A harpoon is a long spear with a barbed point, thrown or fired at a large sea animal — most famously a whale, but also big fish. The important part is the rope: a line is tied to the harpoon, so once the point goes in and the barb holds, the animal cannot get away and the hunters can pull it in.

A harpoon harpoon（魚叉） is是 a long spear with a barbed point一種前端帶倒鉤的長矛, thrown or fired at a large sea animal用來投擲或發射攻擊大型海洋動物 — most famously a whale最有名的是鯨魚, but also big fish但也用來叉大魚。The important part is the rope重點在那條繩子: a line is tied to the harpoon魚叉上綁著一條繩線, so once the point goes in and the barb holds所以只要叉尖刺進去、倒鉤卡住, the animal cannot get away動物就跑不掉 and the hunters can pull it in獵人就能把牠拉回來。

In old whaling ships a man stood in a small boat and threw it by hand; later ships fired them from a gun on the deck, sometimes with an explosive head.

In old whaling ships在早期的捕鯨船上, a man stood in a small boat and threw it by hand有人站在小船上徒手投擲魚叉; later ships fired them from a gun on the deck後來的船則是用甲板上的砲來發射, sometimes with an explosive head有時候還裝上爆炸彈頭。

Harpoon is also a verb — 'they harpooned the whale' — and that verb sometimes gets used as a joke or an image for attacking someone sharply in words, though this is not common.

Harpoon is also a verb harpoon 也可以當動詞用 — 'they harpooned the whale'像「they harpooned the whale」 — and that verb sometimes gets used as a joke or an image for attacking someone sharply in words這個動詞有時候也會被拿來開玩笑，或用來比喻用言語尖銳攻擊某人, though this is not common不過這種用法不常見。

Because commercial whaling is now banned or restricted in most of the world, students meet this word mostly in history, in stories such as Moby-Dick, in news about hunting bans, and as the name of missiles and weapons in films and games. It is not a word you need in daily life, but it carries a lot of story with it.

Because commercial whaling is now banned or restricted in most of the world因為現在世界大多數地方已經禁止或限制商業捕鯨, students meet this word mostly in history學生大多是在歷史裡遇到這個字, in stories such as Moby-Dick像《白鯨記》這類故事裡, in news about hunting bans或關於禁獵的新聞裡, and as the name of missiles and weapons in films and games還有電影和遊戲裡飛彈、武器的名字裡。It is not a word you need in daily life它不是日常生活會用到的字, but it carries a lot of story with it但背後帶著很多故事。