1
a duckling
duckling 指幼鸭，是可数名词；读音以辅音 /d/ 开头，所以用 a。
A duckling stays close to its mother.
一只小鸭子会紧跟在妈妈身边。
小鸭子
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
小鸭子
a young duck
A duckling stays close to its mother.
一只小鸭子会紧跟在妈妈身边。
小鸭。
A young duck.
The duckling followed its mother into the pond.
小鸭子跟着妈妈走进池塘。
We watched the ducklings swim in a line behind the duck.
我们看着小鸭们排成一队跟在鸭子后面游水。
The farmer feeds the duckling every morning.
农夫每天早上喂这只小鸭子。
duckling 指幼鸭，是可数名词；读音以辅音 /d/ 开头，所以用 a。
A duckling stays close to its mother.
一只小鸭子会紧跟在妈妈身边。
duckling 的复数形式是 ducklings，直接在词尾加 -s。
The ducklings swim in a line.
小鸭们排成一队游泳。
当 duckling 指幼鸭的肉时，是不可数名词，前面不加 a，也不用复数。
We had duckling for lunch.
我们午餐吃了小鸭肉。
Not this
There are many duckling in the pond.
Use this
There are many ducklings in the pond.
duckling 是可数名词，复数应加 -s；many 后接可数名词复数。
Not this
The duckling is laying eggs.
Use this
The duck is laying eggs.
duckling 指小鸭子，成年鸭子要说 duck；产蛋是成年鸭的行为，不能用 duckling。
Not this
I ate a duckling for dinner.
Use this
I ate duckling for dinner.
当 duckling 表示“鸭肉”时是不可数名词，不能用 a 修饰；a duckling 指一整只小鸭，而不是一份鸭肉。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
丑小鸭（也指起初不起眼后来成才的人）
The ugly duckling grew into a beautiful swan.
丑小鸭长成了一只美丽的天鹅。
一窝小鸭子
The mother duck led a brood of ducklings to the pond.
母鸭领着一窝小鸭子朝池塘走去。
喂小鸭子
The children bought bread to feed the ducklings.
孩子们买了面包去喂小鸭子。
烤小鸭肉
The restaurant serves a delicious roast duckling.
这家餐厅供应一道美味的烤小鸭。
丑小鸭（喻指起初不起眼、后来变得成功或漂亮的人）
She was an ugly duckling as a child, but now she's a successful actress.
她小时候是个丑小鸭，但现在是一位成功的女演员。
从前有一只丑小鸭，羽毛又短又粗，还灰扑扑的。
In the song “The Ugly Duckling,” everyone laughed at the duckling until it grew into a swan.
在歌曲《丑小鸭》里，大家都嘲笑那只小鸭子，直到它长成了天鹅。
Use duckling naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
记忆联想：duck（鸭）+ ling（带“小”的意味），小鸭子 duckling 就记住了。
语域：mixed 常见场景：children's literature、culinary menus duckling 通常为中性词：指小鸭子时多用于儿童故事或日常描述，指小鸭肉时比较常见于餐饮菜单，具体含义需靠语境判断。
duckling 作“小鸭子”解时可数（复数 ducklings）；作“幼鸭肉”解时不可数。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.