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For Life
2008.04.02

After spending nearly eight years introducing our readers to words they can use, it's surprising we didn't get around to looking at today's topic sooner. It just goes to show you how many great English words there are to choose from!

Today's LessonCATEGORY: 間違いやすいボキャブラリー
FOREIGN / FOREIGNER   外国の／外国人

Explanation

  • Someone or something is foreign if it comes from or is connected with another country.

    A foreigner is someone from another country.

    Be Careful! Calling someone a foreigner can sometimes sound impolite. So, when talking about a particular person, it's often better to refer to their nationality or the country they come from (if you know it). For example, rather than saying “She's a foreigner,” we can say “She's American” or “She's from the United States.”
  • foreign とは、人やものが他の国から来た、または他の国と関係がある、つまり、外国の、という意味です。

    foreigner は、他の国から来た人、つまり、外国人のことです。

    注意：誰かのことを foreigner と呼ぶのは失礼にあたることがあります。ですから、特定の人について話すときは、（もしわかっていれば）その人の国籍や出身国を言った方がよいことがよくあります。例えば、She's a foreigner.（彼女は外国人です）と言うよりは、She's American.（彼女はアメリカ人です）または、She's from the United States.（彼女はアメリカ出身です）と言う方がよいでしょう。

FOREIGN / FOREIGNER

examples

  1. a: You must be very excited about your trip to England.
    b: Yes, especially since I've never visited a foreign country before.
  2. What's the fastest way to learn a foreign language?
  3. (Japanese woman)
    I majored in English in college because I knew that I wanted to work for a foreign company.
  4. (British man)
    When I first came to Japan 25 years ago, I lived in a small town in northern Hokkaido. Many people there had never even seen a foreigner before.
  5. (two Americans in the U.S.)
    a: Did you hear that Helen is engaged to an Italian man?
    b: Yes. Isn't that cool? She'll be the fifth person from our high school class to marry a foreigner.

英会話レッスンTake care!