喜樂美語

核心畫面

Air pulled in sharply through the nose, with the sound you can hear — the word itself that sound.

鼻子用力把空氣吸進去,而且吸得有聲音。這個字本身就是在模仿那一聲——念 sniff 的時候,嘴唇和牙齒之間跑出來的氣…更多收起鼻子用力把空氣吸進去,而且吸得有聲音。這個字本身就是在模仿那一聲——念 sniff 的時候,嘴唇和牙齒之間跑出來的氣流,聽起來就像真的在吸鼻子。所有的用法都繞著這個動作轉:為什麼吸(鼻塞、哭過)、吸來做什麼(聞味道、吸毒)、吸的時候順便傳出什麼態度(不屑)。

From the word’s history

Middle English sniffen, of imitative origin — the word is made from the sound itself.

字典把 sniff 記為擬聲字:中古英語 sniffen 就是照著那個聲音造出來的。這一點對學習者很有用——你不必記字根,只要發一次音,那個動作就在嘴裡了;而且同一家的 snort、snore、sneeze、snore 都以 sn- 開頭,全都和鼻子有關。

Wiktionary: Middle English sniffen, 'of imitative origin'

Three branches

鼻子吸氣這個動作

這一家就是核心畫面本身:動作、動作的名詞形,以及把這個動作用在不該用的東西上。

sniff, pull air in noisily · verb · C2

To pull air in through your nose in a noisy way, for example when you have a cold or when you have been crying.

抽鼻子

用鼻子找味道、找線索

同一個吸氣動作,但目的變成蒐集資訊:先有「聞味道」,再從「只聞到一點」長出「一絲跡象」「到處查探」「連味道都沒聞到」這些說法。

sniff, smell something · verb · C2

To pull air in through your nose so that you can notice the smell of something.

聞／嗅

從鼻子哼出來的不屑

同一個鼻音,但這次傳出去的不是資訊,而是態度:那一聲本身就在說「這種東西也配」。

sniff, say disdainfully · verb · C2

To say something in a way that shows you think it is not good enough.

不屑地說

原始詞典資料13 筆記錄

以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。

sniffverb/snɪf/

  • 1

    To make a short, audible inhalation, through the nose, as when smelling something.

    • The dog sniffed around the park, searching for a nice scent.
    • I sniffed the meat to see whether it had gone off.
  • 2

    To say (something) while sniffing, such as in case of illness or unhappiness, or in contempt.

    • "He's never coming back, is he?" she sniffed while looking at a picture of him.
  • 3

    To perceive vaguely.

    • I don't know, of course, what your precious Radicals are planning to do, and I don't want to know; but I can sniff trouble in the air, nevertheless.
  • 4

    To pry; to investigate in an interfering manner.

    • COOMBE: He got the clinch only last week — eighteen months. You see it's no good having anybody here as ain't got a^([sic]) unblemished character. We don't want to have the bluebottles come sniffing round here, do we?
  • 5

    To be dismissive or contemptuous of something; used with at.

    • This opportunity is not to be sniffed at.
  • 6

    computingengineeringmathematicsTo intercept and analyse packets of data being transmitted over a network.

    • packet sniffer
  • 7

    slangTo inhale drugs (usually cocaine) through the nose, usually in powder form.

    • Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.

sniffnoun/snɪf/

  • 1

    An instance of sniffing.

    • She gave the flowers a quick sniff to check they were real.
  • 2

    A quantity of something that is inhaled through the nose.

  • 3

    A brief perception, or tiny amount.

    • Tottenham did have a sniff of goal when Defoe's drilled cross just eluded his strike partner at the far post but their best effort came early in the second half when Ryan Fredericks cut in from the right before firing into the side netting.
    • Telecoms firms want a sniff, having invested heavily in ultra-fast, low-latency 5G spectrum.
  • 4

    slangCocaine.

    • He sold us some sniff and blow.
  • 5

    slangA toddler or young child.

sniffintj/snɪf/

  • 1

    A short inhalation sound, sometimes associated with crying.

    • a wild boar is laughing and Obelix is crying Wild boar classified a protected species First reaction from dismayed costumers: “Boohoohoo! Sniff!”

資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。