1. ADJ You use dear to describe someone or something that you feel affection for. 親愛的[ADJ n]

Mrs. Cavendish is a dear friend of mine. 凱文迪許太太是我親愛的朋友。

2. ADJ If something is dear to you or dear to your heart, you care deeply about it. 寶貴的; 珍視的[v-link ADJ 'to' n]

This is a subject very dear to the hearts of academics up and down the country. 這是全國(guó)學(xué)者都極為重視的話題。

3. ADJ Dear is written at the beginning of a letter, followed by the name or title of the person you are writing to. 親愛的 (寫在信首，位于收信人的姓名或稱呼前)[ADJ n]

Dear Peter, I have been thinking about you so much during the past few days. 親愛的彼得，在過(guò)去的幾天中我一直深深思念著你。

4. CONVENTION You begin formal letters with "Dear Sir" or "Dear Madam." You can also begin them with "Sir" or "Madam." 尊敬的[書面]

"Dear Sir," she began. “尊敬的先生”，她開始寫到。

5. N-VOC You can call someone dear as a sign of affection. 親愛的[情感]

You're a lot like me, dear. 你和我太像了，親愛的。

6. INTERJ You can use dear in expressions such as "oh dear," "dear me," and "dear, dear" when you are sad, disappointed, or surprised about something. 啊呀[情感]

"Oh dear, oh dear." McKinnon sighed. "You, too."

“啊，天哪，”麥金農(nóng)嘆息道，“你也一樣?！?/p>