In the sense students usually meet, anorexia is a serious mental illness in which a person is terrified of gaining weight and so eats far too little — often while still seeing themselves as “too heavy.” The full medical name is anorexia nervosa.

In the sense students usually meet在學生最常碰到的意思裡，anorexia is a serious mental illness厭食症是一種嚴重的精神疾病in which a person is terrified of gaining weight患者非常害怕變胖and so eats far too little所以吃得非常少——often while still seeing themselves as “too heavy.”卻常常還是覺得自己「太重」。The full medical name is anorexia nervosa完整的醫學名稱是anorexia nervosa神經性厭食症。

Doctors, though actually, also use anorexia in an older, wider way: simply a loss of appetite, for example when you are very ill and do not want food. That second use is closer to the Greek pieces of the word.

Doctors, though actually不過其實醫生，also use anorexia in an older, wider way也會用anorexia這個字來指一種較舊、較廣的意思：simply a loss of appetite就是單純的食慾不振，for example when you are very ill and do not want food比如病得很重、完全不想吃東西的時候。That second use is closer to the Greek pieces of the word這第二種用法比較接近這個字的希臘字源。

In everyday English, though, anorexia almost always means the eating illness, not “I skipped lunch.” It is a clinical word.

In everyday English, though不過在日常英文裡，anorexia almost always means the eating illness anorexia幾乎都是指那種飲食疾病，not “I skipped lunch.”不是「我沒吃午餐」的意思。It is a clinical word這是個臨床用語。

Speak about it gently. It is not a diet, not a look, and not a joke about being thin. A person can have anorexia and still not look the way rumours say they “should.”

Speak about it gently談到這個話題要溫柔一點。It is not a diet它不是一種飲食法，not a look不是一種外表，and not a joke about being thin也不是拿瘦開玩笑的話題。A person can have anorexia一個人可能得了厭食症，and still not look the way rumours say they “should.”外表卻不是傳言說的「應該」長的那樣。