「Shallow」和「superficial」兩個英文單字都帶有「膚淺」的意思，但它們的應用範圍和側重點卻有所不同。簡單來說，「shallow」通常指缺乏深度，可以指物理上的淺，也可以指知識、感情、思想等方面的淺薄；而「superficial」則更強調表面，缺乏深入的了解或思考，主要用於形容人的想法、知識或分析等。

讓我們來看一些例句，更清楚地理解它們的差別：

Shallow:

• The pond is shallow; we can wade across it. (這個池塘很淺；我們可以涉水過去。) This example shows the literal meaning of shallow, referring to physical depth.

• He has a shallow understanding of history. (他對歷史的理解很膚淺。) Here, "shallow" refers to a lack of depth in knowledge.

• Her feelings for him were shallow and fleeting. (她對他的感情很膚淺且短暫。) This demonstrates the use of "shallow" to describe the lack of depth in emotions.

Superficial:

• His knowledge of art is superficial. (他對藝術的知識很膚淺。) While similar to the "shallow" example, "superficial" emphasizes the lack of in-depth understanding.

• She only made a superficial examination of the problem. (她只對這個問題做了表面上的檢查。) This shows that the examination lacked thoroughness.

• He's a superficial person, more interested in appearances than substance. (他是一個膚淺的人，更注重外表而非內涵。) This highlights the lack of depth in personality and thinking.

從以上例句可以看出，「shallow」可以指物理深度和抽象概念的深度不足，「superficial」則更側重於表面化、缺乏深入探究。雖然兩者都帶有負面含義，但「superficial」更傾向於批評缺乏深入思考和分析。 選擇哪個詞取決於你想表達的具體含義。

Happy learning!