喻 yù metaphor
metaphor; analogy
How to remember 喻: 口 mouth + 俞 dugout boat = metaphor. The poet opens her mouth and calls her tired heart a leaky dugout boat, and the teacher writes it under the heading metaphor.
Component breakdown
喻 = 口 mouth + 俞 dugout boat
- 口 mouth
- 俞 dugout boat
The poet opens her mouth and calls her tired heart a leaky dugout boat, and the teacher writes it under the heading metaphor.
How it is used
- Bound literary character centered on 比喻 (bǐyù) - metaphor, or "to compare X to Y".
- Appears in the idiom 家喻户晓 (jiāyù-hùxiǎo) - known to every household, i.e. universally famous.
- Also in 不言而喻 (bùyán'éryù) - it goes without saying, a common written phrase for stating the obvious.
- Formal/literary register; not used as a standalone verb in speech.