Word · Frequency #8570
slum
贫民窟
a district of a city marked by poverty and inferior living conditions
In use
The documentary exposed the harsh reality of life in the slum.
We decided to slum it for a night in the hostel to save money.
He was accused of slumming when he visited the impoverished neighborhood out of curiosity.
live in a slum
They lived in a slum when they first arrived.
他们刚到时住在贫民窟。
slum + noun (e.g., area, district)
The government plans to redevelop slum areas.
政府计划改造贫民区。
slum it
该用法常带有贬义或轻视意味。
We decided to slum it at a cheap hotel.
我们决定在一家廉价旅馆凑合一下。
go slumming
该用法常被认为是居高临下的。
They went slumming in the old town.
他们去老城区体验贫困生活。
Common mistakes
He grew up in slum.He grew up in a slum.
“slum”作为名词是可数名词，前面需要加冠词“a”或变为复数。汉语中“贫民窟”常被当作不可数名词，导致遗漏冠词。
They slummed the poor neighborhood.They slummed it in the poor neighborhood.
“slum”作动词时是不及物的，通常用“slum it”或“go slumming”表示“体验下层生活”，不能直接接宾语。
Connections
Collocations
- live in a slum
- 住在贫民窟
- Many families still live in a slum without basic sanitation.许多家庭仍然住在缺乏基本卫生设施的贫民窟。
- slum area
- 贫民区
- The government plans to redevelop the slum area.政府计划重新开发这个贫民区。
- slum dweller
- 贫民窟居民
- Slum dwellers often lack access to clean water.贫民窟居民常常缺乏清洁用水。
- slum clearance
- 贫民窟清理
- Slum clearance projects have been controversial in many cities.贫民窟清理项目在许多城市一直存在争议。
- go slumming
- 去贫民窟猎奇
- Some tourists go slumming to see how the poor live.有些游客去贫民窟猎奇，看看穷人是如何生活的。
- slum it
Learner notes
Memory Tip
想象贫民窟里，门被‘斯拉姆’（slam）一声关上，提醒你slum的发音和破败环境。
Context & Register
语域：mixed 常见场景：urban poverty、housing inequality、volunteer tourism、condescension 名词‘slum’指贫民窟，在正式或学术语境中使用，较为中性。动词‘slum it’常用于描述富人到贫民区体验生活，带有贬低或居高临下的意味，多见于非正式或批评性语境。通常，动词用法被认为不敏感，需谨慎使用。
Grammar Note
名词可数；动词不及物，常与'it'连用或用于'go slumming'结构
Pronunciation & Spelling
These words all end in -um and are pronounced with the same /ʌm/ sound as 'slum', so they rhyme perfectly. Note that words like 'slump' (/slʌmp/) or 'calm' (/kɑːm/) look similar but sound different.
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.