1
a petrel
petrel 是可数名词，表示“一只海燕”时用 a petrel。
A petrel flew far from land.
一只海燕飞到了离陆地很远的地方。
海燕
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
海燕
relatively small long-winged tube-nosed bird that flies far from land
A petrel flew far from land.
一只海燕飞到了离陆地很远的地方。
Any of various species of black, grey, or white seabirds in the order Procellariiformes.
We watched a petrel glide over the waves.
我们看到一只海燕在浪涛上滑翔。
Petrels spend most of their lives far out at sea.
海燕一生大部分时间都在远海上度过。
A single petrel flew past the ship's mast.
一只海燕飞过船桅。
petrel 是可数名词，表示“一只海燕”时用 a petrel。
A petrel flew far from land.
一只海燕飞到了离陆地很远的地方。
petrel 的复数形式是 petrels。
Petrels are long-winged tube-nosed birds.
海燕是长翼的管鼻鸟。
Not this
I saw petrel flying over the sea.
Use this
I saw a petrel flying over the sea.
petrel 是可数名词单数，不能单独出现；单数可数名词前需要不定冠词 a/an。中文没有冠词，所以容易遗漏，这里要加 a。
Not this
A petrel bird flew over the waves.
Use this
A petrel flew over the waves.
petrel 已经指一种鸟，再加 bird 是重复。中文里习惯说‘海燕鸟’，但英语中不需要添加类别词 bird，去掉后意思不变。
Not this
Petrel are seabirds.
Use this
Petrels are seabirds.
petrel 是可数名词，表示多只鸟时要用复数 petrels。中文名词没有复数后缀，容易漏掉 -s；这里主语是复数，动词用 are，所以名词也要加 s。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
风暴海燕
A storm petrel skimmed over the waves.
一只海燕掠过浪尖。
白腰叉尾海燕
Leach's petrels nest in burrows on remote islands.
白腰叉尾海燕在偏远岛屿的洞穴中筑巢。
巨海燕
Giant petrels are the largest of the petrel family.
巨海燕是海燕家族中体形最大的鸟。
雪海燕
The snow petrel breeds farther south than any other bird.
雪海燕的繁殖地比任何其他鸟类都更靠南。
海角海燕
Cape petrels often follow ships in search of food.
海角海燕常跟随船只觅食。
兴风作浪的人；动乱的预兆
She was a stormy petrel in the otherwise quiet community, always provoking debates.
在这个原本平静的社区里，她是个兴风作浪的人，总是挑起争论。
Use petrel 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：petrel 中含 pet（宠物），把海燕想成大海的宠物，常在远海飞翔。
语域：neutral 常见场景：birdwatching guides、marine biology texts、nature documentaries petrel 是中性偏正式的鸟类名称，通常多见于观鸟指南、海洋生物学科普或自然纪录片等书面或解说场合。
No common word rhymes exactly with /ˈpetrəl/. 'petal' and 'metal' look similar but are pronounced /ˈpɛtəl/ and /ˈmɛtəl/ (no /r/). 'kestrel' shares the -trel spelling but has /ˈkɛstrəl/ with /kɛs/ in the stressed syllable. 'scoundrel', 'squirrel' and 'laurel' end in -rel /rəl/ but have very different stressed vowels.
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.