比喩

• 読み: ひゆ
• ローマ字: hiyu
• 漢字の分解: 比 (hi/kura) — compare; 喩 (yu/tato) — metaphor, analogy
• 発音: /çi.jɯ/

意味

Metaphor; simile; figurative expression. Language that describes something by reference to something else to clarify or illuminate meaning.

A noun covering all forms of figurative comparison — including metaphors (暗喩), similes (直喩), and analogies. Frequently appears in literary criticism, rhetoric, and writing instruction. 比喩的な表現 (figurative expression) and 比喩を用いる (to use metaphor) are standard collocations. Has a formal, academic register.

例文

1. 詩人は愛の痛みを嵐に例える比喩を巧みに使った。
2. 彼の話は比喩が多く、文字通りの意味と区別しにくかった。
3. 生命を炎に喩えるのは古くから使われてきた比喩の一つだ。

使い方ガイド

場面: literature, rhetoric, writing, language education

トーン: neutral

起源と歴史

From 比 (hi, compare) and 喩 (yu, analogy/explanation through comparison). The character 喩 itself denotes explaining by likening. Derived from classical Chinese rhetorical tradition and adopted into Japanese literary and academic discourse.

文化的背景

時代: Classical–Modern

世代: Adults

社会的背景: Educated