Thieving means stealing — the act of taking other people's things.

ThievingThieving means stealing意思就是偷竊 — the act of taking other people's things也就是拿走別人東西的行為。

As a noun it is uncountable and quite plain-spoken: 'he was caught thieving', 'there's a lot of thieving round here'. It sounds slightly older and more British than 'stealing', and it carries a whiff of small, repeated, low-level crime — pinching things from shops, from bags, from the kitchen — rather than a planned bank robbery.

As a noun當名詞用 it is uncountable and quite plain-spoken時它是不可數的，講法也很直白：'he was caught thieving'「他偷東西被抓到了」, 'there's a lot of thieving round here'「這附近偷竊很多」。It sounds slightly older and more British than 'stealing'它聽起來比 stealing 更老派、更英式一點, and it carries a whiff of small, repeated, low-level crime而且帶著一種零星、反覆、層次不高的犯罪味道 — pinching things from shops, from bags, from the kitchen從商店、包包、廚房裡順手牽羊 — rather than a planned bank robbery而不是有計畫的搶銀行。

The form is also an adjective sitting in front of a noun, and this is where you will meet it most often, because English loves it as an insult: 'a thieving little rat', 'keep your thieving hands off my lunch', 'those thieving politicians'. Notice the anger in all three.

The form is also an adjective sitting in front of a noun這個形式也可以當形容詞放在名詞前面, and this is where you will meet it most often而這也是你最常碰到它的地方, because English loves it as an insult因為英文很愛拿它來罵人：'a thieving little rat'「一隻愛偷東西的小老鼠」, 'keep your thieving hands off my lunch'「把你那雙賊手從我的午餐上拿開」, 'those thieving politicians'「那些愛偷的政客」。Notice the anger in all three這三句都帶著怒氣，要注意到這一點。

Used this way it is not neutral description; it is an accusation, and often an affectionate-rude one between people who know each other.

Used this way這樣用的時候 it is not neutral description它不是中性的描述; it is an accusation而是一種指控, and often an affectionate-rude one between people who know each other而且常常是熟人之間那種帶著親暱的粗話。

Because it is the -ing form of the verb 'thieve', it also does ordinary grammar work: 'they went thieving', 'he made a living by thieving'. But 'thieve' itself is rare in modern English — most people say 'steal' — so 'thieving' has drifted into being more common than the verb it came from. That is a nice thing to notice: the child outlived the parent.

Because it is the -ing form of the verb 'thieve'因為它是動詞 thieve 的 -ing 形式, it also does ordinary grammar work它也做一般的文法工作：'they went thieving'「他們去偷東西了」, 'he made a living by thieving'「他靠偷竊維生」。But 'thieve' itself is rare in modern English但 thieve 這個動詞本身在現代英文裡很少見 — most people say 'steal'大多數人會說 steal — so 'thieving' has drifted into being more common than the verb it came from所以 thieving 反而變得比它衍生自的那個動詞更常用。That is a nice thing to notice這點值得留意：the child outlived the parent孩子活得比父母還久。