“初中时”翻译成英语到底是”in middle school”还是”in junior high”？?? 写英语作文时一碰到回忆往事就卡壳，翻来覆去只会用when I was young… 别急，今天直接甩你一套接地气的翻译公式，附赠真实案例对比，保你下次下笔不犹豫！
时间段强调：in junior high/middle school?
例：初中时我很害羞 → I was very shy in junior high school.
?? 适合直接描述状态，简单粗暴不出错。
事件回忆：when I was in junior high?
例：初中时我第一次学英语 → When I was in junior high, I learned English for the first time.
?? 适合讲具体故事，有场景感。
注意：北美常用junior high，英联邦国家多用middle school，但意思互通！别纠结！
中式表达 | 错误翻译 | 地道说法 | 原理解析 |
|---|---|---|---|
“初中时我成绩很好” | I result was good in middle school | I did well in school in junior high? | 英语用”do well”表成绩好，而非直译”result” |
“初中时的朋友” | middle school’s friends | friends from junior high? | 所有格慎用’s，from表来源更自然 |
“那时我们经常跑步” | At that time we often ran | We used to run a lot back then? | “used to”自带回忆感，比直译”often”更地道 |
血泪案例：网友@小木舟曾把“初中时我留长发”写成”I kept long hair in middle school”，老外理解成“故意蓄发对抗学校”，实际应为I had long hair in junior high！??
平淡版：I was happy in middle school.
高分版：Looking back on my junior high years, those were some of the happiest times—especially the days when we played basketball after class.
“记得初中时嘛…” → “Y’know, back in junior high…”（美剧高频！）
“我内会儿…” → “When I was in middle school, I used to…”?
?? 核心技巧：在口语中，可以用“back in…”这类表达来开启回忆，更符合英语母语者的习惯。
@星星泡饭：翻译“初中时的梦想”要不要加the？
答：不加！直接dreams in junior high。加the会特指“唯一梦想”，容易歧义。
@查理苏的刀：“初中最后一年”说成last year of junior high会被笑吗？
答：完全正确！更简练可写my final year of junior high，英美通用。
“时态跟着场景走”：回忆过去统一用过去时（was/did/used to），别混入现在时！
“介词选短不选长”：优先用in/from，少用during my time in…这种冗长结构。
最后戳心提醒：老外根本不在乎你用的是middle school还是junior high！只要前后一致+动词时态对，就能甩开80%的竞争者。下次动笔前，默念三遍“用简单词，说清楚事”！??