“依赖的”是“dependent”还是“dependant”？别再写错啦！

The Quick Answer

In British English:

Dependent means reliant on.

A dependant is a person (usually a child or a spouse).

In American English, you can use dependent for both.

在英式英语中：

Dependent的意思是“依赖”。

Dependant是指人，通常指“家眷、家属”，也就是子女或者配偶。

而在美式英语中，dependent两个意思都有。Dependant并不在美式英语中使用。

Dependant /di'pendənt/

A dependant is a person who is dependent on someone else. (For example, a child is dependent on its parents. Therefore, a child is a dependant of its parents.)

Dependant是指一个依赖于他人的人。（比方说，儿童是依赖于他的父母的，那么儿童就是他父母的家眷。）

Example:

All embassy staff and their dependants must be at the airport by 6 o'clock.

所有使馆工作人员及其家属必须在6点前到达机场。

(In this example, the word dependants means spouses and children.)

（在这个例子中，dependants就是指配偶及子女。）

Dependent /diˈpendənt/

The word dependent is an adjective meaning contingent on, relying on, supported by, or addicted to.

Dependent是一个形容词，意思是依靠的，依赖的、支持的或沉迷的。

Example:

It is largely dependent on the weather.

这多半取决于天气情况。

To remember which is the noun form, notice how the word “ant” is hiding in “dependant.” “Ant” is a noun just like a “dependant” is. If you have trouble figuring out if the word is a noun or an adjective, try plugging the word “people” into its place. If it still mostly makes sense (you might have to try the word “person” as well for it to sound better), then it’s a noun and you should use the spelling “dependant” for proper British English.

为了能分清这两个单词，首先我们要记住哪一个是名词。需要你注意的是单词dependant的结尾是ant，而ant恰恰就如dependant一样是一个名词。或者你在句子中见到这个词无法想起它到底是哪个意思时，可以把people替换掉原来那个词，看看句子是否通顺，当然person也是可以的。这一切区别的意义都必须是在英式英语之中，美式英语中就没有这些问题了。