こんにちは！今日は、とりわけイギリス英語でよく使われる「fancy」という非常に多用途な単語を紹介します。

「fancy」の意味

「Fancy」にはいくつかの異なる意味がありますが、今日は最も一般的に使われる4つの意味に注目します。この単語は、動詞、名詞、形容詞として使われます。

動詞としての「fancy」

まず、動詞としての「fancy」を見てみましょう。
イギリスでは「fancy」を好む・嫌うという意味で使います。
アメリカ英語で「to have a crush on」と言うのと同じように、誰かに対して恋愛感情を抱くことを指す場合もあります。
また、成功の可能性について話す際にも使われます。

[例文]

• 「I think Tom really fancies Laura, every time he speaks to her his face goes bright red!」
  （トムは本当にローラのことが好きなんだと思う。彼女と話すときの彼の顔はいつも真っ赤だから。）

• 「I think my new colleague really fancies me a bit. He’s always complimenting me and asking me what I’m up to after work. Too bad, seems nice but he’s not really my type.」
  （新しい同僚が私にちょっと好意を持っている気がするの。いつも褒めてくれて、仕事のあとに何してるか聞いてくるんだけど。悪くないけど、残念ながら私のタイプじゃないのよね。）

• A:「I’m going to go and talk to that girl over there by the bar. She’s gorgeous!」
  （あそこのバーにいる女の子に話しかけに行くよ。彼女、とても綺麗だよね！）
  B:「Haha! Good luck, I don’t really fancy your chances though mate. She’s married to one of the richest man in the country.」
  （ハハ、頑張ってね。でも正直君がうまくいくとは思えないよ。彼女はこの国で一番お金持ちな男と結婚してるんだよ！）

• A:「Have you ever tried sushi?」
  （お寿司を食べたことありますか？）
  B:「No, I’ve never really fancied it.」
  （いいえ、私はお寿司が好きではありません。）

• A:「Does anyone fancy a cup of tea?」
  （紅茶を飲みたい人？）
  B:「Lovely, I’ll have one thanks.」
  （いいね、一杯欲しいな。）

形容詞の「fancy」

「fancy」は、豪華な、高級そうな、または手の込んだものを形容する際にも使います。

「I had a great Valentine’s date. My boyfriend took me to a really fancy new restaurant in the city. The food was absolutely incredible.」
（バレンタインデーのデートは最高だったよ。彼氏が新しい高級レストランに連れて言ってくれて、料理が本当に素晴らしかったの。）

[例文]

「Ooh, going somewhere special tonight are you?」
（あれ？今夜はどこか特別なところに行くの？）

「Not particularly, why do you ask?」
（いや、特にそういうわけではないけど。なんで？）

「No reason. Just saw you were wearing a fancy new shirt and thought you might have a date tonight.」
（いや、ただ新しい派手なシャツを着てるから、デートでもあるのかなって思ったんだ。）

名詞としての「fancy」

最後に、名詞として使われる「fancy」もありますが、これはあまり一般的ではありません。
「passing（つかのまの）」という形容詞とともに使われることが多く、一時的な興味や思いつきを意味します。

[例文]

「Tom toyed with the idea of quitting his desk job and becoming a chef, but it was just a passing fancy and he stayed at the same job until his retirement.」
（トムはデスクワークを辞めてシェフになることを考えていたけど、それはただの一時的な思い付きで、結局は定年まで同じ仕事を続けた。）

以上です！「fancy」は非常に便利な単語で、特にイギリス英語でよく使われます。ぜひ、次の授業で使ってみてください！

Jaimie

[英語原文]

Fancy

Hello again. Today I’m going to show you an extremely versatile word that is widely used in English speaking countries but in particular in British English and that is “fancy”

Meaning

Fancy has a number of different meanings but today we are going to look at the four most commonly used ones. It can be a verb, noun, or an adjective. 

Firstly, let’s look at the verb. In Britain we use the word fancy to talk about liking or disliking something. We use it in the same way as Americans would say “to have a crush on” when talking  about having romantic feelings towards someone. 

We also use it to talk about the likelihood of success. 

Examples

• “I think Tom really fancies Laura, every time he speaks to her his face goes bright red!”

• “I think my new colleague really fancies me a bit. He's always complimenting me and asking me what I’m up to after work. Too bad, he seems nice but he’s not really my type.”

• “I’m going to go and talk to that girl over there by the bar. She’s gorgeous!”

“Haha! Good luck, I don’t really fancy your chances though mate. She’s married to one of the richest men in the country!”

• “Have you ever tried sushi?”

“No, I’ve never really fancied it.”

• “Does anyone fancy a cup of tea?”

“ Lovely, I’ll have one thanks.”

Fancy used as an adjective

We also use fancy to describe things as being upmarket, expensive looking, or elaborate.

• “I had a great Valentine’s date. My boyfriend took me to a really fancy new restaurant in the city. The food was absolutely incredible. 

• “Ooh, going somewhere special tonight are you?” 

“Not particularly, why do you ask?” 

“No reason. Just saw you were wearing a fancy new shirt and thought you might have a date tonight!”

Fancy used as a noun

The final and less commonly used version of fancy is used as a noun and quite often with the adjective “passing” meaning to only exist for a short time. 

• Tom toyed with the idea of quitting his desk job and becoming a chef, but it was just a passing fancy and he stayed at the same job until his retirement.

So there you have it. Fancy is a very useful word and used especially often in British English so give it a try next time in class! 

Jaimie