Word · Frequency #11574
laymen
外行；门外汉
laymen is the plural of layman.
a person who is not a professional in a particular field; someone who lacks specialized knowledge
- 1.
Layperson, someone who is not an ordained cleric or member of the clergy.
- 2.
someone who is not a clergyman or a professional person
不是神职人员或专业人士的人
- 3.
Someone who is not a professional in a given field.
- 4.
A common person.
- 5.
A person who is untrained or lacks knowledge of a subject.
- 6.
Lay-sister or lay-brother, person received into a convent of monks, following the vows, but not being member of the order.
平信徒；非神职人员；非专业人士；普通人；一般人；平信徒修士/修女；在俗修士/修女；不是神职人员或专业人士的人；俗人
In use
The professor explained the complex theory in simple terms that even a layman could understand.
The church council was composed of both clergy and laymen.
To a layman, the legal document seemed incomprehensible.
in layman's terms
固定短语，意为‘用通俗易懂的话’
Could you explain the theory in layman's terms?
你能用通俗的语言解释这个理论吗？
for the layman
表示‘对外行人而言’，常用于说明内容易懂
This book is written for the layman, not the specialist.
这本书是为外行人写的，不是为专家写的。
a layman in (field)
‘a layman in + 领域’表示在某领域是外行
Connections
Collocations
- in layman's terms
- 用通俗易懂的话；用外行能听懂的说法
- Could you put the legal advice in layman's terms?你能用通俗易懂的话来说明这个法律建议吗？
- a layman's guide to
- 通俗易懂的入门指南
- This book is a layman's guide to astronomy.这本书是一本面向外行的天文学入门读物。
- from a layman's perspective
- 从外行的角度看
- From a layman's perspective, the new policy seems fair.从外行的角度看，这项新政策似乎很公平。
- for the layman
- 对外行来说；供外行使用
- The lecture was too technical for the layman.这场讲座太专业，外行听不懂。
- laymen and experts
- 外行与专家；非专业人士和专业人士
- The discussion was accessible to laymen and experts alike.这场讨论外行和专家都能听得懂。
Learner notes
Memory Tip
lay（放置）+ man（人）：被放在某专业大门外的普通人，即外行。
Context & Register
语域：mixed 常见场景：everyday explanations for non-specialists、popular science or general-interest articles、religious or church discussions 该词不粗俗也不口语化；日常科普语境中偏中性，多指“外行、非专业人士”；宗教或教会语境中偏正式，多指“平信徒、非神职人员”。若想避免性别指向，也可使用 layperson。
Grammar Note
与介词 in 连用表示某方面的外行
Pronunciation & Spelling
layman 读作 /ˈleɪmən/，重音在首音节。caiman /ˈkeɪmən/ 与它完全同韵。woman、human、gentleman、policeman 拼写都以 -man 结尾，结尾也常读作 /mən/，但重读元音不同，所以不押韵；weatherman /ˈweðərmæn/ 的 -man 读作 /mæn/，是形近音异词，需特别注意。
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.