To undervalue something is to treat it as worth less than it really is. There are two quite different lives this word leads.

To undervalue somethingUndervalue某件事 is to treat it as worth less than it really is就是把它當成比實際價值還低來看待 There are two quite different lives this word leads這個字有兩種相當不同的用法

The first is about money and price: a house, a painting, a company, a currency can be undervalued, meaning the price on it is below what it is truly worth. Business people and news reports use it this way a lot — "the shares are undervalued" is an invitation to buy.

The first is about money and price第一種跟金錢和價格有關 a house, a painting, a company, a currency can be undervalued一棟房子、一幅畫、一間公司、一種貨幣都可以被undervalue meaning the price on it is below what it is truly worth意思是它的標價低於真正的價值 Business people and news reports use it this way a lot商業人士和新聞報導很常這樣用 "the shares are undervalued" is an invitation to buy「the shares are undervalued」等於是在說「值得買進」

The second is about people and their qualities, and this is the one that stings. If you undervalue a colleague, you do not see how much they contribute; if a company undervalues its staff, people feel unseen and leave. You can also undervalue a thing that is not a person at all — sleep, practice, kindness, a simple idea — meaning you do not give it the weight it deserves. Notice it is nearly always about a wrong judgement, not a wrong feeling: you are making a mistake, and the word quietly says so.

The second is about people and their qualities第二種跟人和人的特質有關 and this is the one that stings而這種用法比較刺痛人 If you undervalue a colleague如果你undervalue一個同事 you do not see how much they contribute就是沒看見他貢獻了多少 if a company undervalues its staff如果一間公司undervalue員工 people feel unseen and leave員工會覺得不被看見，然後離開 You can also undervalue a thing that is not a person at all你也可以undervalue一個根本不是人的東西 sleep, practice, kindness, a simple idea睡眠、練習、善意、一個簡單的想法 meaning you do not give it the weight it deserves意思是你沒有給它應得的重視 Notice it is nearly always about a wrong judgement注意這幾乎都是在講判斷錯了 not a wrong feeling不是感覺錯了 you are making a mistake你犯了一個錯 and the word quietly says so而這個字悄悄點出這一點

It is a bit formal. In everyday speech people are more likely to say "they don't appreciate her" or "we didn't realise how good it was".

It is a bit formal這個字稍微正式一點 In everyday speech people are more likely to say日常口語裡大家比較會說 "they don't appreciate her" or "we didn't realise how good it was"「they don't appreciate her」或「we didn't realise how good it was」

Also worth knowing: the passive is extremely common — "I feel undervalued at work" is one of the most-used phrases in the whole area of jobs and management, and "undervalued" there is close to "not appreciated, not paid enough, not thanked". Though actually, English is a little uneven here: the opposite, "overvalue", is used for money all the time but sounds odd about people — for people we usually say "overrate".

Also worth knowing還有一點值得知道 the passive is extremely common被動用法非常常見 "I feel undervalued at work" is one of the most-used phrases in the whole area of jobs and management「I feel undervalued at work」是職場和管理領域裡最常用的說法之一 and "undervalued" there is close to "not appreciated, not paid enough, not thanked"這裡的undervalued意思接近「不被欣賞、薪水不夠、沒被感謝」 Though actually, English is a little uneven here不過其實英文在這裡有點不對稱 the opposite, "overvalue", is used for money all the time反義字overvalue講錢的時候很常用 but sounds odd about people講人卻聽起來怪怪的 for people we usually say "overrate"講人的時候通常會用overrate