“Sex and the City” it ain’t. “Dwelling Narrowness”, a hit TV series about the struggles of two sisters to make it in a dynamic metropolis modeled on Shanghai, focuses on a decidedly less glamorous aspect of life in the big city: rising property prices, and they havoc this wreaks on youthful ambitions.
《欲望都市》只是个传说。近期大热的电视剧《蜗居》，讲述了闯荡上海的两姐妹如何在纸醉金迷的大都市挣扎立足的故事，剧集推开了城市生活的表面浮华，揭露了高生活成本的残酷现实，以及年轻人用自己的梦想做出的惨痛牺牲。
Its subject matter concerns “House Slaves”, people enslaved to their mortgages; the “Little Third”, the “other woman,” and in this case the typically much younger woman in an extramarital affair; and so on.
剧集衍生了一系列热词，包括了“房奴”——为买房而负债的人们；以及“小三”——第三者，尤指插足婚姻的年轻女性。
A popular line from the show is that “the speed of rising prices always outpaces savings” meaning that today's housing prices are throwing this generation into debt instead of saving like their parents did. Another quote from the show that hits close to home for many Shanghairen is, “To buy an apartment in Shanghai, you dig a tomb for yourself, then bury your love.” That is the exchange one sister in the show makes: get an apartment but give up her true love.
剧中有一句颇受追捧的台词说道：“攒钱的速度永远赶不上涨价的速度。”这意味着如今飞涨的房价使得年轻一代必须举债贷款，而不是像他们的父辈一样存钱买房。另一句台词则让更多的上海人深有体会：“在上海买房，你就是自掘坟墓，然后埋葬你的爱情。”这正是剧中女主角所付出的代价，为了房子，放弃了真爱。
《蜗居》热词台词翻译：
Dwelling Narrowness 蜗居
意译，在狭小的空间里居住，很贴切哦。
house slaves 房奴 people enslaved to their
字对字的直译，简洁明了。
Little Third 小三 the “other woman,” and in this case the typically much younger woman in an extramarital affair
同样是字对字呃直译，保留了中文的贬义语气。
The speed of rising prices always outpaces savings.
攒钱的速度永远赶不上涨价的速度。
To buy an apartment in Shanghai, you dig a tomb for yourself, then bury your love.
在上海买房，你就是自掘坟墓，然后埋葬你的爱情。