新概念英语-夸别人年轻千万别说＂You look young＂

你看上去真年轻

≠ You look so young.

外网就有人对这一表述进行了提问，

大家进行了如下的讨论

In my culture, it is generally perceived as a compliment, but I wonder if it is the same for English speaking culture.

Do English speakers take this as a compliment?

Or do you thik it is better not to comment on someone's appearance at all? Where do you draw the line?

在我的文化中，这通常被认为是一种恭维，但我想知道对于英语的文化是否也一样。

以英语为母语的人会把这看作是一种赞美吗?还是你认为完全不去评论一个人的外表更好？

You could say this, but it sounds incredibly weird. Stick to simpler things about appearance such as:

你可以这么说，但这听起来不可思议。关于外观的的说法我们更倾向于简单的表述，例如

●You look very nice today.

你今天看起来很好。

●Your hair looks pretty.

你的头发看起来很漂亮。

●I really like your outfit.

我真的很喜欢你的衣服

If your understanding of English is limited, maybe shy away from complimenting physical traits, as they can often come across as rude unintentionally.

如果你对英语的理解有限，那么就不要赞美对方的身体特征，因为它们经常会被无意中认为是粗鲁的。

Age is something of a touchy subject. A young person may want to appear older and your compliment might be unwelcome.

年龄是一个敏感的话题。年轻人可能想让自己看起来更老一些，你的恭维可能不受欢迎。

At the same time, your compliment suggests that there is something wrong with being old. This is something called ageism, and many people can take offence to it.

与此同时，你的赞美也暗示着老是有问题的。这就是所谓的年龄歧视，很多人会对此感到生气。

As for your last question, I would generally discourage commenting on someone's appearance unless you know that person well.

至于你的最后一个问题，我通常不鼓励对一个人的外表进行评论，除非你很了解那个人。

As others have mentioned, age can be a bit touchy. "You look very young" is technically a complement to someone older, but it feels a bit awkward. I can't think of an actual situation to use the phrase that way. Some ways you might actually compliment someone with regards to how young they look:

正如其他人提到的，年龄可能是一个有点敏感的问题。从技术上来说，你看起来很年轻是对年长的人的一种补充，但这会让人感觉有点尴尬。我想不出在什么实际情况下可以那样使用这个短语。某些情况你可能真的会去赞美别人他们看上去多么年轻：

On discovering their age: For example, you find out they are 46, you can say they don't look a day over 30. This can come across as more or less sincere depending on how obviously wrong it might be. Blatant flattery might or might not impress them.

当你知道他们的年龄时；如果你发现他们46岁，你就可以说他们看起来还不到30岁。这句话给人的感觉是真诚的还是不真诚的，取决于它是否足够明显。明目张胆的奉承可能会也可能不会打动他们。

"You're looking good for your age!" Potentially risky: this implicitly points out that you consider them old. If the person expects to be considered old, it probably won't be an issue. A 20-something will probably be insulted. I'd consider this phrase as particularly familiar. Use it for friends and family, maybe ones you haven't seen in a while.

“以你的年龄来说，你看起来很不错！”潜在风险：这暗示你认为他们老了。如果这个人希望被认为是老的，这可能不会是一个问题。20多岁的人可能会觉得被侮辱。我认为这句话只能用在熟悉的人身上。用它来问候你的朋友和家人，也许当你有段时间没见过他们了时。

Also, keep in mind: there is a wide range of cultures and subcultures in the english-speaking world. How age is treated can vary quite a bit between them.

另外，请记住:在英语世界中有广泛的文化和亚文化。如何对待年龄在他们之间有很大的不同。