universe

Compared meaning: all of space and everything in it (noun).

比较义项：宇宙（名词）。

• universe 本词

  The plain, everyday word for all of space and everything in it; equally natural in casual talk and in scientific writing.

  这是日常、中性的用词，指宇宙间的一切，包括所有天体；无论是日常对话还是科学写作，用起来都很自然。

  Astronomers still argue about how large the universe truly is.

  天文学家至今仍在争论宇宙究竟有多大。

• cosmos

  A more formal, somewhat literary word that pictures the universe as an ordered, harmonious system, and appears more in scientific or philosophical writing than in casual speech.

  这是更正式、略带文学色彩的词，把宇宙想象成一个有序、和谐的系统，多用于科学或哲学性的文字，而非日常口语。

  The ancient Greeks saw the cosmos as a perfectly ordered whole.

  古希腊人把宇宙看作一个完美有序的整体。

Both words mean everything in space, and are easy to confuse. Universe is the plain, everyday word, natural in both casual talk and scientific writing. Cosmos is more formal and literary, picturing the universe as an ordered, harmonious system, and appears more in scientific writing.

这两个词在“宇宙”这个意义上很接近，容易混淆，但语气不同：universe是最常用、最中性的说法，cosmos更正式，更带有把宇宙看作一个有序、和谐系统的哲学或科学意味。