Word · Frequency #38
what
/wɒt/
noun
本质；事物
The nature or identity of something, or the thing that 'what' refers to (as opposed to a person).
作名词时较少见，多用于正式或学术语境。
- 1.
The identity of a thing, as an answer to a question of what.
事物的身份,作为对“什么”问题的回答
- 2.
Something that is addressed by what, as opposed to a person, addressed by who.
由“what”指代的事物,与由“who”指代的人相对
事物的身份,作为对“什么”问题的回答；由“what”指代的事物,与由“who”指代的人相对
In use
We need to understand the what before we can discuss the why.
The report lists all the whats and the hows, but it says nothing about the people behind the project.
In this debate, the what matters more than the who.
Connections
Word family
- whats
- plural
Learner notes
Grammar Note
作名词时，常与定冠词连用，表示‘本质、要素’或‘问题’。
High-value vocabulary
该词属于 Oxford 核心词汇，值得优先掌握常见搭配和句型。
Usage priority
Collins 词频等级为 5，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 DICTIONARY_API_DEV, ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.