「Nice to meet you again.」這句話錯在哪?
Elaine去拜訪一個服務多年的國外客戶,每次見到客戶時,她都用這句話開場:
Nice to meet you again. 很高興再次見到你。
直到老師告訴她,她才知道這句她已經用了上百次的寒暄居然是錯的。
很高興再次見到你。
- (X)Nice to meet you again.
- (O)Nice to see you again.
- (O)It’s nice seeing you.
Meet和see都是見面,但在英文意思有差別。Meet是用在「和某人初次見面、與人相識」。Meet在英英字典上的解釋:
"to see and talk to someone for the first time"
初次與人見面的時候我們說:
Nice to meet you. 很高興認識你。
要介紹兩個互不相識的人時,我們會問:
Have you two met? 兩位彼此認識了嗎?
這裡的met是相互引見,如果還沒有,就可以回答:
We haven't been properly introduced. 我們還沒有正式被介紹過。
第二次再相見,既已相識,就用see即可。同理,和朋友、舊識見面,用see也比用meet自然許多:
例如:我要和一個老朋友見面。
- (不自然)I am going to meet an old friend later.
- (自然)I am going to see an old friend later.
- (自然)I am going to meet up with an old friend later.
Meet up with在這裡就不是指第一次見面,而是「和某人見面、碰面」,工作場合常見的片語。
Meet雖然也能用在與熟人見面,但它又多了一層涵義,為了特定的目的與人會面,也就是我們講的「開會」:
We agreed to meet on Tuesday to discuss the project. 我們約定周二見面討論這個專案。
或者不一定是正式會議,而是迎接/等候:
I’ll meet you at the airport. 我會去機場接你。
另外有幾個meet用法,大家比較不太熟的,一起來看看。不熟的例句,唸出聲音會幫助記憶:
Do we have enough money to meet expenses? 我們有足夠的錢付所有的開銷嗎?
We can meet each problem as it arises. 只要有問題,我們就會解決。
There's a large crack where the ceiling meets the wall. 天花板與牆壁相連的地方有個大裂縫。
The curtains don't quite meet. 窗簾拉不太攏。
- Make ends meet: 使收支相抵;勉強維持生計
When Mike lost his job, we could barely make ends meet. 麥可失去工作時,我們幾乎無法維持生計。