「困惑」這種感覺幾乎每天都會出現。開會時突然聽不懂對方的邏輯、數字對不上、計畫突然大改,這些瞬間,光用 confused 其實很難準確表達你的狀態。
英文裡描述「困惑」的詞其實非常豐富。
不同的字帶有不同程度與情緒:有的偏慌亂,有的偏無助,有的只是單純搞混。掌握這些差異,能讓你的表達更精準,也更容易被理解。
下面整理了8 個常見的「困惑」表達,搭配例句與翻譯,讓你能直接從情境理解用法。
目次
flustered|慌亂、手忙腳亂
這個詞不只是「困惑」,而是被打亂節奏、心跳加快、反應不及的狀態。常見於臨時被點名或同時處理太多事情的情境。
get / feel flustered + when / by / at
→ 強調「被某件事打亂」
She felt flustered when her boss called on her without any warning.
(老闆毫無預警地點名她,她當場慌了。)
He got flustered trying to handle three customer complaints at the same time.
(同時處理三個客訴,他整個亂了方寸。)
puzzled|想不通、百思不解
遇到邏輯上說不通的事,或是數據對不上、事情的發展不合理的情況,用 puzzled 最貼切。帶有「認真想過,但還是不懂」的語感。
be puzzled by + 名詞 / 事情
The team looked puzzled when the client rejected a proposal everyone thought was solid.
(當客戶否決了所有人都覺得很穩的提案,整個團隊都傻眼了。)
I’m puzzled by the fact that sales went up but profits dropped at the same time.
(銷售額上升,利潤卻同時下滑,這件事讓我想不通。)
mixed up|搞混、弄錯
偏口語,常用於把事情搞混、順序記錯或細節弄錯。語氣輕鬆,不帶強烈情緒。
get mixed up between A and B(搞混兩者)
get mixed up with(和…搞混 / 捲入)
I got mixed up between the two contracts and sent the wrong one to the client.
(我把兩份合約搞混了,結果寄錯給客戶。)
Sorry, I got mixed up with the time zones and missed the call completely.
(抱歉,我把時區搞錯了,完全錯過了電話會議。)
perplexed|深感困惑、不解
這個詞比 confused 正式一些,帶有思考過後仍找不到答案的語感,適合較嚴肅或複雜的情境,例如商業分析或重大決策上。
be perplexed by
通常用在比較正式、抽象的內容
The board was perplexed by the CEO’s decision to expand into an unfamiliar market.
(董事會對執行長決定進軍陌生市場感到十分不解。)
She was perplexed by the inconsistency in the data across different departments.
(各部門之間的數據前後矛盾,讓她感到非常困惑。)
confused|困惑、搞不清楚
最通用的說法。當資訊過多或說明不清,導致一時無法理解時,用 confused 就很自然。
be confused about + 問題 / 主題
be confused by + 原因 / 事物
I’m confused about which version of the report we’re supposed to be working on.
(我搞不清楚我們到底該用哪個版本的報告。)
Most of the new hires were confused by the new onboarding process in their first week.
(大多數新人在第一週都被新的入職流程搞得一頭霧水。)
throw off|被打亂、愣住
用來描述原本的節奏或狀態被打斷,常見於臨時變動或突發狀況。be thrown off by + 事件(被…打亂)
throw someone off(使某人亂掉)
We were thrown off by the sudden change in schedule.
(突如其來的行程變動讓我們整個節奏被打亂。)
A technical glitch during the demo threw him off, and he struggled to recover.
(示範途中出現技術問題,讓他當場愣住,一時難以恢復。)
at a loss|不知所措、完全沒轍
當你連下一步該怎麼做都不知道時,用這個片語很貼切。語氣比「困惑」更強,帶有無助感。
at a loss (for words / what to do)
The team was at a loss after the key supplier pulled out of the deal overnight.
(主要供應商一夜之間退出合作,團隊完全不知所措。)
She was at a loss for words when she found out the budget had been cut in half.
(得知預算被砍半,她一時說不出話。)
bewildered|徹底懵了、震驚困惑
程度最強,不只是困惑,而是難以消化眼前發生的事,帶有強烈的意外與衝擊。
be bewildered by + 強烈變化 / 情境
The entire office was bewildered when the company announced it was shutting down.
(公司宣布關閉,整個辦公室的人都愣住了。)
I was completely bewildered by how quickly the situation went from fine to crisis.
(情況從正常到失控的速度太快,我完全反應不過來。)
總結
這 8 個詞涵蓋了從「小幅搞混」到「完全當機」,涵蓋了不同層次的困惑。下次遇到讓你卡住的時刻,試著想想自己是哪一種狀態,再選擇最合適的詞。
用詞越精準,對話就越順。把這些表達學起來,在下次的英語對話中試試看吧!
















