Ever been told by a new neighbour ‘You must come for dinner’ then spent weeks waiting for a follow-up invitation that never arrives?

　　曾经遇到过新邻居对你说“你得过来吃个晚饭”，可几个礼拜后邀请迟迟不来？

　　电影《四个婚礼和一个葬礼》中的休·格兰特是英式礼貌的典型。 Rex Features 摄

　　Or been thrilled when the boss said he’d bear your ‘very interesting’ idea in mind and been surprised when it was never mentioned again。

　　或者是激动地听到上司说他会记住你“非常有趣”的想法，却惊讶他再也没提过这件事？

　　Then you’ve been victim of the uniquely British trait of being too prim and polite to say what we really mean. And if it can be baffling for us, imagine what it must be like for foreigners who take our every word at face value。

　　那你就是拥有独特特征的英式英语的受害者了，英式英语对于表达真实所想来说太过拘谨、礼貌了。其实对于英国人来说，想想外国人可能会把他们的每句话信以为真，也挺令人困扰的。

　　Now there’s help in the form of a translation table which has become a huge hit on the internet。

　　现在这里有一张在网上引起热议的翻译表，能对你有所帮助。

WHAT THE BRITISH SAY

　　英国人说的

WHAT THE BRITISH MEAN

　　英国人实际表达的

WHAT OTHERS UNDERSTAND

　　别人所理解的

　　I hear what you say

　　我听到你说什么了

　　I disagree and do not want to discuss it further

　　我不同意也不想继续讨论下去了

　　He accepts my point of view

　　他接受了我的观点

　　With the greatest respect

　　怀着最高的敬意

　　You are an idiot

　　你是一个白痴

　　He is listening to me

　　他在听我说

　　That's not bad

　　那不算坏

　　That's good

　　不错

　　That's poor

　　那很差劲

　　That is a very brave proposal

　　这是一个非常勇敢的提议

　　You are insane

　　你疯了

　　He thinks I have courage

　　他认为我很有勇气

　　Quite good

　　真不错

　　A bit disappointing

　　有一点令人失望

　　Quite good

　　真不错

　　I would suggest

　　我认为

　　Do it or be prepared to justify yourself

　　按我认为的去做或证明你的想法

　　Think about the idea, but do what you like

　　考虑他的说法，但按自己想的做

　　Oh, incidentally/by the way

　　哦，顺便提一下

　　The primary purpose of our discussion is

　　这次讨论的主要目的是

　　That is not very important

　　那并不是很重要

　　I was a bit disappointed that

　　我对此有点失望

　　I am annoyed that

　　我被惹恼了

　　It doesn't really matter

　　没关系

　　Very interesting

　　非常有趣

　　That is clearly nonsense

　　那简直是胡说八道

　　They are impressed

　　那令人印象深刻

　　I'll bear it in mind

　　我会记住的

　　I've forgotten it already

　　我已经忘了

　　They will probably do it

　　他们大概会这么做

　　I'm sure it's my fault

　　我确信这是我的错

　　It's your fault

　　这是你的错

　　Why do they think it was their fault?

　　为什么他们觉得是他们的错？

　　You must come for dinner

　　你得过来吃晚饭

　　It's not an invitation, I'm just being polite

　　这并不是一个邀请，我只是表示礼貌

　　I will get an invitation soon

　　我很快就会受到邀请

　　I almost agree

　　我差不多同意了

　　I don't agree at all

　　我根本不同意

　　He's not far from agreement

　　他差不多同意了

　　I only have a few minor comments

　　我只有一些次要意见

　　Please rewrite completely

　　请全部重写

　　He has found a few typos

　　他只找到了一些印刷错误

　　Could we consider some other options

　　我们能考虑下别的选择吗

　　I don't like your idea

　　我不喜欢你的主意

　　They have not yet decided

　　他们还没决定

　　It reveals that when a British person begins a sentence ‘With the greatest respect...’, they’re really saying ‘I think you are an idiot.’

　　表格揭露了当一个英国人用“怀着最高的敬意”为一句句子开头，他们实际想说的是“我认为你是一个白痴”。

　　‘I hear what you say’ means ‘I disagree and do not want to discuss it further’ while ‘That is a very brave proposal’ translates as ‘You are insane’。

　　“我听到你说什么了” 代表“我不同意也不想继续讨论下去了”，“这是一个勇敢的提议”代表“你疯了”。

　　The table, which has been posted on numerous internet blogs, has received thousands of comments acknowledging that it’s spot on–from foreigners and Britons alike。

　　这张表格被放到许多博客中后，收到许多外国人和英国人本身的赞同，承认这极其正确。