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单词 homophone
释义
homophone
(once / 94555 pages)
n

A homophone is a word that sounds the same as another word but has a different meaning and/or spelling. “Flower” and “flour” are homophones because they are pronounced the same but you certainly can’t bake a cake using daffodils.
Other common homophones are write and right, meet and meat, peace and piece. You have to listen to the context to know which word someone means if they’re spoken aloud. If they say they like your jeans (genes?), they’re probably talking about your pants and not your height and eye color — but you’d have to figure it out from the situation!
CHOOSE YOUR WORDS
homonym / homophone / homograph

This word set can be confusing, even for word geeks. Let's start with the basics. A homograph is a word that has the same spelling as another word but has a different sound and a different meaning:

lead (to go in front of)/lead (a metal)

wind (to follow a course that is not straight)/wind (a gust of air)

bass (low, deep sound)/bass (a type of fish)

A homophone is a word that has the same sound as another word but is spelled differently and has a different meaning:

to/two/too

there/their/they're

pray/prey

Not so bad, right? The ending –graph means drawn or written, so a homograph has the same spelling. The –phone ending means sound or voice, so a homophone has the same pronunciation. But here's where it gets tricky. Depending on whom you talk to, homonym means either:

A word that is spelled like another but has a different sound and meaning (homograph); a word that sounds like another but has a different spelling and meaning (homophone)

OR

A word that is spelled and pronounced like another but has a different meaning (homograph and homophone)

So does a homonym have to be both a homograph and a homophone, or can it be just one or the other? As with most things in life, it depends on whom you ask.

In the strictest sense, a homonym must be both a homograph and a homophone. So say many dictionaries. However, other dictionaries allow that a homonym can be a homograph or a homophone.

With so many notable resources pointing to the contrary, are we losing this strict meaning? What then will we call a word that is spelled and pronounced the same as another but has a different meaning? If homonym retains all these meanings, how will readers know what is actually meant?

The careful writer would do well to follow the strict sense, ensuring his meaning is understood immediately.

WORD FAMILY
homophone: homophones
USAGE EXAMPLES
If you're going to be pedantic about this, I think you mean homophones--they sound alike--and this was probably the result of a mis-transcription.
New York Times(Oct 04, 2016)
It seemed like an odd mistake until I realized that you’re is a homophone for your.
Slate(Aug 22, 2016)
Homophones, or homonyms, play a big part in ritual and superstition in many East Asian languages.
BBC(Mar 01, 2016)
n two words are homophones if they are pronounced the same way but differ in meaning or spelling or both (e.g. bare and bear)
Hyper
homonym
two words are homonyms if they are pronounced or spelled the same way but have different meanings
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更新时间:2025/3/23 9:31:09