Vijana wanaojifunza Kiingereza mara nyingi hukutana na maneno ambayo yana maana zinazofanana lakini bado yana tofauti kidogo. Maneno "unimportant" na "trivial" ni mfano mzuri. Ingawa yote mawili yanaashiria kitu kisicho muhimu, kuna tofauti katika nguvu na muktadha wao. "Unimportant" kinamaanisha kitu ambacho hakihitaji umakini au ambacho hakiathiri matokeo kwa kiasi kikubwa. "Trivial" humaanisha kitu ambacho ni kidogo sana, kisicho na maana, au cha kawaida sana kiasi cha kutokuwa na umuhimu wowote. Kwa kifupi, "trivial" inaashiria kitu chenye umuhimu mdogo kuliko "unimportant".

Mfano:

• Unimportant: The color of the car is unimportant to me. (Rangi ya gari si muhimu kwangu.)
• Trivial: His concerns were trivial compared to the problems facing the country. (Maswala yake yalikuwa madogo sana ikilinganishwa na matatizo yanayokabili taifa.)

Katika mfano wa kwanza, rangi ya gari haina athari kubwa. Katika mfano wa pili, maswala hayo ni madogo mno na hayana umuhimu wowote ikilinganishwa na matatizo makubwa zaidi.

Mfano mwingine:

• Unimportant: That meeting was unimportant; I could have skipped it. (Mkutano huo haukuwa muhimu; ningeweza kuukosa.)
• Trivial: Don't worry about such trivial details; let's focus on the bigger picture. (Usisumbuke na maelezo madogo madogo; tuangazie lengo kuu.)

Kumbuka kwamba ingawa maneno haya yanafanana, kuna tofauti ndogo katika matumizi yao. Tumia "unimportant" kwa mambo ambayo sio muhimu sana, na utumie "trivial" kwa mambo ambayo ni madogo sana au yasiyo na maana kabisa. Happy learning!