Word · Frequency #12948
freshwater
淡水
water that is not salty
- 1.
A body of fresh water.
一片淡水体。
- 2.
water that is not salty
淡水
一片淡水体。
In use
Many plants and animals depend on freshwater ecosystems.
She keeps colorful freshwater fish in a large glass tank.
The village gets its drinking water from a nearby freshwater spring.
adj. freshwater + [noun]
作形容词时修饰名词，表示“淡水的”，如淡水鱼、淡水湖。
Many freshwater fish live in this river.
许多淡水鱼生活在这条河里。
noun (uncountable) freshwater
作不可数名词时，指不含盐的水。
Freshwater is essential for all living things.
淡水对一切生物都至关重要。
noun (plural) freshwaters
作可数名词复数时，常见于正式或科学语境，指淡水水体或水域。
The freshwaters of this region support many rare species.
这个地区的淡水水域养育着许多珍稀物种。
Common mistakes
Human beings need freshwater.Human beings need fresh water.
freshwater 是形容词，表示“淡水的、非咸水的”，不能直接作宾语；表示“淡水”这种水本身时，要用名词短语 fresh water（两个词）。误句把汉语的“淡水”误当成英语名词，造成词性错误。
Fresh water fish are popular with aquarium keepers.Freshwater fish are popular with aquarium keepers.
作定语修饰 fish 时，应使用一个词的合成形容词 freshwater；fresh water（两个词）是名词短语，意为“淡水”，拆开后不能正确表达“淡水的”这一修饰关系。此错误源于不清楚 freshwater 的形容词词性。
Connections
Collocations
- freshwater fish
- 淡水鱼
- The lake is home to many species of freshwater fish.这个湖里有多种淡水鱼。
- freshwater lake
- 淡水湖
- Lake Baikal is the largest freshwater lake by volume.贝加尔湖是储量最大的淡水湖。
- freshwater source
- 淡水源
- The village relies on the river as its main freshwater source.这个村庄主要依靠这条河作为淡水源。
- freshwater ecosystem
- 淡水生态系统
- Pollution is a major threat to freshwater ecosystems.污染是对淡水生态系统的主要威胁。
- freshwater pearl
- 淡水珍珠
- She wore a necklace of freshwater pearls.她戴了一条淡水珍珠项链。
- freshwater aquarium
Learner notes
Memory Tip
fresh(清新)+water(水)：江河湖泊里清新不咸的水，就是淡水。
Context & Register
语域：neutral 常见场景：environmental science、biology、fishing and aquaculture freshwater 作形容词时通常表示“淡水的、淡水中生长的”，多用于修饰 fish、lake、ecosystem 等词，常见于生物、地理、环保等书面或科普语境，属于比较中性、偏正式的用法。
Pronunciation & Spelling
freshwater 的末尾 -water 读作 /wɔtɚ/（在单词中为 /ˌwɔtɚ/）。water、saltwater、wastewater 也以相同的 /wɔtɚ/ 结尾，因此与 freshwater 押韵。fresh 和 refresh 只共享开头的 /frɛʃ/，但不含 /wɔtɚ/，所以不押韵；请勿根据拼写误判。
Usage priority
Collins 词频等级为 1，建议结合例句记忆，而不是只背中文释义。
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.