1
a carnation
carnation 是可数名词，表示“一朵康乃馨”时用 a carnation。
She wore a carnation in her hair.
她头上戴了一朵康乃馨。
康乃馨
carnations — plural of carnation
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
康乃馨
a plant with fragrant, usually double flowers in many colors
She wore a carnation in her hair.
她头上戴了一朵康乃馨。
一种因花朵而被广泛栽培的欧亚植物。
A type of Eurasian plant widely cultivated for its flowers.
欧亚植物,花常重瓣,粉红至紫红色,带香料气味；广泛栽培,品种繁多。
Eurasian plant with pink to purple-red spice-scented usually double flowers; widely cultivated in many varieties and many colors
这种植物开的花,原为肉色,杂交后现有多样颜色。
The type of flower they bear, originally flesh-coloured, but since hybridizing found in a variety of colours.
粉红色或淡红色。
a pink or reddish-pink color
She received a pink carnation for her birthday.
她生日收到了一朵粉红色的康乃馨。
The florist arranged white carnations with roses in the bouquet.
花店老板把白色的康乃馨和玫瑰花一起插在花束里。
My grandmother grows carnations in her garden every summer.
我奶奶每年夏天都在花园里种康乃馨。
carnation 是可数名词，表示“一朵康乃馨”时用 a carnation。
She wore a carnation in her hair.
她头上戴了一朵康乃馨。
表示“一束康乃馨”时，常用 a bouquet of + 复数 carnations。
He bought a bouquet of carnations for his mother.
他给母亲买了一束康乃馨。
carnation pink 指一种粉红色，常作定语修饰名词。
She chose a carnation pink scarf.
她选了一条康乃馨粉色的围巾。
Not this
I like carnation.
Use this
I like carnations.
carnation 是可数名词，泛指康乃馨这类花时要用复数形式；汉语名词没有单复数变化，因此这里需要加 -s。
Not this
She gave me carnation for my birthday.
Use this
She gave me a carnation for my birthday.
carnation 是可数名词单数，不能没有冠词或限定词直接使用；第一次提到一朵康乃馨时需要用不定冠词 a。
Not this
There are many carnation in the vase.
Use this
There are many carnations in the vase.
many 后面要接可数名词复数，carnation 的复数形式是 carnations，不能照搬汉语不变化的名词形式。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
红色康乃馨
He wore a red carnation in his lapel.
他在翻领上别了一朵红色康乃馨。
白色康乃馨
She chose a white carnation for the arrangement.
她为插花选了一朵白色康乃馨。
康乃馨花束
He bought a bouquet of carnations for his mother.
他给母亲买了一束康乃馨。
种植康乃馨
Farmers grow carnations in greenhouses.
农民们在温室里种植康乃馨。
Use carnations naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
将 carnation 拆成 car + nation 联想：一车康乃馨开过全国，香气弥漫。
语域：neutral 常见场景：日常交谈、花店、园艺介绍 康乃馨是常见花卉名称，通常用于日常交流或花卉介绍，语气中性，不特别正式也不口语化。
以上词都与 carnation 同以 /eɪʃən/ 结尾并押韵。注意 -ation 中的 a 读 /eɪ/，不要读成 /æ/；另外 nation 的形容词 national /ˈnæʃənəl/（国家的）拼写虽与 nation 相近，读音并不押韵。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.