譬如

• Pinyin: pì rú
• Hanzi breakdown: 譬 = 言 + 辟 (speech + to clarify through analogy); 如 = 女 + 口 (woman + mouth — to conform, to be like)

Meaning

For instance; for example. A formal connective used to introduce an illustrative example that supports or clarifies a preceding statement.

More formal and literary than 比如 or 例如. Common in written Chinese, academic discourse, and formal speeches. Usually followed by a specific case to substantiate the preceding claim. Often collocates with 说 to form the slightly more conversational 譬如说.

Examples

1. 语言对思维的塑造作用是显而易见的，譬如，某些语言中缺乏未来时态的语法标记，其使用者对未来往往持更务实的态度。 Language’s influence on the way we think is obvious. For instance, some languages lack grammatical markers for the future tense, and their speakers often take a more pragmatic view of the future.
2. 现实中有许多令人惊叹的自然奇观，譬如南极冰盖之下竟然存在完整的液态湖泊体系。 In real life there are many astonishing natural wonders—for example, a complete system of liquid lakes exists beneath the Antarctic ice sheet.
3. 许多日常习惯的改变都能对健康产生深远影响，譬如每天坚持步行三十分钟便可显著降低心血管疾病的风险。 Many small changes in daily habits can have a profound impact on health—for example, sticking to a 30-minute walk every day can significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Usage Guide

Context: academic, writing, speeches, argumentation

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 在阐释复杂的哲学命题时，引入贴切的类比往往比抽象推理更具说服力，譬如，柏拉图的洞穴隐喻至今仍是解释认识论局限性的经典工具。(When explaining complex philosophical propositions, apt analogies are often more persuasive than abstract reasoning — for instance, Plato's cave allegory remains a classic tool for explaining the limitations of epistemology.)
• 许多看似毫无关联的学科之间其实存在深刻的方法论共通之处，譬如，统计学中的贝叶斯推断与历史学中的证据权衡在逻辑结构上如出一辙。(Many seemingly unrelated disciplines actually share profound methodological commonalities — for instance, Bayesian inference in statistics and the weighing of evidence in history follow the same logical structure.)

Don't Say

• 口语中频繁使用譬如会显得过于书面化 — in casual conversation prefer 比如 or 就比如说; 譬如 sounds stiff in informal settings

Origin & History

譬 (analogy, example — 言 speech radical + 辟 phonetic) + 如 (like, as if) — like a comparison; namely…

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal