be well known for

词义解析

该短语的核心含义是“因……而广为人知”，强调一种被公众认知的状态。其本义是“well known”（广为人知）加上“for”（因为），表示因某种原因而知名。引申义包括：1. 因积极特质（如成就、才能、美景）而闻名，如“The city is well known for its historic architecture.”（这座城市因其历史建筑而闻名。）；2. 因消极特质（如问题、缺陷）而知名，如“The company is well known for its poor customer service.”（这家公司因糟糕的客户服务而闻名。）；3. 在特定领域或群体中知名，如“She is well known for her research in genetics.”（她因在遗传学领域的研究而知名。）。各义项间由“因某原因而获得知名度”这一逻辑串联，从具体原因扩展到抽象领域。

词源解析

“well”源自古英语“wel”，意为“良好地”；“known”是“know”的过去分词，源自古英语“cnawan”，意为“知道”；“for”源自古英语“for”，表示原因。短语整体结构为“be + well known + for”，其中“well known”可视为复合形容词，意为“众所周知的”，加上“for”引出原因。记忆时可将“well known”视为整体，联想“well”修饰“known”表示程度高，再通过“for”连接具体原因，从而记住“因……而知名”的含义。

常见语境

该短语在多种场景中适用：在学术写作中，用于介绍研究对象或人物，语气正式客观，如“The region is well known for its biodiversity.”；在新闻报道中，用于描述公众人物或地点的知名度，语气中立，如“The actor is well known for his roles in action films.”；在日常口语中，用于谈论熟悉的人或事物，语气轻松，如“He's well known for his cooking skills.”；在商务邮件中，可用于介绍公司优势，语气专业，如“Our firm is well known for its innovative solutions.”；在法律文本中较少使用，但可指代某案例因特定原因而知名。各场景中，该短语均保持“因……而知名”的核心含义，但正式程度和情感色彩略有差异：学术和商务更客观，日常口语更随意。

语法说明

该短语作谓语时，系动词“be”需随主语变化（is/am/are/was/were），后接“well known for”，其中“well known”可被副词修饰，如“very well known for”。常见句型：1. 主语 + be well known for + 名词/动名词，如“The town is well known for its cheese.”；2. 主语 + be well known for + 名词从句，如“She is well known for what she achieved.”。易错点：避免将“well known”误写为“well-known”（后者作定语时用连字符，如“a well-known author”）；“for”后接原因，不可用“as”替代（“as”表示作为，如“known as”意为“被称为”）。

近义比较

与“be well known for”相近的表达有“be famous for”和“be renowned for”。“be famous for”更口语化，强调广为人知，如“The restaurant is famous for its pizza.”；“be renowned for”更正式，强调因卓越品质而备受赞誉，如“The university is renowned for its research.”。“be well known for”介于两者之间，既可指积极也可指消极原因，语气中性。选择时：日常谈论用“famous”；正式赞美用“renowned”；客观陈述用“well known”。此外，“be known for”更简短，但“well”强调程度，使用“well known”时知名度更高。

常见误区

该短语语域中性，适用于正式和非正式场合，但“well known”比“famous”更正式。褒贬色彩取决于“for”后内容：积极内容（如成就）带褒义，消极内容（如丑闻）带贬义。常见误用：1. 将“for”误用为“as”，如“He is well known as a singer.”（正确）但“He is well known for a singer.”错误，后者应改为“for being a singer”；2. 与“well-known”混淆，后者作定语时需连字符；3. 过度使用“very”修饰“well known”，口语中可，但正式写作中建议用“widely known”等替代。

常见搭配

句子示例