Beth Hello and welcome to Question and Answer of the Week. I'm Beth.
Jiaying And I'm Jiaying. 本期节目要回答的问题如下:
Question I would like to know the difference between 'wharf', 'quay', 'pier' and 'jetty' as they all mean '码头' in Chinese. It's a bit confusing to distinguish between them. Thank you.
Beth Thanks for your question! We're going to look at the meaning of each word and will give you some examples!
Beth They are usually made of stone or metal and their position is parallel to the shore. The main difference, though, is that a 'wharf' is bigger than a 'quay'. A 'wharf' usually has a series of docking areas for boats.
Examples There are three ships coming into the wharf now. (有三艘船正在驶入码头。)
We need to wait for our boat on the quay. (我们需要在码头等船。)
Beth A 'wharf' often has buildings on it too, like offices and warehouses, because of its size.
Jiaying 如今,有一些旧的码头 “wharves” 被改建成了住宅区或办公楼,地名中仍保留了 “wharf” 一词。比如,伦敦的 “金丝雀码头” 就是 “Canary Wharf”。注意,“wharf, w h a r f” 的复数变化是不规则的,变成 “wharves, w h a r v e s”。
Examples I manage the ships from a huge office on the wharf. (我在码头的一个大办公室里管理船舶。)
At the quay, the fishermen unloaded the fish they had caught. (在码头,渔民们把他们捕获的鱼卸了下来。)
Examples On my birthday, we went to the pier to play in the arcade. (在我生日那天,我们去码头上的休闲娱乐区打街机。)
Your boat leaves from the jetty at 11 o'clock. (你要乘的船11点钟从突堤码头出发。)
Beth Another difference between a 'pier' and a 'jetty' is how they are built. A 'pier' is often above the water on pillars, so the water can flow underneath easily.
Jiaying Oh, yes! We're going to the arcade on the pier tonight!
Beth We are indeed! Remember, if you have a question about the English language you'd like to ask us, please send us an email. Our email address is: questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk