heavy

Compared meaning: weighing a lot (adjective).

比较义项：重的（形容词）。

• heavy 本词

  The neutral, all-purpose word for weighing a lot; works for almost any heavy object or person, in any register, formal or casual.

  中性、最通用的词，表示“重的”，几乎可以用来形容任何重物或人，正式、非正式场合都适用。

  Please be careful — that heavy suitcase could hurt your back.

  小心点——那个重的行李箱可能会伤到你的背。

• hefty

  An informal word stressing that something is noticeably large and heavy; often used with a hint of admiration for objects or sturdy people, not for liquids or abstract things.

  非正式用语，强调东西明显又大又重；常用于形容物品或体格健壮的人，带一点赞叹的语气，不用于液体或抽象事物。

  He tossed the hefty sack of potatoes onto the truck like it was nothing.

  他把那袋又大又重的土豆轻松地扔上了卡车，好像毫不费力。

Heavy and hefty both describe something that weighs a lot. Heavy is the neutral, all-purpose word for almost anything heavy. Hefty is informal, meaning noticeably big and heavy, often said with admiration. Heavy's other meanings, such as heavy rain, are not compared here.

这两个词在“重的”这一义项上意思相近，都可以修饰重物，但语气和搭配不同：heavy 是中性、最常用的词，几乎可以形容任何重的东西；hefty 是非正式用语，强调东西又大又重，常带一点赞叹或随意的语气，多用于形容物品或体格健壮的人。heavy 还有很多其他义项（如“heavy rain”表示“大雨”、“heavy traffic”表示“拥堵的交通”），这里不作比较。

Compared meaning: large in degree or amount (adjective).

比较义项：程度大、数量多（形容词）。

• great

  Describes something as large in scale, extent, or intensity in a general, often emphatic way; very common in casual speech and collocates with time, distance, amount, deal.

  泛指规模、程度或强度上的巨大，语气较为强调，常用于口语，常与 time、distance、amount、deal 等词搭配。

  There was a great distance between the two villages.

  这两个村庄之间有很大的距离。

• heavy 本词

  Describes an amount, quantity, or intensity as greater than usual or expected; typical of rain, traffic, losses, drinking, not of size or scale in general.

  描述数量、程度或强度超出通常水平，多用于雨量、交通、损失、饮酒等，而不用于泛指规模或体积。

  Heavy traffic delayed her flight by almost two hours.

  拥堵的交通使她的航班延误了将近两个小时。

• pregnant

  Refers specifically to a woman carrying an unborn baby; a precise physical condition, not a general degree word, and cannot describe amount, size, or intensity of other things.

  特指女性怀有未出生的婴儿，是一种具体的生理状态，而非泛指程度的词，不能用来形容其他事物的数量、规模或强度。

  She stayed home from work because she was seven months pregnant.

  她因为已经怀孕七个月而请假在家。

Great, heavy, and pregnant can all mean 'to a large degree'. Great is general and emphatic, for size, distance, or amount. Heavy means an amount or intensity greater than usual, as in heavy rain or traffic. Pregnant means 'carrying a baby', not a degree word.

三个词都能表示某种事物“程度大”，但侧重不同：great 侧重规模或程度的宏大，heavy 侧重数量、重量或强度的大，pregnant 特指“怀孕的”这一具体生理状态，与前两者的相似性仅在于都可修饰名词表示某种“显著程度”。这里不比较 great 的“伟大的、杰出的”这一常用义，也不比较 heavy 的“重的（物理重量）”这一本义，也不比较 pregnant 的“意味深长的（如 pregnant pause）”这一引申义。