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Updated on
18 Sep 2020
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Thai
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English (US)
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English (UK)
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Question about English (UK)
What is the difference between pale and subtle ?Feel free to just provide example sentences.
What is the difference between pale and subtle ?Feel free to just provide example sentences.
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18 Sep 2020
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- English (UK)
- English (US)
Ah, I see.
Pale can be a neutral observation, or a criticism. 'It's pale yellow' sounds like a neutral statement, without any context.
Pale could be a negative if the thing you're talking about isn't supposed to be pale though. "That tea's a bit pale" is a criticism because tea isn't meant to be pale. If you wanted to defend yourself, you might say, "It's not pale, it's subtle."
Or, perhaps you think the shade of something is too pale to look attractive. In that case, you could say, "It's a bit pale" or "It's quite pale, don't you think?" The inference is that the shade should be changed.
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- English (UK)
- English (US)
When talking about colours, I don't think there's any difference. For instance, I don't think there's any difference between 'a pale shade of yellow' and 'a subtle shade of yellow.'
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- Japanese
@EternalStudent
I see, I came across a line “It’s not pale. It’s subtle.”(but this is a translation from a non-English-speaking drama) and I thought pale has a negative meaning while subtle has a positive meaning, but they both mean the same thing as for colours?
I see, I came across a line “It’s not pale. It’s subtle.”(but this is a translation from a non-English-speaking drama) and I thought pale has a negative meaning while subtle has a positive meaning, but they both mean the same thing as for colours?
- English (UK)
- English (US)
Ah, I see.
Pale can be a neutral observation, or a criticism. 'It's pale yellow' sounds like a neutral statement, without any context.
Pale could be a negative if the thing you're talking about isn't supposed to be pale though. "That tea's a bit pale" is a criticism because tea isn't meant to be pale. If you wanted to defend yourself, you might say, "It's not pale, it's subtle."
Or, perhaps you think the shade of something is too pale to look attractive. In that case, you could say, "It's a bit pale" or "It's quite pale, don't you think?" The inference is that the shade should be changed.
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- Japanese
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