明喻 (míng yù) — (rhetoric) simile

Definition

明喻 (míngyù) is a simile in classical rhetoric — an explicit comparison using words like 像 or 如, unlike 暗喻 (metaphor), which states the comparison directly without such markers.

noun
(rhetoric) simile
Easily confused

Examples

  • “”明喻。
    Lǎo shī yòng "xiàng" zhè ge zì lái jiě shì míng yù.
    The teacher used the character '像' to explain simile.
  • 明喻。
    Zhè piān kè wén lǐ yòng le hěn duō míng yù.
    This lesson text uses many similes.
  • ，明喻。
    Xiě zuò wén shí, míng yù kě yǐ ràng miáo xiě gēng shēng dòng.
    When writing essays, similes can make descriptions more vivid.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

明míngclear
喻yùanalogy

明 and 喻 combine clear with analogy, naming an explicit simile.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

明 combines 日 (sun) and 月 (moon), showing the sun just rising while the moon has not yet set, or two bright objects in the sky, to express brightness.

Open 明 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
俞
俞yú喻⁰yù
Same sound today

喻 pairs 口 (mouth) with 俞, which gives its sound.

Open 喻 →

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