Utopian works two ways. As an adjective it describes anything belonging to, or aiming at, a perfect imagined society: a utopian novel, a utopian community, a utopian vision of the future. As a noun it names a person who believes such a society can be built: 'He was a utopian, and he never stopped believing people could be kind.' The adjective is far more common than the noun.

Utopian works two waysUtopian 有兩種詞性用法。As an adjective當形容詞用的時候， it describes anything belonging to, or aiming at, a perfect imagined society它形容任何屬於、或以完美理想社會為目標的東西：a utopian novel, a utopian community, a utopian vision of the futurea utopian novel（烏托邦小說）、a utopian community（烏托邦社群）、a utopian vision of the future（對未來的理想化願景）。As a noun當名詞用的時候， it names a person who believes such a society can be built它指的是相信這種社會可以被建立起來的人：'He was a utopian, and he never stopped believing people could be kind.'像 'He was a utopian, and he never stopped believing people could be kind.'（他是個理想主義者，一直相信人可以是善良的）。The adjective is far more common than the noun形容詞的用法比名詞常見得多。

Now the part learners miss. In real use, 'utopian' is very often a polite criticism.

Now現在來看 the part learners miss學習者容易漏掉的部分。In real use在實際使用裡， 'utopian' is very often a polite criticism'utopian' 常常其實是一種委婉的批評。

When a journalist writes that a plan is 'utopian', they usually mean it is beautiful on paper and will not survive contact with real people — too hopeful, ignoring cost, greed, or human weakness. 'A utopian dream' almost always means an impossible one. So the word sits somewhere between admiration and doubt, and the tone of the sentence around it tells you which side it has landed on.

When a journalist writes that a plan is 'utopian'當記者寫一個計畫是 'utopian' 的時候， they usually mean it is beautiful on paper and will not survive contact with real people他們通常是說這計畫在紙上很漂亮，但一碰到真實的人就撐不住——too hopeful, ignoring cost, greed, or human weakness太過樂觀，忽略了成本、貪婪、或人性的弱點。'A utopian dream' almost always means an impossible one'A utopian dream'（烏托邦式的夢想）幾乎都是指一個不可能實現的夢想。So所以 the word sits somewhere between admiration and doubt這個字介於佩服和懷疑之間， and the tone of the sentence around it tells you which side it has landed on句子的語氣會告訴你它偏向哪一邊。

Sometimes it is genuinely neutral: 'utopian literature' is simply a category of books, and 'utopian socialism' is a historical label for the early socialists who imagined ideal communities. When it is written with a capital U — Utopian — it usually refers to More's island itself, or its people.

Sometimes有時候 it is genuinely neutral它是真的中性的： 'utopian literature' is simply a category of books'utopian literature'（烏托邦文學）只是一種書的分類， and 'utopian socialism' is a historical label for the early socialists who imagined ideal communities而 'utopian socialism'（空想社會主義）則是歷史上用來稱呼那些想像理想社群的早期社會主義者的標籤。When it is written with a capital U — Utopian當它大寫成 Utopian 的時候， it usually refers to More's island itself, or its people通常指的是摩爾（More）筆下那座島本身、或島上的人民。

Learners should also hold on to the opposite, dystopian, which describes the dark imagined future you see in most modern films.

Learners should also hold on to the opposite, dystopian學習者也該記住它的反義詞 dystopian（反烏托邦的）， which describes the dark imagined future you see in most modern films這個字形容的是你在大部分現代電影裡看到的那種黑暗的想像未來。