rob不一定是搶，steal不一定是偷
幾十年來台灣學校裡在教 rob 與 steal時，一般都說 rob是「搶」，steal是「偷」。其實並不能這麼單純的劃分，英文的 rob有時是「偷」，steal有時是「搶」。
中文裡「偷」和「搶」不同，「偷」是「暗地裡做」，「搶」是「明著硬來」！
在台灣的教學裡往往都把 steal 簡化為「偷」，把 rob簡化為「搶」，因此大部分譯者碰到 steal就不假思索的譯為「偷、竊」，看到 rob 就譯為「搶、盜、劫、掠」，所以我看到外電報導 (Crooner Julio Iglesias victim of hotel robbery)，這位西班牙歌星演唱會結束，回到旅館房間時發現護照、現金遭竊 (was robbed of his passport and cash when thieves raided his hotel room) 。明明人不在遭竊現場，譯文卻出現「護照、現金*被搶走」。
我們來看 Collins Cobuild Advanced Learner’s Dictionary怎麼定義 rob 和 steal：
If someone takes something that belongs to you without intending to return it, you can say they rob you of it. 如：Pirates …robbed the crew of money and valuables. (海盜搶走船上人員的錢和值錢的東西。)
If something that belongs to you has been stolen, you can say that you have been robbed. 如：She was robbed of her designer watch at her West London home. (她倫敦西區的家遭竊，名貴手錶給偷了。)
Collins Cobuild English Usage在steal一條下有個提示 (warning) 說：
If someone takes something from you without your permission, you do not say that they “steal” you. You can say that they rob you.
再看 Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary 對 steal 的定義：
steal: verb
a : to take or appropriate without right or leave and with intent to keep or make use of wrongfully <stole a car> 偷車
b : to take away by force or unjust means <they've stolen our liberty> 奪走自由
底下一則報導搶匪持槍搶了一位速食店夥計裝著晚餐的袋子，也可看出 rob與 steal的區別並不在「偷」與「搶」。
“US police are hunting for an armed robber who stole (搶走) a fast-food restaurant employee’s dinner at gunpoint.”
再看底下另一則USA Today的新聞，報導兩個小偷以女丁字褲蒙面到便利商店偷竊：
Police …caught two “thong bandits,” who used women’s underwear to disguise themselves during a convenience store robbery (竊案). …A surveillance video … shows two unarmed men inside the convenience store. They stole (偷了) an undisclosed amount of cash and cigarettes in the May 16 robbery (竊案). One man wore a green thong and the other wore blue. Each thong barely covered the man’s nose, mouth and chin and left the rest of his face exposed. One also wore a pink backpack in which he stuffed the stolen items. (www.usatoday.com/.../2008-06-07-thong-bandits_N.htm)
由此可見 rob 與 steal 是「搶」或「偷」，要看前後文及受詞是人或物才能決定。
此外，中文裡「盜」和「偷、竊」也不是截然對立，有時也是同義，如：盜走公款 (embezzle public money)，盜墓 (grave robbery)，盜壘 (steal a base)，都是偷偷進行。
(Jerome Su, June 26, 2018)