<p>There is no one-size-fits-all answer</p>
<p>马上想出</p>
<p>随随便便地</p>
<p>最先想到的</p>
<p>不假思索</p>
<p>这恰好是我不能肯定的。<br />
This is right off the top of my head.</p>
<p>我随便说说 ...<br />
Off the top of my head ...</p>
<p>我不经考虑无法告诉你答案。<br />
I can't tell you the answer off the top of my head.</p>
<p>我随口回答了他的问题。<br />
I answered his question right off the top of my head.</p>
<p>我不加思索就回答了他的问题。<br />
I answered his question right off the top of my head.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-14T08:49:24.983Z
2022-09-14T08:49:24.983Z
Pedroski
<p>&quot;off the top of my head&quot; can be translated into &quot;凭记忆&quot;, &quot;仅凭记忆&quot;, &quot;在我的记忆中&quot;, &quot;能想起来的&quot;, &quot;马上能想起来的&quot;, &quot;能回忆起来的&quot;, &quot;现在能记得起来的&quot;, etc.</p>
<p>When followed by a negative sentence, &quot;off the top of my head, I could not&quot; can be translated into &quot;我想不起来了&quot;, &quot;我不记得了&quot;, &quot;我一时想不起来了&quot;, &quot;我现在不记得了&quot;, &quot;我不能马上想起来&quot;, &quot;我一下子想不起来&quot;, etc.</p>
<p>Off the top of my head, I don't know the answer. 我一时想不起来答案.</p>
<p>I can think of one example off the top of my head. 在我的记忆中有这样一个例子.</p>
<p>He can recite poetry off the top of his head. 他仅凭记忆就可以背诵诗词.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-14T14:15:14.017Z
2022-09-14T14:15:14.017Z
PdotWang
<p>&quot;Off the top of my head&quot;, I don't know the answer. - &quot;<strong>一時間</strong>&quot;,....</p>
<p>I can think of one example off the top of my head. - 我可以&quot;<strong>在一瞬間</strong>&quot;...</p>
<p>He can recite poetry off the top of his head. - 他可以&quot;<strong>瞬間</strong>&quot;背出...</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-14T15:13:24.297Z
2022-09-14T15:13:24.297Z
r13
<p>In English, we often use the phrase:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/off-the-top-of-head" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><strong>Off the top of my head</strong></a>: from the knowledge you have in your memory.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>E.g. we might say:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>Off the top of my head</em>, I don't know the answer.<br />
I can think of one example <em>off the top of my head</em>.<br />
He can recite poetry <em>off the top of his head</em>.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It's often used in interviews, etc., when someone asks a question and you don't immediately know the answer, but you could figure it out fairly easily.  If you answer the question, you could say the wrong thing.  It's better than saying a plain &quot;I don't know&quot;, as it merely implies you haven't memorized the answer.</p>
<p>I'd like to express this in Chinese, but I don't know how to...</p>
<p><strong>Question</strong>: How can I express &quot;off the top of my head&quot;?</p>
<p>Google Translating the above examples gives:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>在我的脑海中</strong>，我不知道答案。<br />
我能想到一个例子。<br />
他可以<strong>在头脑中</strong>背诵诗歌。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>For the second sentence, it didn't translate &quot;off the top off my head&quot;.</p>
<p>Searching on <a href="https://youdao.com/result?word=lj%3Aoff%20the%20top%20of%20my%20head&amp;lang=en" rel="nofollow noreferrer">YouDao</a> and <a href="http://www.jukuu.com/search.php?q=off+the+top+of+my+head" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Jukuu</a> gives:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>对不起，我<strong>现在一下子</strong>不能给你精确的数字。<br />
我<strong>不经考虑</strong>无法告诉你答案。<br />
我没办法<strong>立刻</strong>告诉你准确消息，我得核实一下。<br />
我<strong>随口</strong>回答了他的问题。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Maybe some of these are better than others.</p>

<translation><colloquialisms>
How can I express "off the top of my head"?
# How can I express "off the top of my head"?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-09-14)

In English, we often use the phrase:

> [**Off the top of my head**](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/off-the-top-of-head): from the knowledge you have in your memory.

E.g. we might say:

> *Off the top of my head*, I don't know the answer.  
> I can think of one example *off the top of my head*.  
> He can recite poetry *off the top of his head*.

It's often used in interviews, etc., when someone asks a question and you don't immediately know the answer, but you could figure it out fairly easily. If you answer the question, you could say the wrong thing. It's better than saying a plain "I don't know", as it merely implies you haven't memorized the answer.

I'd like to express this in Chinese, but I don't know how to...

**Question**: How can I express "off the top of my head"?

Google Translating the above examples gives:

> **在我的脑海中**，我不知道答案。  
> 我能想到一个例子。  
> 他可以**在头脑中**背诵诗歌。

For the second sentence, it didn't translate "off the top off my head".

Searching on [YouDao](https://youdao.com/result?word=lj%3Aoff%20the%20top%20of%20my%20head&lang=en) and [Jukuu](http://www.jukuu.com/search.php?q=off+the+top+of+my+head) gives:

> 对不起，我**现在一下子**不能给你精确的数字。  
> 我**不经考虑**无法告诉你答案。  
> 我没办法**立刻**告诉你准确消息，我得核实一下。  
> 我**随口**回答了他的问题。

Maybe some of these are better than others.

**Tags:** translation, colloquialisms

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2022-09-14. Score: 1

There is no one-size-fits-all answer

马上想出

随随便便地

最先想到的

不假思索

这恰好是我不能肯定的。  
This is right off the top of my head.

我随便说说 ...  
Off the top of my head ...

我不经考虑无法告诉你答案。  
I can't tell you the answer off the top of my head.

我随口回答了他的问题。  
I answered his question right off the top of my head.

我不加思索就回答了他的问题。  
I answered his question right off the top of my head.


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### Answer by username_2 on 2022-09-14. Score: 1

"off the top of my head" can be translated into "凭记忆", "仅凭记忆", "在我的记忆中", "能想起来的", "马上能想起来的", "能回忆起来的", "现在能记得起来的", etc.

When followed by a negative sentence, "off the top of my head, I could not" can be translated into "我想不起来了", "我不记得了", "我一时想不起来了", "我现在不记得了", "我不能马上想起来", "我一下子想不起来", etc.

Off the top of my head, I don't know the answer. 我一时想不起来答案.

I can think of one example off the top of my head. 在我的记忆中有这样一个例子.

He can recite poetry off the top of his head. 他仅凭记忆就可以背诵诗词.


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### Answer by username_3 on 2022-09-14. Score: 1

"Off the top of my head", I don't know the answer. - "**一時間**",....

I can think of one example off the top of my head. - 我可以"**在一瞬間**"...

He can recite poetry off the top of his head. - 他可以"**瞬間**"背出...


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