单词辨析：economy和economic, economical的区别

总有各种关于经济的说法，引起同学们在经济问题上的讨论，结果有时甚至大跌眼镜。今天我们来看一下相关economy和economic, economical的区别。

首先，从简易字典的角度看，从简明英汉词典上来看：

economy [简明英汉词典]

n. 经济，节约，节约措施，经济实惠，系统，机体，经济制度的状况

a. 廉价的;经济的

economic [简明英汉词典]

a. 经济(上)的，产供销的，经济学的

economical [简明英汉词典]

a. 节约的，经济的，经济学的;经济上的

而实际上，economic是economy的形容词形式，economical也是economy的形容词形式。

economic, economical这两个词都可译成“经济的”，但含义不同。

economic用以指与贸易、工业或财富等有关的“经济上的”或“有关经济学方面”的意义，一般用作定语。如：

They are faced with many economic problems.

他们面临许多经济问题。

The country is in a bad economic state, so we must reduce profits.

国家经济状况不佳，所以我们应减少利润。

economical则指与“节约”同义的“经济”，相当于not wasteful。

既可指人也可指物，既可作表语也可作定语。如：

This is an economical stove.

这是一种经济煤炉。

She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.

她是一个节俭的家庭主妇，她全家的花销不大。

Economic is used to describe anything which has a relationship with the economy, money and trade of a place or the finances that someone or a group of people have. Common uses include, economic growth, economic development, economic reform. Economic can also refer, and this is where it might get confusing to the profitability or success of a business. For example. Unless we start making money, it won't be economic to keep this supermarket branch open. Similarly, but slightly differently, economical means using money or resources in a way which minimizes any waste of money or any other resource. Have a look at these examples. It's important to be economical with our oil reserves. They may soon run out.