要说“发烧友”就得先从“发烧”说起。“这个孩子发高烧而且说胡话。”应该任何翻译呢？是翻译成“The child had a high fever and talked nonsense.”吗？“to talk nonsense”是胡说八道的意思，因发高烧而说胡话是指在神志不清的情况下语无伦次地说话，英语更适宜翻译为“to be delirious”.因此可以这样翻译“ The child had a high fever and became delirious. ”或“The child became delirious with a high fever.”例如“ During the fever, the child became delirious and said some strange things.”（这个孩子在发高烧时说胡话，讲了一些奇怪的事。）
“发烧”在汉语里第一个意思是“超过正常体温”。英语可以译为“ to have/run a fever”或“ to have/run a temperature”。例如“ If you get/are running a temperature, you should stay in bed.”（如果你发烧就应该卧床休息。）
“发烧”的第二个意思是“狂热爱好或迷恋音乐或某些高科技产品”。英语可以翻译为“ to be infatuated with”或“ to be obsessed with”。例如“ The student is infatuated with the Web.”（这个学生对网络发烧。） “The young man is obsessed with cars. ”（这个青年对汽车十分着迷。）
而“发烧友“则指 “狂热爱好或迷恋音乐或某些高科技产品的人”。英语可以这样表达如enthusiast、zealot、–facnier、–phile” 或–manic。这里有一些例子：“These car–fanciers have recently organized a club.”（这些汽车发烧友最近组织了一俱乐部。） “Most classic music–manics are keen on Mozart.”（大多数古典音乐发烧友都喜欢莫扎特的作品。） “As an audio fancier, he has the experience of working in a recording studio.”（作为音响发烧友，他具有在录音棚里工作的经历。） “I’ve been a web zealot for about seven years.”（我当网络发烧友大约有七年了。）
