- 1想模仿卻不夠格的人；「假掰」「裝的」——想當某種人物但還不是的那種。多用來嘲諷，例如 wannabe influencer =「想當網紅的」。想中性表達請用 aspiring。
A wannabe is someone who copies a famous person, or a certain kind of successful person, because they want to be like them — and who, the speaker is telling you, has not actually become it. The word is nearly always . Calling someone a wannabe says two things at once: you are , and you are failing.
It works in two shapes. As a noun with a following word — 'a rock-star wannabe', 'a Madonna wannabe' — meaning someone who dresses and acts the part. And, very commonly, in front of a job: 'a wannabe actor', 'a wannabe influencer', 'wannabe gangsters'. Here it means someone who wants that role and is not there yet, said with a sneer. 'A wannabe writer' is not a compliment; 'an aspiring writer' says the same thing kindly.
The spelling is the sound of 'want to be' said fast, and it is a real dictionary word now, so you can write it. It became popular in the mid-1980s with the young fans who dressed exactly like Madonna, and it has stayed in the language ever since, especially online.
Be careful with it. Because it mocks effort, it can be quite cruel to say to someone who is genuinely trying.
From the word’s history
Written form of 'want to be' reduced to wanna + be; popular from the mid-1980s.
由 want to be 口語縮成 wanna be，指「想成為…的人」。
組成A written-down version of 'want to be' as people actually say it: want to → wanna, plus be. So wanna + be → wannabe.
同家族的字
- wannathe same spoken shortening of 'want to' sitting inside it
原始詞典資料2 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，摘錄並精簡格式，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。
wannabenoun/ˈwɒnəbi/
- 1
derogatoryinformalSomeone who wishes to be someone or do something, but lacks the qualifications or talent; an overeager amateur; an aspirant.
- Hollywood's restaurants are full of wannabe actors waiting to be discovered.
- Most of the people Hiro knows are will-bes or wannabes.
- 2
derogatoryinformalSomeone who wishes to be part of, or to assimilate to, a majority group of which they are not a member.
- Bigger, mongrelly and black, he was clearly a Doberman wannabe.
摘錄自 英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary，已精簡格式；依 CC BY-SA 4.0 授權使用，改動後的內容同樣以此授權提供。