Comparison idioms 1
Running head: COMPARISON IDIOMS
Comparison Idioms Between English And Vietnamese
Đinh Lan Khánh
Class 4B07
University of Pedagogy
Comparison idioms 2
Abstract
As a foreign student learning English, comparison idioms are
really a big problem for me as well as other learners. There are
over 3000 idioms in the dictionary, so understanding and
memorizing all of them are a hard issue. Some students, even
though, live in America or England for such a long time, they are
still unable to understand what the native people are saying. In
a circle of students, native English speakers speak to other
native speakers differently from the foreign students. And the
foreign students here is unable to follow what they are saying to
each other. More than that, comparison idioms are one of major
aspects that can easily discourage a person in conversation with
each other if he/she does not know what to imply. If somebody ask
me: Is it necessary to study an idiom like “rain like cats and
dogs”?, I will asnwer Yes because idioms are part of daily
speech. It makes our utterances smoothly and transmit the
information to listeners in a smart way. As a matter of fact, in
this essay, we will firstly find a clear view of the definition
of idioms and some structures to recognize a comparison idiom,
then will be a part related to contrastive analysis; that is
Comparison idioms 3
similarities and differences between english and Vietnamese
comparison idioms; lastly, some problems and solutions of
studying idioms may be important to learners.
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Definition of idioms
a. Definition
Idioms have become very popular with the linguistic
learners; however; not everyone can find the complete
definition for this term. Each professor has his or her
own assumption and we, the learners, have to consider
much when we want to apply those idioms into study. For
example, the Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and
Applied Linguistics, idioms were defined as: “an expression
which function as a single unit and whose meaning cannot be worked out
from its separate parts.”. Moreover, with the Oxford Advanced
Learner’s Dictionary, the writer defines idioms
differently: “a phrase or sentence whose meaning is not clear from the
meaning of its individual words and which must be learnt as a whole unit.”
As we have seen, definition of idioms is quite different
between the Longman Dictionary and Oxford one and maybe
different from other books as well, but on reflection,
they do not have much conflict, all of those share the
basic idea: “they are words, phrases or expressions that cannot be
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taken literally; when used in everyday language, they have a meaning
other than the basic one you would find in the dictionary.”.
Learning them make understanding and using a language a
lot easier and more fun.
b. Structure used for comparing
Although we have worked out some definitions of idioms
above, most of learners are still confused with the
question: “How can we identify an idiom of comparison?”.
Consequently, identification should be taken into
consideration so as to have an insight into different
types of idioms of comparison. There are various ways of
identifying based on different criteria because the
exploration is quite hard and unfeasible. Here are just
two main ways that have been considered most:
Identification based on component words or phrases
Identification based on grammatical structure
c. By word and phrase
With this aspect, idioms of comparison can be divided into
three groups:
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Comparison with adjectives
This kind of comparison can be constructed as the
following structure:
As + adjective + as + (a/an/the) Noun
It is used to describe the similarities between people,
things or places. However, in this structure, the
similarities are exposed in a clear way, explicitly rather
than other structure. The meaning as well as the
characteristics of the adjectives are conveyed
symbolically through some related things in our lives so
that people can easily think of when they come across
those adjectives. For example: as sharp as razor, as innocent as
love, as unchangeable as the past, as jolly as a sandboy. In Vietnamese
idioms, typical examples of comparison are: nhát như thỏ đế,
đen như than, đẹp như tiên…
Comparison with verbs
Unlike adjectives, comparison with verbs has a different
structure
Verbs + like +
a/the + Noun
Comparison idioms 7
This structure is used with some certain verbs that have
simple meanings, but when taking part in forming an idiom,
it can make the action mentioned clearer and more
explicable, emphasize the behaviours of the goals in each
utterance, and give the reader a deep understanding, easier
to comprehend thanks to its simplicity. We can find some
instances such as: crawl like a snail, fight like cat and dog, live like
there’s no tomorrow….. Vietnamese idioms utilise: bò như sên, đánh
nhau như chó với mèo, sống như không có ngày mai…
Miscellaneous comparison
Although many idioms follow a certain rule as being
mentioned above with adjectives and verbs as well, some
kinds of comparison do not follow any regular patterns.
Consequently, the number of those kinds are just small;
they are mostly used by the native speakers in everyday
spoken language to make their verbal communication more and
more vivid. Some structures that we may come across:
(Verb) + like/as + a clause
(Verb) + like/as + a verb
phrase
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(Verb) + like/as + a noun
phrase
Like + noun + like + noun
Here are the idioms to exemplify: (to be) like a bull in a china shop,
(to have) a memory like an elephant, to look as if one has been dragged
through a hedge backwards…. Vietnamese idioms utilise: như hạn gặp
mưa rào, tiền vào nhà khó như gió vào nhà trống….
d. By grammatical structure.
Despite lots of idioms of comparison based on grammatical
feature, it can be divided into three main popular kinds
that have a comparative meaning with Vietnamese one. Here
is the table between English and Vietnamese idioms:
Table 1
English and Vietnamese comparison idiom equivalents
English idioms Vietnamese idioms
as A as B
as good as gold
as warm as sunbeam
A như B
Quý như vàng
Nóng như đổ lửa
Comparison idioms 9
Like/ as B
Like two peas in a pod
Như B
Như hai giọt nước
A like/as B
Feel like a fish out of water
To follow like a shadow
A như B
Như cá mắc cạn
Theo như hình với bóng
Similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese
idioms of comparison through culture.
1. Similarities
Each country has its own culture and tradition; as a matter
of fact, idioms follow those rules because as we have
discussed above, the metaphor of idioms derived from the
real life, the real image. However, there are still some
coincidences between English and Vietnamese idioms of
comparison. We can find the similarities in the way people
think, observe and express ideas through different cultures.
To be more specific, here are some English idioms that have
exact Vietnamese equivalents:
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English idioms Vietnamese
idioms
1.As black as coal Đen như than
2.As black as ink Tối đen như
mực
3.As black as midnight Tối như đêm
4.As bright as day Sáng như ban
ngày
5. As big as an elephant To như voi
6. As blind as a bat mù như dơi
7. As bold as brass Mặt dày mày
dạn
8. As brave as a lion Can đảm như sư
tử
9. As busy as a bee Bận như ong
10. As clear as day Sáng như ban
ngày
11. As clean as a whistle Sạch như chùi
12. As cold as ice Lạnh như băng
13. As cunning as a fox Gian như cáo
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14. As dead as a doornail Chết đứng như
tượng
15. As dry as a bone Trơ như xương
16. As fresh as a daisy Tươi như hoa
17. As good as gold Quý như vàng
18. As hard as nails Rắn như đanh
19. As light as a feather Nhẹ như lông
20. As light as air Nhẹ như không
khí
21. As pure as snow Trong trắng
như tuyết
22. As quick as lightning Nhanh như chớp
23. As sharp as a razor Bén như dao
cạo
24. As silent as the dead Im như chết
25. As slow as a snail Chậm như sên
26. As slow as a tortoise Chậm như rùa
27. As solid as a rock Cứng như đá
28. As strong as an ox Khỏe như trâu
29. As timid as a rabbit Nhát như thỏ
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30. As white as snow Trắng như
tuyết
31. To stick like glue Dính như keo
32. To cry like a baby Khóc như đứa
trẻ
33. Blood is thicker than water Một giọt máu
đào hơn ao nước lã.
34. Be water off a duck’s back Nước đổ đầu
vịt
35. Live from hand to mouth Tay làm hàm
nhai
36. Out of sight, out of mind Xa mặt cách
lòng
b. Differences
Although we have lots of idioms of comparison that have
share the same equivalence between English and Vietnamese,
linguistists have found some differences that are originated
from the differences among cultures as we have mentioned
above. As a result of that, it is better to have a look at
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some cultural factors. Referring culture, we cannot deny its
origin from history and geography of a country. Culture does
not naturally appear in people’s lives, but exist in a good
interaction with people. It is rooted from some important
events in history or a milestone that has changed a
generation. Moreover, topography or terrain has affected
much the modification of culture through culture, for
example, the idiom: “as strong as an ox” is more popular in
the agricultural country where some strong animals like ox
or bull are used for agriculture. Below is the table that
tells the difference between two different culture that we
are discussing:
Table 2
Differences between English and Vietnamese cultures
Features Vietnamese English
Climate Has two basic
seasons: a cold,
humid winter and
a warm, wet
Changeable and
unpredictable
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summer. Diverse
range of latitude
and altitude
Topology A verdant
tapestry of
mountains,
fertile deltas,
forests, rivers,
mysterious caves,
waterfalls and
beaches
There are not
many high
mountains,
rivers, plains or
forests.
Terrain Dessert terrain
with jungles and
tropical rain
forests
Highland zone in
the north and
west, lowland
zone in the south
and east
Economics Agriculture: the
main economy of
Vietnam. Some
Industry instead
of agriculture is
the main part in
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products are
rice, trees,
fruits. It is
related to
aquaculture.
economy
Husbandry Pigs, buffaloes,
poultry and etc…
Cow, cattle,
sheep, horse,
poultry, etc…
Food and drink Rice is the main
food in
Vietnamese meals.
They use
chopsticks for
eating. Tea is
the traditional
drink.
Mostly, English
people serve
cereal and meat.
They use knife
and fork. Coffee
is more popular.
Population About 75 million
people in
Vietnam. 80% are
Approximately
51,807,053. Over
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ethnics. 90% live in town
Religion Buddhism Christianism
a. Through lifestyles and living conditions
It can be seen very clearly that the Vietnamese idioms of
comparison are strongly influenced by the agricultural
culture and two of the most popular symbols in most
comparison are rice and buffalo. Where as, English equivalents
are based on farming and its industry. Vietnamese people
live mainly on the wet rice production. They spend most of
their lives in the field, in the sun as well as in the
rain; work with some simple tools and animals.
Consequently, when making comparison by using similes and
metaphor, they certainly think of many things in their
daily lives, the things that are familiar and friendly
with them and take those as the images in number of
idioms. It can be taken from the example above: as strong as
an ox (khỏe như trâu), live from hand to mouth (tay làm hàm
nhai).
Comparison idioms 17
When mentioning agriculture, we cannot forget the
contribution of buffalo in our economics. Although
nowadays we have lots of modern equipments that can
replace the buffalo in producing rice for people, buffalo
is still an unforgettable symbol in our economics. “He” is
sometimes described as farmer’s friend and it is the truth
that in many proverbs and folk songs of Vietnam, we have:
Trâu ơi ta bảo trâu này
Trâu ra ngoài ruộng trâu cày với ta
Cấy cày vôn nghiệp nông gia
Ta đây trâu đấy ai mà quản công
Bao giờ cây lúa còn bông
Thì còn ngọn cỏ ngoài đồng trâu ăn.
This song is very popular, from a child to an old person,
all can sing this song at any time. This song gives us
quite a beautiful and vivid picture of the relationship
between human and buffalo. The farmer conveys the closeness
and sentiment to his beloved animal. Not only “he” is a
friend but also a primary factor in production: “Con trâu là
đầu cơ nghiệp”. Truly, in the past, without “him”, our
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country cound not exist until now. He is like a precious
thing that each farmer has to own because he can take over
from the lightest to the strongest work, which has helped
the farmers a lot. For them, buffalo is very strong and
hardworking. That is also the reason why people often image
of a buffalo when referring to people’s strength.
However, in England with nomadic culture, buffalo is not
important to them, but horse. Horse can carry heavy load,
pull cart, plough, transport… especially horse is much
faster than buffalo, which is very suitable for nomadic
people to serve for their moving lifestyles. As a matter
of fact, strength in English culture is compared with
horse: “as strong as a horse”. The difference is not
because the English people think that buffalo is not as
strong as horse, but it is the difference in the people’s
concept, the way they think or in another way: “the cultural
view”. The culture of each country has made people have
distinguishable thinking about their lives. Moreover,
those are also revealed through many other idioms:
As dumb as a statue Câm như hến
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As gentle as a lamb hiền như cục
bột
As fat as butter Mập như lợn
Obviously, Vietnamese people do not know or are not
familiar with those things such as “statue, lamb, butter”. They
are farmers, so they are much familiar with hến
(corbicular), lợn (pig); meanwhile English get on well with
butter or lamb, which are suitable with their nomadic
culture. One more example is that
As tough as leather/ old boots dai như đĩa
In England, they often move from one place to another in
cold weather. As a result of that, leather and boots are
very necessary for them to protect them the getting cold.
Furthermore, those things must be made as thick as
possible so as to bring the best. However, in a tropical
country like Vietnam, we rarely use boots or leather but
simple shoes or thin clothes. Vietnamese people are mostly
farmers, so working in the field is unavoidable,
especially wet rice production needs farmers to work in
water during too many hours – the environment has a lot of
Comparison idioms 20
kinds of animal like “đĩa”. The feature of this animal is
that it sticks absolutely strongly.
Some typical examples above has clearly shown the influence
of natural and living condition on the way of using idioms
of comparison.
b. Differences with the same components
When making comparison using some idioms, it is not only
just different in the way or the image people use to
compare through cross-culture view but the difference in
the meaning or the implication in each idiom based on the
culture as well. Sometimes, with the same borrowed idea,
the same phrase but according to English people, it has
positive meaning, while Vietnamese consider it as negative
meaning, or vice versa: “Same word, different meaning”. Just
take an example:
English Vietnamese
As bright as day Rõ như ban
ngày
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If we say this idiom in England, it just has the content:
“light, not dark”; on the other hand in Vietnam, it is not
that, when a person saying this, he/ she means that “there is
no suspicion here, everything is clear”
Another example:
English Vietnamese
As good as gold Tốt như vàng
English people use this idiom as a compliment on a well-
behaved child, where as Vietnamese ones take this instance
as a saying about the quality of a product, a thing in
general.
In conclusion, with some examples above, everyone can now
have a good view of another difference between English and
Vietnamese idioms of comparison: in spite of the same
components, they still have quite different implication
inside.
c. Differences with human components
Last but not least, let’s have a look at the last
component in idioms of comparison: human component. It is
Comparison idioms 22
not just borrowed from the animals or things in daily life
but also the human image. Certainly those are mostly the
famous characters or people in history, literature or even
real life. They are so common with some special
characteristics that everyone can remember them when
mention. For instance, as describing a person who is very
jealous, we often see the image of a woman named “Hoạn
Thư” – a character in Thuy Kieu story who had extreme and
terrible jealousy, sometimes cruel. So in Vietnamese
idioms we have; “ghen như Hoạn Thư”. On the other hand, to
English, jealousy is compared with Othello – a character
in Shakespeare’s play: “As jealous as Othello”.
Moreover, on depicting the state of being happy, English
people say “ As happy as a king” because to them King is the
one who can enjoy all the best thing in the world, from a
needle to an elephant. While in Vietnam, happiness is
compared with the fairy: “As happy as a fairy”. Although fairy
is not real, she is just a product of imagination in some
fairy tales which is used to teach children and to bring
happiness to everyone with her magic, people also trust
Comparison idioms 23
that a fairy can help them, evade the poverty…etc. In this
comparison, English people are quite more concrete than
Vietnamese ones.
Furthermore, it is true that the main religion in Vietnam
is Buddhism. As a matter of fact, some idioms of
comparison are affected by some image heritage in
Buddhism. For examples: As fat as Di Lac (Béo như ông Di Lặc),
as untidy as La Han (bày như ông La Hán), as gentle as Buddha
(hiền như Bụt)
In short, comparison using human components is easier to
express or describe something or somebody. The listeners
will easily catch the ideas from the speakers in an
effective way. However, sometimes it is strange and
difficult for foreigners due to different cultures. Those
images are typical in each country.
Problems faced by learners and suggested solutions
Idioms are now common in English speaking. We can find them
easily on newspaper, in magazines, on televisions, on
radios or on some window shoppings…. Consequently, if we
Comparison idioms 24
want to be Engling native-like and does not sound awkward,
mastering idioms is quite necessary. English people tend to
speak differently to each other and to the others from
foreign countries. Sometimes it may be difficult for
foreign people like us to understand what an English wants
to convey or imply. In this part, there will be some
discussions about the problems that Vietnamese people may
encounter when studying idioms. Moreover, it is essential
to deal with some suggested solutions to improve the
teaching and learning idioms. To make it easier, we have
divided them into two commonplace problems: in understanding
and in memorizing.
1. Learners and idioms understanding
a. Problems
Dealing with various grammatical structures
As being mentioned above, idioms of comparison have may
kinds, maybe the borrowed image is a word, or a phrase, or
a sentence….so to understand all of them is quite a
challenge. Learners should remember that there are a lot
Comparison idioms 25
of different structures for that. We might have regular
structure, irregular structure or ingrammatical structure.
First of all, with regular-structure idioms, they get the
simple form so we do not have much confusion when viewing
those idioms; however, the meaning of each single
component in it has no relation with the meaning of the
whole idiom, which may make us misunderstand the
implications inside. This kind is possibly the most
chanllenging to foreign learners. For instance, not many
people can draw out the meaning of “red tape” as “bureaucratic
method”. Next, the irregular-structure idioms does not
have any difficulties because the meaning can be figured
out comprehensively through the meaning of components.
Lastly is the case of ingrammatical-structure idioms, the
structure is not in the order as we have learnt, it does
not follow the grammatical rules and does not express the
true significance by combining the meaning of each word.
Just take an example: with the idiom: “be in on the ground
floor”, it is not reliable for us to get the meaning
basing on the the structure; it is exactly explained as:
Comparison idioms 26
“to be involved from the beginning in something that is likely to be
successful”
Dealing with distinctive cultural features
“Cultural gap” is always the big obstacle for most foreign
learners. To be more specific, the culture of Vietnam and
England are quite distinguishing as we have done research
in the previous part. If we do not get the tradition or
the cultural value of the other country, we surely find it
a big problem to catch the meaning conveyed through some
idioms. Or else, if we can understand the meaning from
that idiom, we are still confused when looking for an
equivalent in our mother tongue. For example, “as cool as
cucumber”, we can grasp the meaning of this is to describe
a calm person especially in a tough situation”; but
translating it into Vietnamese is quite a hard work and it
will be a mistake if we translate word by word. Be aware
of those things, the right answer will be: “bình chân như
vại”. Another instance, “as alike as two peas”, it is a big
mistake if we translate it “giống nhau như hai quả mận”,
Comparison idioms 27
in Vietnam we just have the idiom “giống nhau như hai giọt
nước” (as alike as two drops of water).
b. Solutions
From the reasons that caused difficulties in
understanding, we would like to suggest some solutions
that may be effective for certain people:
Firstly, surely that dealing with idioms needs the careful
study in all situations.
Next, idioms of comparison should be learnt in a specific
situation, a real context in real life rather than learn
them by heart. It will be the best if we often practice
and use them in the our communicative daily life so that
the meaning will become more efficient.
Furthermore, it is crucial to try to guess the meaning of
idiom before looking it up in the dictionary. This is also
a way of learning new words that many experts have advised
to to follow. Guessing gives us an overview of the idiom
by basing on the meaning of the word or using our general
Comparison idioms 28
knowledge and then dictionary is just the last step to
confirm it.
Last but not least, knowledge of cultural values is a
must, that consists of customs, belief, concepts,
behaviours, etc… This was certainly the most hard work to
do, for it will take much of our time, culture learning is
a long process, but applying this will help us benefit a
lot in grasping the implications when communicating with
foreigners.
c. Learners and idioms memorizing
If understanding is a problem to learners, memorizing is
also another big problem. How can we memorize those things
that are not of our own country? How can we use it as a tip
of tongue when communicating with foreigners? In this part,
three problems have been conducted and along with it are
some suggested solutions
a. Problems
A large quantity of English idioms
Comparison idioms 29
Every country has their large number of idioms which often
make the foreigners scared to study all, and so does
English. We can take the evidence from the two most
popular dictionaries nowadays: Oxford (5000 entries) and
Cambridge Idioms Dictionary (7000 entries) with lots of
idioms divided into alphabet or sometimes to the topic
(animals, flowers, comparison…). It is the large number of
idioms that discourage learners to try to memorize all of
these things. In addition, idioms have changed according
to the change of life and society so as to be more
effective for the users. As a result of that, the number
is about to increase days by days. In conclusion, such
large number is one of the causes that stop the people
from learning them.
Infrequent use
It is unavoidable that Vietnamese students have a chance
to study idioms at school and in their lessons; however,
they rarely apply what they have learnt in their daily
lives. To the people who are not English-speaking ones,
learning idioms is a hard work and using it is much
Comparison idioms 30
harder, so most of them intend to use the ordinary
expression instead of idiomatic expression, which will
take a lot of time for them to communicate. It is the lack
of enviroment practicing English idioms that leads to the
consequence that not many students can use idioms
efficiently.
A shortage of learning methods
Method is always the key to completing anything, it is
important to know how to go rather than the finish end.
Contrarily, Vietnamese learners as well as many other non-
English-speaking learners do not have a perfect method to
grasp those difficult idioms. Some choose to learn them as
learning new words by writing them on paper with some
examples and learn by heart; others try to listen everyday
with the hope that they can remember easily. But those
methods are not considered effectively because idioms are
related to real lives. The best way is that put those
idioms in daily life. Idioms cannot be separated from the
contexts.
Comparison idioms 31
b. Solutions
First, there should not be any worry for the number of
idioms. Even a native speakers cannot remember all of
them. The advice here is that try to memorize some useful
ones that is common in dialy communication. To be more
efficient, the learners should divide idioms into some
sections as we have divided above: comparison with nouns,
verbs, adjectives… so that it is easier for learners to
make connection. Furthermore, trying to use those idioms
when communicating in daily life is a must. The more we
practice them, the more quickly we become a master of
English idioms! Last but not least, it is quite essential
for Vietnamese learners to find Vietnamese equivalents if
possible. Despite the differences between two cultures, we
still have some idioms that can be easily changed into
Vietnamese without changing meaning. For example: “As
light as feather” (Nhẹ tựa lông hồng), “As fierce as
tiger” (Dữ như cọp)… thus those translation can give the
learners long time memory.
Comparison idioms 33
Conclusion
Idioms are present in all languages, so studying them is in
need. A person who does not know how to use an idiom and just use
individual word will not become confused when communicating. That
is one of the reasons that make non-native learners cannot get on
well with the native ones. Especially, using comparison idioms
effectively can add flavour to your writing and speaking as well
as make you become a brilliant communicator, you can understand
the underlying meaning you want to convey. Through this essay, we
hope that you can get a good overview of all kinds of comparison
idioms in English so that they can be used smartly and flexibly.
As mentioned above, ther are still some differences between
English and Vietnamese culture and people, which sometimes plays
a role as a boundary in learning idioms. Some Vietnamese students
may find it unecessary to grasp those comparison idioms, and so
do some teachers. Therefore, based on some certain problems that
we have found out of learning idioms, there will be profound
changes in the way of teaching and learning English idioms in
order to help Vietnamese students quickly integrate with other
friends the world over.
Comparison idioms 35
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