English idioms
Native speaker phrases
English idioms are fixed expressions whose meaning cannot be deduced from their individual words.
To kick the bucket means to die; to let the cat out of the bag means to reveal a secret.
Native speakers absorb these phrases whole, while learners must memorize them.
Idioms often resist modification—you can spill the beans but not *spill a bean*.
- phrasalRelating to expressions
- metaphoricalSymbolic rather than literal
- colloquialCasual, everyday language
- animalsMulticellular mobile organisms
- barking up the wrong treePursuing a false lead
red herring · proverbial · old wives tale · Shakespearean · emotions · biblical · nautical · lost in translation · figurative · understatement · archaic · regional · humor · nature · exaggeration · emphasis · add insult to injury · irony
English idiomsplain speech
Unembellished verbal expression
technical terminology · scientific language · dictionary definitions · legal language
English idiomsuniversal symbols
Globally recognized visual markers
mathematical notation · pictograms · musical notation · emoji · scientific notation