Potato 主要指一種常見的塊莖蔬菜，也用於指代某些類似形狀的物體或俚語中的特定含義。
主要食物
EN: a starchy vegetable that grows underground
翻譯: 一種生長在地下的澱粉質蔬菜
植物
EN: the plant that produces this vegetable
翻譯: 生產這種蔬菜的植物
形狀類似物
EN: something shaped like a potato (e.g., a sweet potato)
翻譯: 形狀類似馬鈴薯的東西（例如：地瓜）
俚語用法
EN: a person or thing that is uninteresting or unimportant (slang)
翻譯: 指無趣或不重要的人或事物（俚語）
小提醒：注意 'potato' 的複數形式是 'potatoes'，不是 'potatos'。在俚語中 'couch potato' 指整天窩在沙發上看電視的人。
點擊下方的 US / UK 按鈕可播放發音。
Real-life Examples of "Potato" from YouTube Videos
John Maeda: Designing for simplicity
TED
“I discovered that Cheetos are good expressive material And with these Cheetos I began to think "What can I make with these Cheetos", And so I began to crinkle up potato chip flecks and also pretzels.”
1. a starchy, edible tuber from a plant, commonly eaten as a vegetable
一種澱粉質、可食用的塊莖，通常作為蔬菜食用
We had mashed potatoes with our roast chicken.
我們吃烤雞時配了馬鈴薯泥。
She peeled the potatoes before boiling them.
她在煮之前先削了馬鈴薯皮。
This soup is made with potatoes and leeks.
這道湯是用馬鈴薯和韭蔥做的。
2. the plant that produces this tuber
生產這種塊莖的植物
The farmer planted a field of potatoes.
農夫種了一田的馬鈴薯。
Potato plants have white or purple flowers.
馬鈴薯植株會開白色或紫色的花。
3. a person or thing considered uninteresting, dull, or inactive
被認為無趣、沉悶或不活躍的人或事物
He's such a couch potato on weekends.
他週末完全是個沙發馬鈴薯（懶惰的人）。
Don't be a potato, come join the party!
別像個馬鈴薯一樣（無趣），來參加派對吧！
4. a lumpy or misshapen object, especially one that is small
一個凹凸不平或形狀不規則的物體，尤指小型的
The old camera was a real potato, but it still worked.
那台舊相機真是個醜疙瘩，但它還能用。
He threw a potato of a rock into the pond.
他把一塊馬鈴薯形狀的石頭扔進了池塘裡。
5. a hot potato (idiom): a controversial or difficult issue that is hard to deal with
燙手山芋（成語）：一個有爭議或難以處理的棘手問題
The new tax policy became a political hot potato.
新稅收政策成了一個政治上的燙手山芋。
No one wants to handle that hot potato of a client complaint.
沒人想處理那個客戶投訴的燙手山芋。
| Pattern | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a bag of potatoes | 一袋馬鈴薯 | He bought a bag of potatoes at the market. (他在市場買了一袋馬鈴薯。) |
| potato + noun | 馬鈴薯… | We made potato salad for the picnic. (我們為野餐做了馬鈴薯沙拉。) |
| peel/cut/boil potatoes | 削皮/切/煮馬鈴薯 | She is peeling potatoes for the stew. (她正在為燉菜削馬鈴薯皮。) |
| grow/plant potatoes | 種植/栽種馬鈴薯 | They grow potatoes on their farm. (他們在農場種植馬鈴薯。) |
| a potato | 一顆馬鈴薯 | There's a potato sprouting in the pantry. (食品儲藏室裡有一顆馬鈴薯發芽了。) |
| mashed/fried/baked potato | 馬鈴薯泥/炸馬鈴薯/烤馬鈴薯 | I'll have the baked potato with sour cream. (我要一份加酸奶油烤馬鈴薯。) |
-es。potato，複數 potatoes（同 tomato）。
EN: Please buy five potatoes and one sweet potato at the market.
翻譯: 請在市場買五個馬鈴薯和一個地瓜。EN:This recipe requires one large potato, mashed.
翻譯:這道食譜需要一個大的馬鈴薯，並將其搗成泥。
在大多數涉及數量或泛指的情況下，使用複數形式 potatoes，僅在指單一個時使用 a potato。
potato vs potatoes
「potato」是單數形式，指一個馬鈴薯；「potatoes」是複數形式，指多個馬鈴薯。
potato vs yam
「potato」指馬鈴薯（茄科），澱粉質高，外皮常見為黃褐色；「yam」指山藥或洋芋（薯蕷科），口感較黏，外皮粗糙呈深褐色。
potato vs sweet potato
「potato」指一般馬鈴薯，肉質為白色或黃色；「sweet potato」指地瓜或甘藷，肉質常見為橙色或紫色，味道較甜。
在對話中，當重複或引述他人剛提到的「potato」時，常用來確認或表示理解。 EN: A: I need to buy a potato for the recipe. B: A potato? That's all? 翻譯: A: 我需要買一顆馬鈴薯來做這道菜。 B: 一顆馬鈴薯？這樣就夠了？
EN:So you're saying the secret ingredient is just a baked potato?
翻譯:所以你是說，秘密食材就只是一顆烤馬鈴薯？
與形容詞搭配，用於強調馬鈴薯的狀態或特性，常帶有誇張或生動的口語色彩。 EN: This isn't just any potato; it's a giant potato! 翻譯: 這可不是普通的馬鈴薯；這是顆巨無霸馬鈴薯！
EN:I'm so tired, I feel like a couch potato.
翻譯:我好累，感覺自己像個沙發馬鈴薯（整天躺沙發的人）。
在思考或尋找合適詞語時，有時會用「potato」這類具體名詞作為暫時的填充詞，尤其談論食物或日常物品時。 EN: Could you pass me the... uh... potato peeler? 翻譯: 你可以把那個…呃…馬鈴薯削皮器遞給我嗎？
EN:The dish needs something more... maybe a potato to make it heartier.
翻譯:這道菜需要再加點什麼…也許加顆馬鈴薯會更紮實。
正式寫作注意：上述口語用法（如引述確認、誇張強調或作為停頓填充詞）通常不適用於學術論文、商業報告或正式書信。在正式文體中，應直接、明確地使用「potato」指稱其本義，避免口語化的重複或語氣詞。
mashed potato
adj + potato
馬鈴薯泥
baked potato
adj + potato
烤馬鈴薯
potato chip
potato + n
洋芋片
potato sack
potato + n
馬鈴薯袋
potato salad
potato + n
馬鈴薯沙拉
potato peeler
potato + n
馬鈴薯削皮器
potato famine
potato + n
馬鈴薯饑荒
potato field
potato + n
馬鈴薯田
×I bought a potato.
✓I bought a potato. / I bought some potatoes.
While 'a potato' is grammatically correct, it is unusual to buy just one potato. In most shopping contexts, we use the plural 'potatoes' or a quantity like 'a bag of potatoes'.
×potatos
✓potatoes
The plural of nouns ending in '-o' often adds '-es'. 'Potato' follows this rule (potato -> potatoes). Common exceptions include 'photos' and 'pianos'.
×I like potato.
✓I like potatoes. / I like potato.
When talking about the food in general, we usually use the plural form 'potatoes'. The singular form 'potato' is typically used when referring to it as an ingredient or a type of food substance (e.g., 'mashed potato'), but 'potatoes' is more common for general preference.
×potato mashed
✓mashed potato / mashed potatoes
In English, adjectives (or participles like 'mashed') come before the noun. The noun can be singular when referring to the dish/food substance or plural when referring to individual pieces.
×two potatoes
✓two potatoes / two pounds of potatoes
While 'two potatoes' is correct, in cooking and shopping, we often measure potatoes by weight (pounds/kilograms) or by bags, especially for larger quantities. Using a unit of measurement is often more natural.