49032
metaphor 隠喩 (in'yu) love 愛 (Ai) death 死 (Shi) dream 夢 (yume) I ma looking for
the words (translations) which are..hmm how to say it.. which are the "most
general" :)
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-04T14:59:35.673
49025
2017-07-04T17:01:02.450
22813
question
translation meaning
Are these translations of 'metaphor', 'love', 'death', 'dream' correct?
**metaphor**  
My understanding on this section is limited, but here is what my research
uncovered. Feel free to comment if this is incorrect.  
・`暗喩【あんゆ】` is specifically `metaphor`. However, `メタファー` is more commonly used
these days.  
・`直喩【ちょくゆ】` is specifically `simile`. Similes use `like` or `as` which in
Japanese equates to `～のような` or `～みたい`, irrespectively.  
・`四字熟語【よじじゅくご】` is a four-character idiom that represents a classic tale or
proverb (often Chinese in origin). This is comparable to `That's the last
straw!` in English. Without knowing the proverb `It is the last straw that
breaks the camel’s back.` this interjection wouldn't make any sense. Japanese
has a lot of _yojijukugo_.  
・`比喩{ひゆ}` is used for the general category of metaphors, similes, idioms, and
_yojijukugo_.

**love**  
・`愛｛あい｝` is far and away the most common word for love. Keep in mind that it
is a noun, not a verb. To say, `～ loves ～` you would have to use `～は～を愛してる`,
which is literally `～ is in the state of loving ～`. I once read that this word
originally came from the Buddhist concept of attachment (thus originally
having a negative connotation), but I can't find the evidence for that at the
moment.

**death**  
・`死【し】` is correct as a noun. The verb is `死ぬ`. Keep in mind that this is a
more extreme concept in Japanese culture than in the US. For example, the
worst profanities I ever heard in Japan include this idea. Otherwise the
concept of `profanity` seemed foreign to people and its equivalence was
conveyed grammatically (rather than semantically). All that to say, use it
wisely.

**dream**  
・`夢{ゆめ}` is `dream` in the literal sense of what happens when you sleep. `To
have a dream` is literally `to see a dream`, `夢を見る`.

So, why those four words specifically?
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-04T17:01:02.450
49032
2017-07-04T17:01:02.450
22781
49025
answer