[生活美語]
Q: What is 矯情 in English?
A: Well, first, let's understand what it means in Chinese.
矯情: 違反常情，表示高異的風格。後漢書˙卷八十三˙逸民傳˙高鳳傳˙論曰：或高棲以違行，或疾物以矯情。老殘遊記˙第八回：他臨走到底將這袍子留下，未免太矯情了。掩飾真情。宋書˙卷一˙武帝本紀上：今方是玄矯情任算之日，必將用我輩也。
矯情就是不自然的意思, 當然就有點"做作"的意味。
In English, the closest translation would be the following:
1. pretentious (adj.)
矯飾的, 做作的; 炫耀的
自負的; 自命不凡的; 狂妄的
Synonyms: snobbish, conceited
2. phony (adj.)
假的; 欺騙的
Synonyms: fake, false, artificial
Pretentious means being fake or conceited (矯飾的/假的;自負的). Phony means being fake (假的; 欺騙的).
E.g. That pretentious couple always serves caviar at their parties, even though they themselves dislike it. --> you are stressing "pretending and being conceited" here
E.g. She always has this phony smile just before she betrays you. --> you are stressing "fake" here
Top 10 Most Pretentious Americans?
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/top-ten-most-pretentious-public-figures-59897812.html
http://thesebootsaremadeforstalking.com/?p=3684
Sources:
http://tw.knowledge.yahoo.com/question/question?qid=1305100119570
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/phony
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pretentious
http://thesaurus.com/
http://tw.dictionary.yahoo.com/
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