or deli
瘦弱少女
極瘦且帶脆弱感的年輕女子
a girl or young woman whose body is unusually thin and who has a fragile or delicate look.
The photographer posed the waif in an oversized coat beside the window.
攝影師讓那名瘦弱少女穿著寬大的外套，站在窗邊擺姿勢。
fashion description of a very thin young woman
Reviewers described Sofie as a dark-eyed waif with sharp cheekbones.
影評人把 Sofie 形容成一名眼神深邃、顴骨分明的瘦弱少女。
In the film, the waif drifts through Paris in shoes two sizes large.
在那部電影裡，那名瘦弱少女穿著大兩號的鞋子在巴黎遊蕩。
fragile screen image created by clothing and movement
Christopher worried that the heroine looked more like a waif than a dancer.
Christopher 擔心那位女主角看起來更像個瘦弱少女，不像舞者。
- a dark-eyed waif
- fashion waif
- look like a waif
- waif figure
- skinny girl
a plainer phrase that states the thinness without the literary tone
- slip of a girl
old-fashioned and emphasises a very small, fragile build
- gamine
a literary or fashion word for a slim, youthful look with more liveliness
文法句型
look like a waif
a dark-eyed waif
describe someone as a waif
用法筆記
This sense often appears in fashion, film, or literary writing and can sound judgmental or romanticized. It suggests unusual thinness together with a delicate, almost childlike appearance.
常見錯誤
同根字
- waifish形容詞C2
- waiflike形容詞C2