If you have been learning English for a while, you are likely very familiar with the verb pay. It often refers to the act of exchanging money for an item or service, but not always! In a collocated phrase, the meaning of the word may shift slightly and cause some confusion.
如果你學(xué)了一段時間英語，你可能對動詞pay很熟悉。它通常是指用金錢交換物品或服務(wù)的行為，但并不總是這樣！在一個并置短語中，這個詞的意思可能稍有變化，引起一些混亂。

But don’t fear! Here are common phrases with the word pay, explained with plenty of examples to make sure you don’t get confused.
但不要害怕！這里有一些常用的短語，用大量的例子來解釋，以確保你不會感到困惑。

Collocations Having to Do with Exchanging Money for Something
與金錢有關(guān)的搭配

Gross pay
稅前總額

When talking about salary or earnings, you often have to take taxes into account to get an accurate picture of how much money someone is earning. However, the money that you get directly from your employer (whether you have a traditional boss or are a freelancer) is usually your gross pay.
在談?wù)撔剿蚴杖霑r，你常常必須考慮到稅收，才能準(zhǔn)確地了解一個人掙了多少錢。然而，你直接從雇主那里得到的錢（不管你是傳統(tǒng)的老板還是自由職業(yè)者）通常是你的工資總額。

This is the money that you earn, before taxes have been taken out. The number for your gross pay is usually the number that is reported for surveys and official documents, including national censuses.
這是你在繳稅前賺的錢。你的工資總額通常是為調(diào)查和官方文件（包括國家人口普查）報告的數(shù)字。

For people who do not make a lot of money, their gross pay and the money that they actually have to take care of their expenses is basically the same. If you make a lot more money, the gross pay is going to be far from representative, especially if you live in a country with high tax rates.
對于那些收入不高的人來說，他們的工資總額和他們實際需要支付的費用基本上是一樣的。如果你賺更多的錢，總工資將遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)沒有代表性，特別是如果你生活在一個高稅率的國家。

Examples
例子

When I heard his gross pay, I was shocked that he was earning so much before I remembered that he pays so much in taxes.
當(dāng)我聽到他的工資總額時，我震驚地發(fā)現(xiàn)，在我記起他交了這么多稅之前，他已經(jīng)掙了這么多錢。

Some tax exemptions allow you to deduct money that you earn from your gross pay, so you end up paying less in taxes.
一些免稅允許你從你的工資總額中扣除你掙的錢，所以你最終少交了稅。

Judging someone just by their gross pay is a terrible way to really understand the kind of lifestyle they live.
僅僅根據(jù)一個人的總收入來判斷一個人是一種很糟糕的方式來真正了解他們的生活方式。

Pay a fine
交罰款

If you have broken a law that is not too dangerous, the police may ask you to pay a fine. This means that you have to pay a little bit of money to make up for the wrong thing that you did! This is usually an amount that is not small but is manageable for many people (such as $100 for parking in the wrong place).
如果你觸犯了不太危險的法律，警察可能會要求你交罰款。這意味著你必須花一點錢來彌補你做的錯事！這通常是一個不小的數(shù)額，但對許多人來說是可以管理的（例如，在錯誤的地方停車100美元）。

However, if you do a behavior that the government really does not want you to do, the fine may be very large! For example, in Taipei, if you eat while riding the subway, you can be fined up to $10,000.
但是，如果你做了一個政府真的不想你做的行為，罰款可能會非常大！例如，在臺北，如果你在乘地鐵時吃東西，你可能會被罰款1萬美元。

Examples
例子

I can’t believe I have to pay this fine! I didn’t do anything wrong.
我真不敢相信我要付這么多罰款！我沒有做錯什么。

Can you believe you have to pay a fine of $2,000 for smoking in a school zone?
你能相信在學(xué)校區(qū)域吸煙要交2000美元的罰款嗎？

For most things, there’s no way to get out of paying the fine.
在大多數(shù)情況下，沒辦法不交罰款。

Pay by cash/card/Apple Pay, etc.
現(xiàn)金/卡/蘋果支付等方式支付。

When you want to buy something, there are many different ways that you can pay for it! Some of the most popular methods of payment include cash, credit card, debit card, and apps such as Apple Pay or even the Starbucks app. Regardless of the method that you use, you can say that you pay by that method.
當(dāng)你想買東西的時候，有很多不同的方式你可以支付它！一些最流行的支付方式包括現(xiàn)金、信用卡、借記卡，以及蘋果支付甚至星巴克應(yīng)用等應(yīng)用。不管你用哪種方法，你都可以說你是用這種方法付款的。

Examples
例子

Would you like to pay by cash or credit today?
你今天想用現(xiàn)金還是信用卡付款？

I really try to pay by credit card whenever I can so that I can earn those reward points as often as possible.
我真的盡量用信用卡支付，這樣我就能盡可能多地獲得那些獎勵積分。

The new methods of paying by phone feel weird when you try them for the first time, but they are actually extremely helpful when you get the hang of it!
當(dāng)你第一次嘗試電話支付的新方法時，感覺很奇怪，但當(dāng)你掌握了它的竅門時，它們實際上是非常有用的！

Pay cash
付現(xiàn)金

The only payment type that you can use without a preposition is cash! You can pay cash for anything that you want, as long as it’s not online shopping. However, you can also pay with or pay by cash. All of these usages are correct.
不用介詞就可以使用的付款方式只有現(xiàn)金！你可以用現(xiàn)金支付任何你想要的東西，只要不是網(wǎng)上購物。但是，您也可以用現(xiàn)金支付。所有這些用法都是正確的。

Examples
例子

If you pay cash for this tour, you can get a 3% discount off the list price.
如果你付現(xiàn)金參加這次旅行，你可以在價目表上打3%的折扣。

I really hate paying cash because I never have the right amount and then get a ton of change to carry around in my pocket.
我真的很討厭付現(xiàn)金，因為我從來沒有正確的數(shù)額，然后得到一噸零錢隨身攜帶在我的口袋里。

Some people really benefit from the anonymity that comes from paying cash.
有些人真的受益于匿名支付現(xiàn)金。

Pay with cash/credit card/Apple Pay, etc.
用現(xiàn)金/信用卡/蘋果支付等方式支付。

Anything that you can pay by, you can pay with. Usually this means that you are exchanging something, such as physical cash or your bank account or credit card number, for what you are buying. These phrases are interchangeable and do not represent any difference in meaning.
任何你能用的東西，你都可以用。通常這意味著你正在用實物現(xiàn)金、銀行賬戶或信用卡號碼等交換你要買的東西。這些短語是可互換的，不代表任何意義上的差異。

Examples
例子

The best thing to do when you are trying to get rid of your debt is just to pay with cash for everything.
當(dāng)你試圖擺脫債務(wù)時，最好的辦法就是用現(xiàn)金支付所有的東西。

In countries that you might think of as developing or second-rate, the payment system is really advanced! Everyone is paying with their cell phone nowadays!
在你可能認(rèn)為是發(fā)展中國家或二流國家，支付系統(tǒng)真的很先進(jìn)！現(xiàn)在每個人都在用手機(jī)付款！

Paying with credit card is really convenient, but it’s a real hassle if you lose it.
用信用卡付賬真的很方便，但如果你丟了信用卡就麻煩了。

Pay for something
支付

You can pay for the thing that you are getting in exchange for your money. Regardless of the method that you transferred money, you pay for something to buy it!
你可以用得到的東西來換取你的錢。不管你用什么方法轉(zhuǎn)賬，你都得花錢買東西！

Examples
例子

You don’t have to pay for dinner every time we meet up, you know!
你不必每次我們見面都付錢吃飯，你知道的！

Did you pay for that ice cream before you left the coffee shop?
你離開咖啡店前付了冰淇淋的錢嗎？

If you ask your parents to pay for something, they may see it as an opportunity to hold more control and authority over you.
如果你要求你的父母為某事付出代價，他們可能會認(rèn)為這是一個對你擁有更多控制權(quán)和權(quán)威的機(jī)會。

Pay someone back
還某人錢

If you owe someone money and you return it to them, you pay them back. This is usually used in the context of money (like a debt to the bank), but it can also apply to things like favors or acts of love.
如果你欠了別人錢還了他們，你就把錢還給他們。這通常用于金錢（比如欠銀行的債），但也可以用于恩惠或愛的行為。

Examples
例子

I don’t think that I can ever pay my parents back for all that they have done while supporting me for the last 30 years!
我不認(rèn)為我能償還我父母在過去30年里支持我所做的一切！

Sue Ellen still has not paid me back for those Broadway tickets that she asked me to order for her online! I definitely do not want to lend her any more money until she does.
蘇埃倫還沒有還我那些百老匯的票，她讓我為她網(wǎng)上訂購！我絕對不想再借錢給她，直到她借錢為止。

If you have ever owed money to the bank, pay them back as fast as possible because they will continue to hound and annoy you until you do!
如果你曾經(jīng)欠過銀行的錢，請盡快還清，因為他們會繼續(xù)騷擾你，直到你還清為止！

Equal pay
同工同酬

This is a term that is almost always used to refer to the pay gap (the difference in payment) for gender. In many countries, women earn a significantly less amount of money than men, even if they do the same work.
這是一個幾乎總是用來指性別的工資差距（工資差距）。在許多國家，即使做同樣的工作，婦女掙的錢也比男子少得多。

Men who work under women can make more money than their female bosses as well! When people earn the same amount of money for the same amount of work, this is known as equal pay. This phrase is well-used in areas such as politics nowadays.
在女人手下工作的男人也能比她們的女老板賺更多的錢！當(dāng)人們?yōu)橥瑯拥墓ぷ鲯晖瑯拥腻X時，這就是所謂的同工同酬。這句話現(xiàn)在在政治等領(lǐng)域使用得很好。

Examples
例子

I can’t believe that it’s 2017 and women still don’t have equal pay!
我真不敢相信，現(xiàn)在是2017年，女人還沒有同工同酬！

Sometimes employers don’t want you to talk about how much money you make with your coworkers because they know they aren’t giving you equal pay.
有時候雇主不想讓你和同事談?wù)撃阗嵙硕嗌馘X，因為他們知道他們沒有給你同等的報酬。

Patty believes that equal pay is an important indicator of gender equality in any country or region.
帕蒂認(rèn)為，在任何國家或地區(qū)，同工同酬都是兩性平等的重要指標(biāo)。

Take home pay
實得工資

The “opposite” of your gross pay is your take home pay. This is the money that you get to actually use, after you have paid your taxes. In many countries, the taxes that you have to pay depends heavily on the method with which you earned that money.
你的工資總額的“反面”是你的實得工資。這是你交完稅后實際使用的錢。在許多國家，你必須繳納的稅款在很大程度上取決于你用什么方法掙到這些錢。

So, just because you and your closest friend both earned $100 doesn’t mean that the same amount of money will end up in your bank accounts. However, take home pay is a number that is much more useful in getting an idea of how much money a person earns.
所以，僅僅因為你和你最親密的朋友都掙了100美元，并不意味著同樣的錢最終會進(jìn)入你的銀行賬戶。然而，實得工資是一個數(shù)字，在了解一個人掙多少錢方面更有用。

Examples
例子

In countries where the gross pay and the take home pay are crazy different, you can infer that the tax rate is probably equally high.
在工資總額和實際工資相差懸殊的國家，你可以推斷稅率可能同樣高。

It’s better to think of your income as your take home pay rather than your gross pay because the take home pay number can tell you much more about what your budget should look like.
最好把你的收入看作是你的實得工資，而不是你的總工資，因為實得工資數(shù)字可以告訴你更多關(guān)于你的預(yù)算應(yīng)該是什么樣子的。

Pay well
待遇好

If you are applying for a new job, you should check whether it pays well or not as part of your decision! A company or employer that pays well is one that gives you a good salary, or a good amount of money for the work that you are doing for them.
如果你正在申請一份新工作，你應(yīng)該檢查它的報酬是否好，作為你決定的一部分！薪水優(yōu)厚的公司或雇主，就是給你一份好薪水，或是給你一大筆錢做你為他們做的工作的公司或雇主。

Private companies in industries such as law or pharmaceuticals are notorious for paying well, while organizations like nonprofits and government or public sector jobs are notorious for not doing so.
法律或制藥等行業(yè)的私營公司因薪酬豐厚而臭名昭著，而非營利組織、政府或公共部門的工作崗位等組織則因不這樣做而臭名昭著。

Paying well is almost always used to talk about your salary (fixed regardless of the amount of work that you do) or wage (depends on the number of hours you work or the output that you put out).
高薪幾乎總是用來談?wù)撃愕男剿o論你做多少工作都是固定不變的）或工資（取決于你工作的小時數(shù)或你的產(chǎn)出）。

I heard that Jason Hicks got that new job! I’ve heard that company he’s now working for pays really well.
我聽說杰森·?？怂沟玫搅四欠菪鹿ぷ?！我聽說他現(xiàn)在供職的那家公司薪水很高。

The common understanding is that regardless of what you do, you can be paid well if you become an expert at a specific thing.
大家的共識是，無論你做什么，如果你成為某一特定領(lǐng)域的專家，你都可以得到豐厚的報酬。

If a company that you really want to work for, doesn’t pay well for whatever reason, don’t forget to consider things like flexibility and opportunities for advancement before discounting it outright, especially if you’re new to the workforce.
如果一個你真正想為之工作的公司，無論出于什么原因，薪酬都不高，不要忘記考慮靈活性和晉升機(jī)會，然后徹底打折，尤其是如果你是新員工的話。

Pay handsomely
支付豐厚

From the literal side of this phrase, to pay handsomely means the same thing as to pay well. It means that you are compensated fairly (and often more than the average) for whatever it is that you are providing.
從字面上講，支付得好和支付得好是一回事。這意味著無論你提供什么，你都能得到公平的補償（而且往往比平均水平還高）。

However, paying handsomely is more often used to talk about buying or selling something rather than about salary from an employer. If you are selling something, like a valuable painting or a car to someone, that person pays you handsomely if they pay you more than what that thing is worth.
然而，高薪更常被用來談?wù)撡I或賣東西，而不是雇主的薪水。如果你賣東西，比如一幅名畫或一輛汽車給某人，如果他付給你的錢超過了那東西的價值，他就會給你豐厚的報酬。

Examples
例子

My brother accidentally sold you that necklace, but it was my grandmother’s and has special meaning to me so I am willing to pay handsomely to get it back!
我哥哥不小心把那條項鏈賣給了你，但它是我祖母的，對我有特殊的意義，所以我愿意花很多錢把它買回來！

Just because you make unique pieces of art every day doesn’t mean that someone is always willing to pay handsomely for one of them.
僅僅因為你每天都制作獨特的藝術(shù)品并不意味著總有人愿意為其中一件付出高昂的代價。

If you are able to position your product in the right way, people will be begging to pay you handsomely for it, regardless of the price.
如果你能以正確的方式定位你的產(chǎn)品，人們會乞求為它支付豐厚的報酬，而不管價格如何。

Ability to pay
支付能力

This collocation is a phrase commonly used in the business world to describe a target audience. Instead of trying to sell things to just anyone, most brands try to target a specific group of people who will be able to afford what they’re selling, and would happily spend money to get it.
這種搭配是商業(yè)界常用的一個短語，用來形容目標(biāo)受眾。大多數(shù)品牌不想把東西賣給任何人，而是試圖把目標(biāo)鎖定在一個特定的群體，這個群體將能夠負(fù)擔(dān)得起他們所賣的東西，并且愿意花錢去買。

They never want to target a group that does not have the ability to pay unless they do not care whether they will earn any money or not.
他們永遠(yuǎn)不想瞄準(zhǔn)一個沒有支付能力的群體，除非他們不在乎自己是否能賺到錢。

Examples
例子

If your target audience does not have the ability to pay, you can bet that you are wasting your time creating your product.
如果你的目標(biāo)受眾沒有支付能力，你可以打賭你是在浪費時間創(chuàng)造你的產(chǎn)品。

Even if the people you serve don’t have the ability to pay, you can still pursue that field if you can find other people to back you. This is the way that many nonprofits work.
即使你所服務(wù)的人沒有支付能力，如果你能找到其他人支持你，你仍然可以繼續(xù)從事這個領(lǐng)域。這是許多非營利組織的工作方式。

The biggest mistake that John made in his business was that he didn’t think to check whether the people he wanted to target had the ability to pay.
約翰在生意上犯的最大錯誤是，他不想檢查他想找的人是否有支付能力。

Collocations Having to Do with Giving Something Metaphorically
搭配與隱喻性的給予有關(guān)

Pay someone a visit
拜訪某人

If you go and meet someone, you pay someone a visit. While this can apply to most meetings, it often implies that you physically go to their location to see them – you do not agree to meet at a coffee shop or restaurant or another neutral place.
如果你去見某人，你就去拜訪某人。雖然這可以適用于大多數(shù)會議，但它通常意味著你親自去他們的所在地看他們——你不同意在咖啡店、餐廳或其他中立的地方見面。

“Their” territory can be broad, however, including places like their home, their room, their office, or their car. It just has to be a physical place that belongs to them.
“他們”的領(lǐng)域可以很廣，但是，包括像他們的家，他們的房間，他們的辦公室，或他們的車。它必須是一個屬于他們的地方。

Examples
例子

I haven’t been back to my alma mater in a while so I’m thinking of going back to pay my old thesis mentor a visit!
我已經(jīng)有一段時間沒回母校了，所以我想回去拜訪我的老論文導(dǎo)師！

Walter has been waiting for his old baseball teammates to pay him a visit, but they have all been very busy and unable to take time out of their schedule.
沃爾特一直在等他的老棒球隊友來拜訪他，但他們都很忙，無法抽出時間。

It’s almost always a pleasant surprise to see someone from your past come pay you a visit!
看到你過去的人來拜訪你幾乎總是一個驚喜！

Pay someone a compliment
恭維某人

Another thing that you can pay to someone else is a compliment. If you tell someone something good about them, you are paying them a compliment. This phrase usually carries a very genuine connotation, so if you say that someone paid you a compliment, you mean that they said that good thing without any sarcasm or ill intention.
另一件事，你可以付給別人的是恭維。如果你告訴別人一些關(guān)于他們的好消息，你就是在恭維他們。這句話通常有一個非常真實的含義，所以如果你說有人向你致意，你的意思是他們說的好東西沒有任何諷刺或惡意。

Examples
例子

Felicia always blushed bright red when she heard her friends pay her a compliment.
費利西亞聽到朋友們恭維她時，總是臉紅得通紅。

A really great and underrated way to make someone more comfortable around you – especially a child – is to pay them a compliment for something they are doing.
要讓身邊的人——特別是孩子——更舒適，一個非常好的、被低估的方法是對他們正在做的事情給予贊美。

When you pay your compliments to a child, it’s far better for their future mental health to encourage the effort that they put into something rather than any natural ability that they seem to have.
當(dāng)你贊美一個孩子時，鼓勵他們努力投入到某件事情上，而不是鼓勵他們看起來擁有的任何自然能力，對他們未來的心理健康來說都要好得多。

Pay their respects
表示敬意

When someone dies, you should pay your respects to them and their family so that they know you are thinking of them. In different cultures, the actions that make up paying your respects can differ greatly.
當(dāng)有人去世時，你應(yīng)該向他們和他們的家人表示敬意，這樣他們就會知道你在想他們。在不同的文化中，表達(dá)敬意的行為會有很大的不同。

Sometimes, for example, you can just attend the person’s funeral and make sure to greet the family members. Other times, it may involve visiting that person’s grave at the cemetery, bringing flowers to a monument, or something else.
例如，有時你可以參加這個人的葬禮，并確保向家人致意。其他時候，可能會涉及到去墓地看那個人的墳?zāi)?，給紀(jì)念碑送花，或者其他什么。

Examples
例子

I try to pay my respects to all of my ancestors at least once a year.
我試著每年至少向我所有的祖先致敬一次。

Chinese culture has a special holiday set aside specifically for paying respects to your elders who have passed away.
中國文化有一個特別的節(jié)日，專門用來向去世的長輩致意。

Even if you don’t know the person very well, you should pay your respects to anyone who was a part of any community you are a part of.
即使你不太了解這個人，你也應(yīng)該向你所屬的任何社區(qū)的成員致意。

Pay the price
付出代價

If karma has come back to bite you and you are now suffering for any bad or evil actions that you have taken, you are paying the price. While paying the price of something does have a literal meaning, it is almost always used to describe someone paying a metaphorical price for someone’s evil actions, whether it be their own or someone or group that they hold very dear.
如果業(yè)力回來咬你，而你現(xiàn)在正在為你所做的任何惡行而受苦，那你就是在付出代價。雖然付出代價確實有字面意義，但它幾乎總是用來形容為某人的邪惡行為付出隱喻性代價的人，無論是他們自己，還是他們非常珍視的某個人或群體。

This collocation is not to be confused with phrases like paying half price or paying a discounted price, both of which refer to the exchange of money for a product or service.
不要把這種搭配與支付半價或打折這樣的短語混淆，這兩個短語都是指用金錢交換產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)。

Examples
例子

One of the most famous examples of paying the price is in Christian lore, where Jesus is said to have paid the price for human sin.
其中一個最著名的例子是在基督教傳說中，據(jù)說耶穌為人類的罪付出了代價。

He never took care of himself when he was young, so he is paying a dear price for that now.
他年輕時從不照顧自己，所以現(xiàn)在為此付出了高昂的代價。

Everyone regrets their actions when they are paying the price for them, but most people couldn’t care less if they were not being punished.
每個人在為自己付出代價時都會為自己的行為感到后悔，但大多數(shù)人不在乎自己是否受到懲罰。

Collocations with pay are numerous, and many of them have metaphorical meanings! Don’t get them confused with the exchange of money.
與薪酬的搭配數(shù)不勝數(shù)，而且很多都有隱喻意義！別把他們和換錢搞混了。