这句名言：“In terms of money, he's quite rich, but not in terms of happiness.”

居然有的同学给翻译成了：“有钱花的学期他很富有，没钱花的学期他就不幸福了。”

看到这个答案，我都被笑Cry了......

其实这个翻译的错误，问题就出在大家对于“term”这个单词的认识上，脑海里只有“学期”这么一个对应的解释，殊不知它却还有“说法、措辞和把…称为”的含义，而在 in terms of 这个短语中，就表示“从…方面来说、就...而言”的意思。所以这句名言的正确翻译应该为 "就金钱而言，他相当富有，但就幸福而言则不然。" 同时，还有一句类似的表达 “It can not be measured in terms of money. 这是不能用金钱来衡量的。”用的也是这个短语。

in terms of / in ... terms

na. 在...看来；按照…的观点; 依据…；根据；从…方面来说；根据…来看；在...方面；按照；用…特有的字眼

【En】If you talk about something in terms of something or in particular terms, you are specifying which aspect of it you are discussing or from what point of view you are considering it.

如果你用in terms of某事或in particular terms来谈论某事，你指的是你正在讨论的问题的哪个方面，或者你从哪个观点角度来考虑它。

Used to describe which particular area of a subject you are discussing. 用来描述你正在讨论的主题的具体领域。

• Our goods compete in terms of product quality, reliability and above all variety.

我们的产品在质量、可靠性，尤其是品种方面具有竞争力。

• Paris has played a dominant role in France, not just in political terms but also in economic power.

巴黎在法国扮演了主导角色(发挥着主导作用)，不仅在政治方面，而且在经济实力上。

• It's a mistake to think of Florida only in terms of its tourist attractions.

仅仅从旅游景点的角度来考虑佛罗里达是错误的。

• It's too early to start talking in terms of casualties.

现在谈论伤亡人数还为时过早。

• Did the experiment find any differences in terms of what children learned?

这个实验在孩子们学到的东西方面发现了什么不同吗?

• Femininity is still defined in terms of beauty.

女性气质仍然是用美来定义的。

【活学活用 give an example】

• In terms of money, I was better off in my last job.

就挣钱而言，我上一份工作挣得更多。

• I don't know what to do in terms of John's problem.

关于约翰的问题，我不知道该怎么办。

• In terms of cash outlay, the sum is peanuts.

从花费来看,这笔钱乃区区小数。

• Now, in terms of your proposal, don't you think you're asking for too much?

现在，就你的提议而言，你不觉得要求太多了吗?

• If you really want to get the job think only in terms of what you can do for your future employer.

如果你真的想要得到这份工作，只考虑你能为未来的雇主做些什么。

• In financial terms, the project was not a success.

从经济方面来说，这个项目并不成功。

• Think of it in terms of an investment.

从投资的角度来考虑那件事.

• The book offers nothing in terms of a satisfactory conclusion.

这本书没有提供一个令人满意的结论

• Distances expressed in terms of kilometers as well as miles.

距离用公里和英里来表示。

• In terms of money she was no better off.

从金钱的角度来说，她的情况也没有好转。

• And it is also good to think in terms of what bad things could happen.

考虑到可能发生的坏事也是好事。

• Cheap entertainment, but costly in terms of time wasted.

廉价的娱乐，但就浪费的时间而言是昂贵的。

• In the end, there is little change in terms of what children learn.

最后，孩子们学到的东西几乎没有什么变化。

• Another philosophical stance views children in terms of what they know-their strengths.

另一种哲学立场是从孩子知道自己的长处的角度来看待孩子的。

• He sees it in terms of what might be.

他从可能的角度看待问题。

• We track our shipments in terms of weight, rather than individual units.

我们以重量而不是单个单位来跟踪发货。

• The tragedy caused billions in damage, but the biggest losses were in terms of lives.

这场悲剧造成了数十亿美元的损失，但最大的损失是生命。

• In terms of the merger, I'm afraid I can't provide any more details at this time.

关于合并事宜，我现在恐怕不能提供更多的细节。

出处：见配图水印