player

Compared meaning: someone taking part in an activity (noun).

比较义项：参加者，参与者（名词）。

• participant

  A general, somewhat formal word for anyone taking part in an activity (a workshop, meeting, survey, discussion); not limited to games or sports.

  泛指参加某项活动的人（如工作坊、会议、调查、讨论），语气较正式，不限于比赛或运动。

  Each participant received a certificate after the workshop.

  每位参加者在工作坊结束后都获得了一张证书。

• player 本词

  Specifically someone taking part in a game or sport, usually as a member of a team; sounds wrong for formal, non-game activities like meetings.

  特指参加比赛或运动的人，通常是队伍中的一员；用于会议等非比赛的正式活动会显得不恰当。

  Every player on the team practices twice a week.

  队里的每位选手每周训练两次。

Participant and player both mean someone taking part, but differ: participant is a general, formal word for anyone in an activity, like a workshop or meeting. Player specifically means someone in a game or sport, usually on a team. Not compared: player meaning a musician.

这两个词都指“参加某项活动的人”，但participant是较正式、通用的说法，可用于工作坊、会议、调查等任何活动；player专指比赛或运动中的“选手、队员”，不用于非游戏类的正式活动。这里不比较player的其他义项，如“乐器演奏者”（piano player）或“播放设备”（DVD player）。

Compared meaning: someone who acts in plays or films (noun).

比较义项：演员（n.）。

• actor

  The everyday, neutral word for someone who acts in films, television, or theatre; used in ordinary conversation and professional contexts alike.

  指在电影、电视剧或戏剧中表演的人，是日常和专业语境下最常用、最中性的说法。

  The actor rehearsed her lines every night before the premiere.

  这位演员在首映前每晚都练习台词。

• player 本词

  An old-fashioned or literary word for an actor, mainly used in theatre history or formal writing; rare in everyday modern speech, and elsewhere usually means an athlete or game participant.

  指“演员”时是较为古雅或文学化的说法，主要用于戏剧史或正式书面语中，现代日常口语中很少见；在其他语境下通常指“运动员”或“游戏玩家”。

  The travelling players performed the old comedy in village squares.

  这个巡回剧团的演员们在各个村庄广场上演这出古老的喜剧。

Actor and player both can mean someone who performs on stage or screen, but differ: actor is the everyday, neutral word used in ordinary contexts. Player is old-fashioned or literary, mainly found in theatre history; in modern speech it usually means an athlete instead.

这两个词在“表演者”这个意义上意思相近，但player是较为古雅、多用于戏剧语境的说法，现代日常口语中更常用actor；这里不比较player作“运动员”或“游戏玩家”等其他常见意义。