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地道英语

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Sell yourself short 低估你自己，妄自菲薄

Episode 260623 / 23 Jun 2026

节目简介

如果说自信心是 “sell oneself（推销自己）” 的关键，那么在自信心不足时，人就容易把自己 “sell short（卖便宜，卖亏本）”。英语表达 “sell yourself short” 借用了单词 “sell” 和 “short” 的双关含义，形象地比喻了 “低估自己，妄自菲薄” 的做法。听节目，跟主持人菲菲和 Becca 一起学习如何用 “don't sell yourself short” 来鼓励他人 “别妄自菲薄，要敢于展现自己的真本事”。

文字稿

（关于台词的备注: 请注意这不是广播节目的逐字稿件。本文稿可能没有体现录制、编辑过程中对节目做出的改变。）

Feifei
Hello and welcome to Authentic Real English, where we explain phrases and expressions used by fluent English speakers so that you can use them too. I'm Feifei.

Becca
And I'm Becca.

Feifei
How are you, Becca?

Becca
I'm alright, thanks, Feifei. I'm a bit nervous for this evening though. I'm going to propose a new idea at the meeting later.

Feifei
Fantastic! It's natural to feel nervous about sharing something new for the first time.

Becca
Yeah, well… I just don't know if my idea is creative enough. It feels pretty plain.

Feifei
Aw, Becca, don't sell yourself short. You are creative, and I'm sure your idea isn't plain.

Becca
That's very kind of you to say, Feifei, and a good use of the expression 'sell yourself short'. When we sell ourselves short, we say negative things about ourselves. We undervalue or underestimate ourselves.

Feifei
Like when you called your own idea 'pretty plain', you underestimated your sense of style. OK. Now, let's hear some more examples of this phrase 'sell yourself short'.

Examples
My sister keeps talking badly about herself. I told her to stop selling herself short.

If you've got a job interview coming up soon, the most important thing is don't sell yourself short.

Don't sell yourself short. You can definitely get a place on that course.

Feifei
你正在收听的是 BBC 英语教学制作的 “地道英语” 节目。在本期节目中，我们正在学习表达 “sell yourself short” 的用法。单词 “short” 有 “不足的，未达到预期” 的意思。因此，这个表达的字面意思并不是 “把自己卖短了”，而是 “低估了自己的价值”。在实际使用中，它常常用来比喻 “轻视自己，缺乏自信，或者因妄自菲薄而无法展示自己的能力”。

Becca, what would be the opposite of 'selling yourself short'? Is it 'selling yourself long', or maybe 'selling yourself tall'?

Becca
It's not that simple, Feifei. We can't make the opposite of this phrase by using antonyms of 'short', like 'long' or 'tall'. We could say that we value ourselves. We could also say that we know or recognise our value or worth.

Feifei
我们可以用表达 “value ourselves” 或者 “recognise our value or worth” 来表示 “正确地认识自己的价值，认可和接受自己”。

Well, Becca, remember to know your worth and good luck with the meeting later!

Becca
Thank you! And that's it for this programme but join us next time to learn more English phrases and expressions. But for now, it's goodbye!

Feifei
Goodbye!

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