Everything You Need to Know About Idioms

What is an Idiom?

An idiom is a phrase or expression that has a figurative (word picture) meaning, as opposed to a literal (word-for-word) meaning. Idioms are like word pictures. The collection of words has a different meaning than the individual words on their own.

Who Uses Idioms?

The short answer is: Everyone.

Any native speaker of English knows thousands of idioms, and uses them in everyday speech. Idioms are everywhere. They are used at school, at work, at home, in business, in relationships. Wherever fluent speakers are communicating, you’ll find idioms.

Are Idioms Formal?

Yes and no. Idioms are used in both formal and informal situations. But not ALL idioms can be used in formal situations. That’s why it’s important to learn as many idioms as possible, as well as their context so that you use them in the right situation.

For example, a doctor would never say to a patient’s family, “Your grandfather kicked the bucket this morning because of a heart attack.” (“Kicked the bucket” is an informal and sometimes funny idiom for “died”). That would be a terrible way to use an idiom in the wrong context. However, the doctor might use another idiom to describe the death of a loved one. The doctor might say, “Your grandfather passed away this morning because of a heart attack.” (“Passed away” is a polite idiom for “died”.) Both idioms mean “died”, but it’s important to use the right idiom in the right context.

Back to our original question, “Are idioms formal?” Some are, and some aren’t.

That’s why with idioms you need to memorize the definition, as well as understand the context in which we use them. In general, it’s safer to use fewer idioms in formal situations, and more idioms in informal situations.

How Many Idioms Are There in English?

It is estimated that there are 25,000 idioms in English! That’s amazing, right? That just shows how vital it is to know and understand idioms in English, because they are a part of everyday speech.

Are Idioms Used in Speech, Writing, or Both?

They are used in both. They are more common in speech, but can definitely be used in writing, depending on the context. They are less common in non-fiction or academic writing, but very common in other writing. Idioms are common in personal communication, at work (usually), or on social media. The more literal you need to be in your writing, the less you should use idioms.

Do Idioms Translate Easily?

Not usually. The individual words in idioms usually mean something different than the entire idiom together.

Let’s use an example to talk about this question. When it’s raining very heavily, English speakers might say, “It’s raining cats and dogs” to mean that it’s a very heavy rain. Obviously, there are not actual cats and dogs falling from the sky. It just means that so much water is falling from the sky, it’s like large objects are falling from the sky. If you were to translate that directly into another language, it would be really confusing to someone who has never heard that idiom. If you’re translating idioms into another language, you should translate them into their meaning, not word-for-word.

This is important when using translation apps. They don’t usually handle idioms well. So if you ever put a large group of text into a translation app, and part of it doesn’t translate well, just look closely at the confusing part. You may have found an idiom!