Not married — with no husband or wife. It sounds neutral and factual, which is exactly why it is the word used on forms, in news reports, and in official writing: 'an unmarried mother', 'he died unmarried at the age of sixty'.

Not married沒有結婚—— with no husband or wife沒有丈夫或妻子。 It sounds neutral and factual它聽起來中性、客觀， which is exactly why it is the word used on forms, in news reports, and in official writing這正是為什麼表格、新聞報導和官方文件裡都用這個字： 'an unmarried mother', 'he died unmarried at the age of sixty'『an unmarried mother（未婚媽媽）』、『he died unmarried at the age of sixty（他六十歲時未婚去世）』。

Compare it with 'single', which is the ordinary spoken word and usually means the person has no partner at all; 'unmarried' says only that no wedding has happened, so a couple who have lived together for thirty years are still, technically, unmarried. That gap is worth knowing, because writers use it.

Compare it with 'single'把它跟'single'比較一下： which is the ordinary spoken word and usually means the person has no partner at all'single'是日常口語用字，通常表示這個人完全沒有伴侶； 'unmarried' says only that no wedding has happened'unmarried'則只是說沒有辦過婚禮， so a couple who have lived together for thirty years are still, technically, unmarried所以一對同居三十年的伴侶，技術上來說仍然是unmarried。 That gap is worth knowing這個落差值得知道， because writers use it因為作家會利用它。

Note also that the word points backwards in a way 'not married yet' does not: because it is built on 'married', it quietly measures a person against marriage as the expected state. That is why older phrases like 'an unmarried woman of forty' feel disapproving — the disapproval is in the assumption, not in the letters.

Note also that the word points backwards in a way 'not married yet' does not也要注意，這個字用一種'not married yet'不會有的方式回頭看： because it is built on 'married'因為它是建立在'married'之上， it quietly measures a person against marriage as the expected state它無形中是拿婚姻當作預期的標準，來衡量一個人。 That is why older phrases like 'an unmarried woman of forty' feel disapproving這就是為什麼像『an unmarried woman of forty（四十歲的未婚女子）』這種老說法聽起來帶著不以為然的意味—— the disapproval is in the assumption, not in the letters不以為然藏在那個預設裡，而不是字面上。

Modern writing has largely moved to 'single' or simply says nothing. There is a rarer noun use, 'the unmarried', meaning unmarried people as a group, which you meet mostly in law, statistics, and church writing.

Modern writing has largely moved to 'single' or simply says nothing現代寫作大多已經改用'single'，或者乾脆什麼都不說。 There is a rarer noun use, 'the unmarried'還有一個比較少見的名詞用法，'the unmarried'， meaning unmarried people as a group指未婚人士這一整個群體， which you meet mostly in law, statistics, and church writing主要出現在法律、統計和教會的文件裡。