weak

Compared meaning: weak or pale from illness or tiredness (adjective).

比较义项：身体虚弱、无力，或脸色苍白（多因生病、疲惫等引起）（形容词）。

• faint

  Describes a sudden feeling of dizziness and weakness, as if about to collapse; used with 'feel faint', describing a momentary physical state rather than a lasting condition.

  形容突然感到头晕、虚弱，仿佛快要晕倒；常见搭配为“feel faint”（感到眩晕欲倒），强调的是一时的身体状态，而非持续的状况。

  She suddenly felt faint and grabbed the railing to keep from falling.

  她突然感到一阵晕眩无力，赶紧抓住栏杆以免摔倒。

• wan

  Describes a pale, sickly complexion, especially after illness or exhaustion; a literary or formal word, often paired with 'pale' ('pale and wan'), and used mainly for the face.

  形容脸色苍白、病态，多用于生病或极度疲惫之后；是较为书面、文学化的词，常与 pale 连用，如“pale and wan”（脸色苍白无血色），主要用来形容脸部。

  After the flu, her face looked wan and colorless, worrying her mother.

  得了流感之后，她的脸色显得苍白无血色，让母亲很担心。

• weak 本词

  Describes a general lack of physical strength or energy in the body or a body part (such as the legs), without focusing on skin color or a fear of collapse; the most common, neutral word of the four.

  形容全身或身体某部位（如双腿）普遍缺乏力气，不涉及脸色或即将晕倒的感觉；是四个词中最常用、最中性的一个。

  After the illness, her legs were still weak and shaky.

  生病之后，她的双腿仍然虚弱无力，走路摇摇晃晃。

• pale

  Describes a lighter-than-usual skin color, e.g. from tiredness, fear or illness; a common, everyday word for facial color, less literary than 'wan' and broader in use.

  形容脸色比平时苍白，例如因疲惫、害怕或生病所致；是形容脸色最常用的日常词，比“wan”更口语化，用法也更广泛。

  He looked pale and worn out after studying all night.

  他熬夜复习了一整夜，看上去脸色苍白，一副精疲力竭的样子。

Faint, wan, weak, and pale can mean weak from illness or tiredness. Faint means suddenly dizzy. Wan and pale describe a pale face, wan more literary. Weak means a lack of strength. Not compared: faint meaning barely heard, weak meaning not strong, pale meaning light-colored.

这四个词都可以形容因生病、劳累等原因显得虚弱或脸色苍白，但侧重点不同：faint 强调突然感到眩晕、快要晕倒的感觉；wan 和 pale 侧重脸色苍白，其中 wan 更加书面、常与 pale 连用；weak 泛指全身或身体某部位缺乏力气。这里不比较 faint 表示“微弱、几乎听不见”的义项（如 faint sound、faint smell）；不比较 weak 表示“效力弱”的义项（如 weak tea、weak argument）；也不比较 pale 表示“颜色浅淡”或引申为“逊色的”的义项（如 a pale imitation）。

Compared meaning: lacking power or strength (adjective).

比较义项：缺乏力量、无法施加作用（形容词）。

• weak 本词

  Weak describes a general lack of physical strength or power in a person or thing, with no implication of a specific external situation causing it.

  weak表示人或事物本身力气、力量不足，是一种一般性描述，并不涉及造成这种状态的具体外部情境。

  After the long illness, his legs felt weak and unsteady.

  生了一场大病之后，他的双腿感到虚弱无力，站不稳。

• powerless

  Powerless describes being unable to act, control, or influence a particular situation, usually because of external circumstances, rather than a general lack of physical strength.

  powerless表示在某个具体情境中无法采取行动、加以控制或施加影响，通常是由外部原因造成的，而不是泛指身体力量不足。

  Without electricity, the whole neighborhood felt powerless and quiet.

  停电之后，整个社区显得无力应对，一片寂静。

Weak and powerless both mean lacking power, but differ in focus. Weak describes a general lack of physical strength in a person or thing. Powerless describes being unable to act or have influence in a specific situation. This does not cover weak meaning diluted.

weak和powerless在“缺乏力量”这一点上意思相近，但weak泛指人或事物本身力气/力量不足，powerless则强调在某个具体情境中因外部原因而无法采取行动或施加影响，带有无助感。weak还有“（茶、信号等）淡的、弱的”等其他义项，这里不比较。