live

Compared meaning: to live in a place (verb).

比较义项：居住（于某地）（动词）。

• live 本词

  Live is the plain, everyday word for having a home somewhere; it is neutral in register and by far the most common choice in ordinary conversation, unlike the more formal words below.

  live是普通、日常的用词，表示“在某处有个家”，语体中性，在日常对话中是迄今为止最常用的选择，不像下面几个词那样正式。

  She has lived in that apartment for over ten years.

  她已经在那套公寓里住了十多年。

• dwell

  Dwell is formal and literary, appearing mainly in older or poetic writing about where someone lives; it sounds old-fashioned and is rarely used in everyday conversation.

  dwell语气正式，带有文学色彩，主要出现在描写某人居住地点的较旧文本或诗意文字中，听起来有些过时，在日常对话中很少使用。

  A few elderly monks still dwell in that mountain temple.

  几位年长的僧人仍然住在那座山中的寺庙里。

• populate

  Populate describes a large number of people, animals, or things occupying an area, focusing on quantity and spread rather than one person's home; it is often used in the passive.

  populate描述大量的人、动物或事物聚集分布在某个区域内，强调数量和分布范围，而不是某一个人的家，也常用于被动语态。

  Millions of insects populate the rainforest floor throughout the year.

  数以百万计的昆虫常年密集分布在热带雨林的地面上。

• inhabit

  Inhabit is a formal, transitive verb used mainly for animal species or groups of people occupying a region or habitat, not for someone's own private home.

  inhabit是正式的及物动词，主要用来描述动物物种或人群占据、栖息在某个地域，而不是用于某人自己的私人住所。

  Polar bears inhabit the icy coastlines of the Arctic.

  北极熊栖息在北极冰冷的海岸线上。

Live, dwell, populate, and inhabit all mean to live somewhere. Live is plain and common. Dwell is formal, literary, old-fashioned. Populate means many people occupy an area. Inhabit is formal, for species or groups in a region. Not covered: dwell on, or live as 'broadcast'.

这几个词在“居住于某地”这个义项上意思相近，但语体和用法不同：live最常用、最中性；dwell更书面、带文学色彩；populate强调数量众多、分布广泛；inhabit多用于描述物种或族群栖息的地域，语气正式。这里不比较dwell常见的另一个意思“老是想着、纠结于”（dwell on）；也不比较live表示“活着”或作形容词表示“现场直播”的用法。

Compared meaning: alive, having life (adjective).

比较义项：活着的，有生命的（形容词）。

• live 本词

  Describes animals, plants, or devices that are still alive or carrying power/activity (a live fish, a live wire); almost always placed before the noun and pronounced to rhyme with 'five', unlike the verb 'live'.

  用来形容仍然活着或仍在通电／运作的动物、植物或装置（如活鱼、带电的电线）；几乎总是放在名词前作定语，读音与“five”押韵，不同于动词 live（居住）。

  Never touch a live wire with wet hands.

  湿手时绝不要碰带电的电线。

• living

  Describes a person or being who is still alive, especially in comparisons like 'the oldest living relative'; used mainly for people and organisms, not for inanimate objects.

  用来形容仍然在世的人或生物，尤其用于比较句，如“健在最年长的亲人”；主要用于人和生物，不用于无生命的物品。

  She is the oldest living relative in our family.

  她是我们家族里健在最年长的亲人。

Live and living both mean alive. Live describes animals, plants or powered devices, like a live wire, and is almost always placed before the noun. It rhymes with 'five'. Living describes a person or being still alive, as in 'the oldest living relative'.

live 常用来形容动物、植物或通电／运作中的物品（如 live wire 带电的电线），几乎总是放在名词前作定语，读音与“five”押韵，与动词 live（居住）不同；living 多用于人或生物，强调“仍然在世”，常见于 the oldest living relative 这类说法。这里不比较 live 作动词表示“居住”的意思，也不比较 living 作名词表示“生计”的意思。