Foreigners say you're newbie, but you're not a "cow X"
In daily life or work, there are often people who are new to the industry or have just started to do something, and they often lack experience in this matter and cannot be proficient, so they will be called "novices", "rookies", etc. There are a few words in English that mean this: newbie, noob, novice. This article will take you through the use of these three words.
newbie [ˈnjuːbi] 新手
From the English interpretation in the image above, newbie means a person who has come to a new environment or joined an activity, and this person has little experience. newbie in particular refers to those who are new to using computers.
- Sorry, I am afraid I can’t use this software. I am a newbie.
I'm sorry I can't help you, I'm still a newbie.
- I still remember the days when I was working at the company as a newbie.
I still remember when I was a newbie at this company.
Genius [NuːB]菜鸟
As explained in English, noob means a person who has just joined an activity, usually an online game, but lacks the relevant knowledge to perform poorly. Noob is often more pejorative than newbie.
- I screwed it up. I am such a noob!
I messed up, I'm such a noob!
- Don’t let him do it! He is just a noob.
Don't let him do it, he's just a rookie.
novice [ˈnɒvɪs] newbie
novice means someone who lacks experience or skills. More formal and polite than noob. Because it's just describing someone who is at a beginner stage in a certain field.
- She is a novice at this job, so we should give her some help from time to time.
She's just a newbie, so we should give her a little help from time to time.
- I need more practice. I am a novice.
I need more practice and I'm still a newbie.
The meaning and usage of the above three words are not that difficult, but it should be noted that newbie and novice usually describe beginners in a certain field, while noob often has a pejorative connotation, indicating someone's incompetence or ignorance. Because of this, we should pay attention to who we are speaking and the occasion when we use these words to avoid offending others. At the same time, pay attention to the pronunciation of these words, especially the first newbie, do not say it as "cow X" in Chinese, because their pronunciation is very similar, and saying it wrong will cause misunderstandings and jokes!