beginner, apprentice, neophyte, novice, tyro, amateur, dilettante的区别

这些名词指还未掌握某一领域合格的技术或经验的某人。

Beginner是这些名词中最不正式也是语气上最少贬义的，表示某个已经开始获得必要能力，但是工作时间还不够没有精通这些能力的人。beginner可以暗示年轻人，但是这也不绝对：a ballet class for adult beginners; piano lessons for children and adult beginners.

Apprentice最具体的意思是指一个受主人雇佣，被教授某行业技能的年轻人。这一习惯在过去更为常见，现在仍可以在某些工会按照一个人的经验值给予的头衔里见到：the apprentice who becomes a journeyman and at last a master. 在更广泛的用法中，apprentice指任何beginner, 通常强调一个人低下的或卑贱的地位或缺乏磨炼：a writer whose first book reveals him or her to be an apprentice rather than a mature artist.

Novice和neophyte，尤其是前者，可以指一个宗教团体的新成员。在更广泛的语境中，两者都不是很真实而是更加贬损的。novice在这个例子中可以表示由于缺乏培训或者缺乏业余的训练或运用而显得笨手笨脚：measuring instruments made so that even the rankest novice can use them; a novice whose canvases show the lowest possible standards and the worst set of influences. Neophyte 的负面含义比novice要小，特别因为它表示对学习的渴望，以及对拥有知识的人的谦虚的敬意：the neophyte who clustered around the established feminist writer in hopes of catching some pearl of wisdom she seemed always on the verge of dropping.

Tyro是这些名词里负面意义最重的，因为它指对复杂领域来说无经验和业余的手段和方法，暗示一个还未开始掌握一门手艺的无经验的年轻的新成员：the tyro who has taken two survey courses in literature and proceeds to write profound reviews for the school paper.

Amateur是指业余爱好者，用于与专业人员对应，强调为了爱好才从事某项事业、运动等，并非为了钱：An amateur is someone who does something as a hobby and not as a job.

Dilettante是含有贬义的词，指经过学习掌握了一些知识（特别是艺术类），但实际并未完全理解的人，暗示此人喜欢炫耀自己的知识，但实际上一知半解：You can use dilettante to talk about someone who seems interested in a subject, especially in art, but who does not really know very much about it.

反义词：connoisseur, expert, old hand, old-timer, veteran, virtuoso, professional