遇過一早醒來像「我聽到外面有鳥叫聲，但打開窗戶什麼也沒看到」這樣的情況嗎？ 怎麼用英文和朋友、同事閒聊這件事 ? 本文提供日常、商務、寫作三種情境的實用例句，並分析「voice vs. sound」的不同點，讓你不會用錯字說錯英文！
常用表達方式
1. 非正式/日常用法
"I heard birds chirping outside, but I couldn't see anything when I opened the window." 「我聽到外面有鳥叫聲，但打開窗戶看不到東西。」
"I could hear birds outside, but when I looked out the window, there was nothing to be seen." 「我可以聽到外面有鳥叫，但當我往窗外看時，什麼也沒看到。」
"There were bird sounds coming from outside, but I couldn't spot any when I checked through the window." 「外面傳來鳥叫聲，但我透過窗戶查看時沒發現任何鳥。」
2. 稍微正式的用法
"I detected avian vocalizations from the exterior, yet upon examining through the aperture, I observed no visual confirmation." 「我察覺到外部有鳥類的鳴叫聲，然而在透過窗口檢視時，我沒有獲得視覺上的證實。」
"Bird calls were audible from beyond my window, though visual verification proved unattainable upon inspection." 「窗外可聽見鳥叫聲，但經檢視後證實無法獲得視覺驗證。」
中文學習者常犯的錯誤
錯誤用法 1:
❌ "I listen bird sound outside, but open window see nothing." 這個句子缺少適當的時態、冠詞和連接詞。
✅ 正確用法： "I heard bird sounds outside, but I saw nothing when I opened the window." 「我聽到外面有鳥叫聲，但打開窗戶時我什麼也沒看到。」
錯誤用法 2:
❌ "Outside has bird singing, but I open window cannot look it." 這個句子的句法結構和動詞用法不符合英語的自然表達。
✅ 正確用法： "There were birds singing outside, but I couldn't see them when I opened the window." 「外面有鳥在唱歌，但我打開窗戶時看不到牠們。」
實用片語與詞彙
- bird calls/chirping/songs/tweets (鳥叫/鳥鳴/鳥歌/鳥啼) - 不同的鳥類聲音描述
- to hear/detect/notice sounds (聽到/察覺/注意到聲音) - 表達聽覺感知
- to spot/see/observe/notice birds (發現/看見/觀察/注意到鳥類) - 表達視覺感知
- to look out/peer out/glance out (向外看/窺看/掃視) - 不同程度的向外觀看動作
- nowhere to be seen/not visible/out of sight (看不見/不可見/超出視線) - 表達無法看見的狀態
練習例句
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"The birds were singing loudly this morning, but they must have been hiding in the trees because I couldn't spot them from my window." 「今天早上鳥兒唱得很大聲，但牠們一定是躲在樹裡，因為我從窗戶看不到牠們。」
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"I kept hearing a beautiful birdsong outside, yet when I opened the curtains to look, there wasn't a bird in sight." 「我一直聽到外面有美妙的鳥鳴聲，但當我拉開窗簾看時，沒有一隻鳥在視線範圍內。」
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"The chirping sounds were clear as day, but despite leaning out the window, I couldn't locate the source of the melodious tweets." 「鳥叫聲清晰可聞，但儘管我探出窗外，我仍無法找到那悅耳鳴叫的來源。」
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"I was woken up by birds chirping, but they were nowhere to be seen when I got up to check through the blinds." 「我被鳥叫聲吵醒，但當我起身透過百葉窗查看時，牠們已無影無蹤。」
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"There's definitely a bird concert going on outside, but for some reason, I can't see any of the performers when I look outside." 「外面絕對正在進行一場鳥兒音樂會，但不知何故，當我往外看時，我看不到任何表演者。」
下面是幾種常見的鳥類叫聲的形容詞：
- Chirp (短促的鳴叫) - 通常用於小型鳥類發出的高音調、短促的聲音
- Tweet (啁啾聲) - 類似於chirp，但更常用於描述輕柔、甜美的鳥叫
- Warble (婉轉的歌唱) - 描述起伏變化、旋律性的鳥鳴
- Caw (啞叫) - 特指烏鴉等大型鳥類發出的粗啞聲音
- Hoot (咕咕叫) - 用於貓頭鷹發出的聲音
- Screech (尖叫) - 形容刺耳、尖銳的鳥叫
此外，在英語中表達「看不見」也有多種方式，從非正式到正式，每一種都有細微的差別：
- "I couldn't see any birds" - 最基本的表達
- "The birds were nowhere to be seen" - 更加強調完全找不到
- "The birds were out of sight" - 表示不在視線範圍內
- "The birds remained invisible" - 強調持續性的狀態
- "There was no visual evidence of the birds" - 非常正式的表達