You almost only meet this word inside the humorous phrase a whole nother. People say it when they want to stress that something is a completely different matter from the one you were just talking about: That’s a whole nother story. It is playful, spoken American English, not for a formal essay.

You almost only meet this word你幾乎只會在 inside the humorous phrase這個玩笑用語裡遇到這個字 a whole nother裡頭。People say it大家會這麼說 when they want to stress當他們想強調 that something is a completely different matter from the one you were just talking about某件事跟你剛才在講的完全是兩碼子事的時候: That’s a whole nother story像是「那完全是另一回事」。It is playful, spoken American English這是俏皮的美式口語, not for a formal essay不適合用在正式文章裡

The mess is the point: another is really an + other. Speakers wanted a whole other…, then treated another as a + nother so they could drop whole in the middle — a whole nother thing — the way you might say a whole other thing. Learner dictionaries call it a changed form of another whole.

The mess is the point這種亂七八糟正是重點所在: another另一個字another really is真的是 an + other「an」加「other」組成的。Speakers講話的人 wanted a whole other…原本想說「a whole other…」, then treated another as a + nother然後把another當成「a」加「nother」so they could drop whole in the middle這樣就可以把whole插進中間 — a whole nother thing變成「a whole nother thing」 — the way you might say a whole other thing就像你可能會說「a whole other thing」一樣。Learner dictionaries學習型字典 call it a changed form of another whole把它稱作「another whole」的變形

Though actually, English also has an old dialect word nother meaning “neither”, from Old English nōhwæþer (compare neither). That is a different word that happens to look the same on the page. The joke you will hear is the split of another, not that old “neither”.

Though actually不過事實上, English英文 also has an old dialect word也有一個古老的方言字 nother meaning “neither”nother，意思是「neither（兩者皆非）」, from Old English nōhwæþer來自古英語的nōhwæþer (compare neither)（跟neither比較一下）。That那 is a different word是不同的一個字 that happens to look the same on the page只是碰巧拼法一樣。The joke you will hear你會聽到的那個笑點 is the split of another是把another拆開的把戲, not that old “neither”而不是那個古老、意思是「neither」的字