指對人物或事物特質的描述、刻畫或定義。
人物刻畫
EN: The way a writer describes a character's personality and qualities in a story.
翻譯: 作家在故事中描述角色性格與特質的方式。
特性描述
EN: A description of the typical features or qualities of someone or something.
翻譯: 對某人或某事物典型特徵或屬性的描述。
定義與歸類
EN: The act of describing or classifying the nature of something.
翻譯: 描述或歸類某事物本質的行為。
藝術表現
EN: The portrayal or representation of a character in a play, film, or other performance.
翻譯: 在戲劇、電影或其他表演中對角色的演繹或呈現。
小提醒：注意：在科學或技術領域，'characterization' 常指對材料特性的分析與描述，而非僅用於文學人物。
點擊下方的 US / UK 按鈕可播放發音。
Real-life Examples of "Characterization" from YouTube Videos
George Ayittey: Cheetahs vs. Hippos for Africa's future
TED
“That characterization, in my view, is even more charitable. (Laughter).”
1. the way a writer creates and describes a character in a story, play, or film
（文學、戲劇或電影中）對角色的塑造與描寫
The author's characterization of the protagonist is both complex and sympathetic.
作者對主角的塑造既複雜又令人同情。
Her skillful characterization made the villain seem almost understandable.
她精湛的角色塑造讓反派角色顯得幾乎可以理解。
2. a description of the distinctive nature or features of someone or something
對某人或某事物特質的描述
The journalist's characterization of the politician as "ruthless" sparked controversy.
記者將這位政治人物描述為「冷酷無情」，引發了爭議。
That's an unfair characterization of our company's environmental policies.
那是對我們公司環保政策不公平的描述。
3. the process of determining the properties or qualities of a material or substance
（對材料或物質）特性分析、鑑定的過程
The material underwent chemical characterization to identify its components.
這種材料經過了化學特性分析以確定其成分。
Advanced microscopy is used for the characterization of nanomaterials.
先進的顯微鏡技術被用於奈米材料的特性分析。
| Pattern | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| characterization + of + noun | 對…的描述或刻畫 | The author's characterization of the city is vivid and detailed. (作者對這座城市的描寫生動而詳細。) |
| give/provide a characterization + of + noun | 給出對…的描述 | The documentary provides a fair characterization of the historical event. (這部紀錄片對該歷史事件給出了公正的描述。) |
| accurate / vivid / detailed characterization | 準確的 / 生動的 / 詳細的描述 | Her accurate characterization of the problem helped us find a solution. (她對問題的準確描述幫助我們找到了解決方案。) |
| the characterization + that + clause | 認為…的描述 | I disagree with the characterization that he is lazy. (我不同意將他描述為懶惰的說法。) |
EN:His characterization of the opponent as dishonest weakened his own argument.
翻譯:他將對手描述為不誠實，這反而削弱了他自己的論點。
在正式寫作中，請根據你想表達的是「對…的描繪」還是「將…描繪成…」來準確選擇使用 "characterization of" 或 "characterization as"。
characterization vs description
「characterization」專指對人物性格、特質的刻畫與塑造，是文學或戲劇中的核心創作手法；「description」則泛指對人、事、物外觀、狀態或過程的一般性描述，範圍更廣。
characterization vs portrayal
「characterization」強調作者或創作者「如何建構」角色性格的過程與方法；「portrayal」則側重演員或敘述者「如何演繹或呈現」一個已存在的角色或形象。
characterization vs personality
「characterization」是作者「塑造角色」的動作或藝術手法；「personality」則是角色或真人「所具有的」性格特質本身，是一個名詞。
在口語中，當引述或轉述他人對某人或某事的描述時，常會用到這個詞。 EN: So, her characterization of the manager as "a bit old-fashioned" really stuck with me. 翻譯: 所以，她將經理描述為「有點老派」的說法，讓我印象深刻。
EN:I disagree with his characterization of the event as a complete failure.
翻譯:我不同意他將那場活動描述為徹底的失敗。
用來強調某種描述或定義特別精準、貼切或帶有強烈主觀色彩。 EN: That's a pretty harsh characterization, don't you think? 翻譯: 這是一個相當嚴厲的描繪，你不覺得嗎？
EN:"A rollercoaster of emotions" is the perfect characterization of my week.
翻譯:「情緒像坐雲霄飛車一樣」正是對我這週的完美寫照。
在組織思緒或尋找合適詞語時，作為一個較正式的填充詞，引出接下來的描述或判斷。 EN: My characterization would be... that he's more of a visionary than a manager. 翻譯: 我的描述會是……他更像一個夢想家，而非管理者。
EN:The best characterization I can give is that it's innovative but not very user-friendly.
翻譯:我能給出的最佳描述是，它很有創新性，但不太用戶友好。
正式書寫提醒：在學術論文、正式報告或文學評論中，應使用更精確的動詞（如 depict, portray, describe, define）來替代較為籠統的 "characterization"，以使論述更清晰有力。
accurate characterization
adj + characterization
準確的描述或刻畫
characterization of someone/something as
characterization of + noun phrase + as + noun/adj
將某人或某物描述為...
literary characterization
adj + characterization
文學角色塑造
broad characterization
adj + characterization
籠統的概括；寬泛的描述
chemical characterization
adj + characterization
化學表徵
challenge a characterization
verb + characterization
質疑某種描述
detailed characterization
adj + characterization
詳細的描述或分析
×The characterization of the hero is very deep.
✓The characterization of the hero is very detailed/profound.
「Deep」通常用於描述情感、思想或關係，不直接用於修飾「characterization」。描述角色塑造時，常用「detailed」（詳細的）、「complex」（複雜的）、「profound」（深刻的）、「nuanced」（細膩的）或「strong」（出色的）。
×She made a great characterization in her performance.
✓She gave a great characterization in her performance. / Her performance featured great characterization.
「Make a characterization」不是地道的搭配。動詞常用「give」、「offer」、「provide」或「create」。在談論演員的表演時，也常用「portray a character」或「deliver a characterization」。
×The film's characterizations are very good.
✓The film's characterization is very good. / The characterizations in the film are very good.
「Characterization」作為抽象名詞（指塑造角色的過程或技巧）時通常不可數。當指多個具體的角色塑造實例時，可用複數「characterizations」。學習者常混淆其可數與不可數的用法。
×His characterization about the politician was unfair.
✓His characterization of the politician was unfair.
「Characterization」後接描述對象時，固定搭配介系詞是「of」，而不是「about」或「on」。這是一個常見的介系詞錯誤。
×The book has good characterization and also good plot.
✓The book has good characterization and also a good plot.
「Plot」（情節）是可數名詞，在此處需要冠詞「a」。當並列兩個名詞短語時，必須注意每個名詞的冠詞使用是否正確。這是一個常見的冠詞遺漏錯誤。
×The characterization in this story is not enough.
✓The characterization in this story is insufficient. / There isn't enough characterization in this story.
「Not enough」在語法上正確，但在較正式的書面語或文學評論中，使用「insufficient」、「lacking」或「weak」來描述角色塑造不足更為常見和精準。