idiomatic expression
Fixed word combination
An idiomatic expression is a phrase whose meaning can't be deduced from its individual words: kick the bucket means to die, not to strike a pail.
Such expressions are learned as units, and their meanings are fixed by convention rather than logic.
Every language has them, and they're often the hardest part for non-native speakers to master.
- sayingsTraditional pithy expressions
- clichésOverused expressions lacking originality
- formulaic languageConventional phrases used verbatim
- turn of phraseDistinctive verbal expression
- colloquialismCasual conversational expression
slang · street talk · vernacular · informal speech · euphemism · figure of speech · set phrase · hyperboles · regionalism · proverbs · folksy · traditional proverbs · old wives tale · raining cats and dogs · spill the beans · native speaker · jargon · tongue
- expressionsexpression, I love you, phrase, idioms, thank you
- figurative languagemetaphor, simile, figure of speech, analogy, personification
- stage translationdubbing, subtitles, surtitles, supertitles, localization
idiomatic expressionliteral translation
Exact rendering across languages
word-for-word translation · plain language · direct translation · literal meaning