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For Life
2008.04.16

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Today's LessonCATEGORY: 混同しやすい言葉
CHEAP vs. INEXPENSIVE   安い、安物の vs. 安価の

Explanation

  • If a product is cheap or inexpensive, it costs little, or less than usual.

    If a store or other business is cheap or inexpensive, its products cost less than usual.

    Be Careful! Cheap can also mean “of poor quality”, so it can sometimes sound less positive than the word inexpensive.
  • 商品について cheap または inexpensive を使った場合、ほとんど費用がかからない、または、通常よりも価格が安い、という意味になります。

    商店やその他の商売について言う場合には、そこで扱う商品の値段が通常よりも安い、という意味になります。

    注意:cheap には、質の悪いという意味もあるため、inexpensive と比べると、やや好意的でない印象を与えることがあります。

CHEAP vs. INEXPENSIVE

examples

  1. I found a really cheap flight to Los Angeles - only 30,000 yen round-trip. What a great bargain!
  2. She got one of those cheap cell phones they give free to new customers, and after just two months it would no longer hold a charge (= the battery died quickly).
  3. (young backpacker)
    I've been staying in cheap hotels for the past month, so it's nice to sleep in a clean bed for a change.
  4. I was surprised by how inexpensive everything was. Even name-brand products were on sale at 50 to 80% off.
  5. (to a passerby)
    Do you know the name of a good, inexpensive restaurant around here?

英会話レッスンTake care!