Hello everyone,

This time let’s take a look at metaphors.

Metaphors are used every day all day in English, casual, business or otherwise. A metaphor is a statement that says one thing is another thing that it definitely is not. They are also often made up by using a word or expression said in its non-literal sense or way. Metaphors are used to help depict or explain something by comparing it to something else.

英語の比喩の種類を見てみよう！

Here are a couple of types of metaphors:

A) A statement that says one thing is another thing that it definitely is not.

For example:

・”It is cold as hell today!”

As we all know, hell is supposed to be a very hot place, but we compare two things that have no obvious connection to make a powerful point.

Here are a few more examples:

・Love is a battlefield (Love is not literally a battlefield, but it can be like fighting on one sometimes);

・Your room is a pigpen! (The room is not literally a pigpen, but it is very dirty like one);

・Time is a thief (time is not literally a thief, but it can feel like it steals your life away);

・My dad is a big teddy bear (dad is not literally a teddy bear, but he is soft and loving like one);

B) A word or expression said in its non-literal sense or way. 

For example:

・”This road knows how to throw you off your bicycle”.

We all know that a road literally cannot know anything. Here we use the word “know” as a figure of speech to apply it to an object or action which literally cannot be true. Basically this statement means “this road is very difficult to ride a bicycle on”.

Here are some more examples:

・He gave Tom an icy look (the look is not literally icy) – this means he stared at Tom very hard and not in a nice way.

・He burned her with his words (he did not literally burn her) – this means he hurt her feelings with his words.

I hope you get the gist of these a little now.

Try putting some metaphors you know in your own language into English in your writing to make a point in the future! It can emphasize a point and make your work interesting to read!

フルーツフルイングリッシュで英語表現の楽しさ感じてください 。初めての方には英作文添削チケット2回分をプレゼント。
「無料英語テスト800問（解説付）」メルマガも大人気。今すぐチェック！

Rodd

長く日英翻訳に携わっており、どうすれば英語として自然かをうまく説明できる人気の講師！間違うことを恐れず、まずは書くことが大切であるというのをポリシーにしています。
座右の銘は「Never be afraid to always try new things and places, and enjoy life to its fullest.」