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
形声 · Meaning + sound
One part gives the meaning, the other gives the sound.
喻 = 口 mouth + 俞 dugout boat
- 口 mouth meaning
- 俞 dugout boat sound
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 came to be
The mouth gives the meaning and the dugout boat gives the sound.
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.