What is an idiom?
Idioms are common in any language and often cause confusion in translation. An idiom is a phrase that means something different than its literal translation. An example of an idiom in the English language is “It’s raining cats and dogs.”
If you’ve ever heard this said before, you know it doesn’t mean that cats and dogs are literally falling from the sky. It means that it is raining really hard.
You can probably think of many more idioms in the English language, and there are many in other languages, too. Idioms are common and fun to use, but they can cause problems when learning a new language. You can know the meaning to every single word in an idiom inside and out, yet still not understand its true meaning.
This can cause problems when learning a language in both directions. If you translate “It’s raining cats and dogs” into French, whoever you are talking to might think you are crazy if they don’t speak English. Similarly they may use a French idiom that you don’t understand. It’s especially a problem for some idioms that are offensive when taken literally.
There are several ways you can deal with these problems caused by idioms. First of all, don’t use English idioms translated into your target language. It will not work!
It would be to your advantage to take some time to learn some common idioms in your target language. There are whole books devoted to the idioms of a language. I’ve included some good picks at the end of this page.
As a bonus, a native speaker may take you as a native if you use an idiom once in a while. Don’t go overboard, though, because they will probably catch on to your secret!
Finally, if you hear a phrase spoken that just doesn’t sound right, ask them what they mean. This will help you avoid making assumptions and will be a great way to learn a new idiom.