An idiom is a figure of speech where the meaning of a phrase doesn’t match the literal meaning of the words that make up the phrase. Either the words don’t mean what you expect them to, or the grammar in the phrase is unusual.
Idioms are very common in English, both in spoken and written language. And most native speakers don’t have any trouble understanding what they mean. Most of the time, native speakers use idioms without even thinking about the meaning of the words themselves.
But this can be really tricky for people learning a new language. Often, you can’t guess what an idiom means just from hearing it, so someone needs to explain it to you.
And it’s not just English that uses idioms. Many languages have them!
For example, there’s a Spanish idiom “Mucho ruido y pocas nueces.” Literally, this translates to “Much noise and few nuts.”
Now, that doesn’t make much sense! But a Spanish speaker hears that and understands that someone is talking a lot but not taking any action.
In English, we actually have a different idiom that means the same thing: “All bark and no bite.”
Idioms can be really fun because most of the time, they’re not logical. But most English speakers already understand them without realizing it. So, these figures of speech are really fun for kids to study.
There are many, many idioms in English, so we’ve compiled just a few categories. Also, some idioms fit more than one category. But this list lets you dip your toes into the fun world of idioms!
Once you start listening for idioms, you’ll hear them all over the place. Native speakers pepper their language with lots of idioms – in fact, you probably already use them without realizing it!
Keep your eye out for idioms when you’re reading or talking to others, and try to guess what they mean. And if you’re not sure, you can always check a dictionary.
Also, check out the other grammar resources on our website. There are lots of fun figures of speech to explore!