核心畫面

Think of pitch as the level something has been set at, measured from the bottom up. A singer sets a note low on the scale and you hear a deep sound. A builder sets a roof low on its angle and you see a gentle slope. In both cases low-pitched means the same thing: this has been set near the low end, not the high end. Nothing here is about size or loudness, only about where on a range the thing sits.

可以想成 pitch 是「被設在哪個高度」,從底下往上量。歌手把音設在低的位置,你就聽到低沉的聲音。蓋房子的人把屋頂更多收起可以想成 pitch 是「被設在哪個高度」,從底下往上量。歌手把音設在低的位置,你就聽到低沉的聲音。蓋房子的人把屋頂的角度設得低,你就看到平緩的斜面。兩邊的 low-pitched 其實在講同一件事:被放在靠近低的那一端。這裡跟大小聲、跟房子高不高都沒有關係,只跟「落在範圍的哪裡」有關。

Two branches

聲音放在低的位置

最常見的一支:被設低的是音高。

adjective · B2

Used about a sound, a voice or a musical note that is deep, that is, near the bottom of the range of sounds we can hear.

低沉的、低音的

屋頂的角度放得低

同樣是「被設在低的一端」,只是這次量的是斜度,不是音高。這是說法上的相通,不是在說哪一個先有。

adjective · C1

A low-pitched roof is one that slopes only gently, so it looks almost flat rather than steep.

坡度平緩的(屋頂)