According to New Oxford¹ American, a soulmate is just "a person ideally suited to another as a close friend or romantic partner." By that meaning, soulmates obviously exist . But a soulmate, in the more metaphysical sense of the term, has a deeper, more profound connotation. This type of soulmate is something based in a more spiritual plane , each person has just one soulmate out there, and if you blow it with them, that's it.

据新牛津美语大词典释义，“灵魂伴侣”只是“一个人对另一个人作为亲密的朋友或浪漫的伙伴来说是理想合适的人选。”照这个意思来讲，灵魂伴侣很明显是存在的。但就这个词的抽象意义来说，灵魂伴侣应该有一个层次更深、意义更广的内涵。这种形式的灵魂伴侣是基于精神层面上来讲的：每个人只有一个灵魂伴侣，如果你俩吹了，那就结束了。

I don't believe that. I do, however, believe in soulmates in the dictionary definition of the word — as in, some people are truly suited for each other, and some are not, no matter how hard they try or how good they look on paper or even how much they love each other. But don't take my word for it. Here's what science has to say about soulmates.

我不相信这个（人只有一个灵魂伴侣）。但我的确相信“灵魂伴侣”这个词字典中的定义——比如，一些人确实彼此很合适，但一些则并不。不管他们多努力或是多么有夫妻相或甚至多么深爱彼此。但不要把我的话当真。看看科学对“灵魂伴侣”都说了些什么：

Math Says Soulmates Are Impossible

数学上讲灵魂伴侣是不可能的事情。

In the book What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions, one-time NASA roboticist Randall Munroe tries to answer the question, "What if everyone actually had only one soulmate, a random² person somewhere in the world?" Munroe crunches³ numbers and finds that, mathematically speaking, the chances of finding your soulmate — if there's just one out there for you — are slim to none.

在《如果？：荒谬假设性问题的严谨科学之答案》这本书中：前（美国）国家航空和航天局机器人专家兰德尔·门罗尝试着回答这个问题，“如果每个人确实只有一个灵魂伴侣——在世界上某处的随意一个人——那该怎么办？”门罗通过计算得出，就数学上讲，找到属于你的灵魂伴侣的概率（如果真的只有一个灵魂伴侣的话）小到可以忽略不计。

Energy Studies Say Soulmates Are Real

能量研究称灵魂伴侣真实存在。

As the very out-there website The Science of Soulmates reports, soulmates are, indeed, real, and can be proven by science.

前卫网站《灵魂伴侣科学》报道称灵魂伴侣确实真实存在，而且可以被科学所证明。

According to the site, "scientific instruments recorded evidence of a fundamental energy pattern that reveals the source of existence and the source of the phenomenon⁴ of soulmates."

该网站称：“科学工具记录下一种重要能量模式的证据，这种模式能揭示物质来源和灵魂伴侣此种形式的来源。”

Though this "evidence" is convoluted⁵ and hard to follow, it appears that some believe that soulmates can be proven by studying energy patterns.

尽管这种“证据”很复杂，很难寻其踪迹，但有人相信灵魂伴侣能够通过研究能量模式证明其存在。

Psychology⁶ Argues Yes For Soulmates, With A Twist

心理学家认为灵魂伴侣是存在的，虽然很扯。

If science can't definitively⁷ prove soulmates exist, what about psychology? "While I do not believe there is such a thing as 'finding your perfectly⁸ matched soulmate,' writes Shauna H Springer, a licensed⁹ psychologist and relationship and lifestyle researcher. She argues that, although two people may not start out as "soulmates" in the classic sense of the word, it's possible to become someone else's soulmate simply by virtue¹⁰ of being a fantastic partner.

如果科学不能明确证明灵魂伴侣的存在，那心理学呢？执照心理学家兼恋爱和生活方式研究人员肖娜·H· 斯普林格写道：我并不相信‘找到你的完美合拍的灵魂伴侣’这种事情。她说尽管两人一开始并不是从“灵魂伴侣”这个词的典型意义开始的，但只要两人达到了绝妙拍档的本质意义就可能成为对方的灵魂伴侣。

So —Do Soulmates Exist?

所以——灵魂伴侣存在么？

Who's right? Does math win, making it near-impossible to meet your soulmate, even if such a thing exists?

那谁是对的呢？数学这方胜利了吗？即使灵魂伴侣存在，你能以近乎不可能的概率找到他（她）吗？

If soulmates really are a thing, I think science, math and psychology all take a backseat to transcendental phenomena¹¹. And in the case of the spiritual, I think it's less feasible to explain it —instead, it has to experienced.

如果灵魂伴侣是真的，我想科学数学和心理学都应该置于这种超自然现象之后。而且就情感方面来讲，我认为很难将其解释清楚——反之，这种情感需要亲身经历。