An ellipse is a flat, closed curve that looks like a circle someone has gently stretched: two sides a little longer and flatter. A circle has one centre; an ellipse has two special points inside it, and that is the tidy maths way of making the shape.

An ellipse is a flat, closed curve that looks like a circle someone has gently stretchedEllipse是一種扁平的封閉曲線，看起來像被輕輕拉長的圓形：two sides a little longer and flatter兩側稍微拉長、變得比較扁。A circle has one centre圓形只有一個圓心；an ellipse has two special points inside it橢圓裡面有兩個特殊的點，and that is the tidy maths way of making the shape這就是數學上畫出這個形狀的精確方法。

The everyday word for a similar look is oval — faces, tables, logos. Ellipse is the word you use when the curve must be exact: in maths, in science, in talking about a planet’s path around the sun (Earth’s path is an ellipse, though actually it is very close to a circle). It is a school-and-science word, not a kitchen word.

The everyday word for a similar look is oval日常說法裡，長得類似的形狀叫oval（橢圓形、蛋形）——faces, tables, logos像臉、桌子、商標那樣。Ellipse is the word you use when the curve must be exact當這個曲線必須是精確的時候，就用ellipse這個字：in maths, in science在數學上、在科學上，in talking about a planet's path around the sun在談論行星繞太陽的軌道時也是（Earth's path is an ellipse地球的軌道就是一個ellipse，though actually it is very close to a circle不過其實它非常接近圓形）。It is a school-and-science word這是個學校、科學用的字，not a kitchen word不是日常廚房閒聊會用的字。

Do not mix it up with ellipsis, the three dots (…) that show words have been left out; they share an old Greek idea of “falling short,” but they are different English words now.

Do not mix it up with ellipsis不要把它跟ellipsis搞混，the three dots (…) that show words have been left out那是表示省略字詞的三個點（…），they share an old Greek idea of "falling short,"這兩個字共用一個古希臘文「不足、短缺」的概念，but they are different English words now但在現代英語裡是兩個不同的字。