Common Similes in English and Vietnamese:
a contrastive analysis
Dinh Hoang Viet
Class 4A-08
University of Education
Introduction
To explore the history and culture of a society, it is best to explore its folklore.
Although societies are varied from one another, they are always found commons. That
is why a large number of researchers and scholars have scrutinized this issue for a long
time. We have Archer Taylor, Wolfgang Mieder, George B. Bryan, Peter Lang, Pete
Useth… or Nguyen Van Ngoc, Vu Ngoc Phan, Le Van Hoe, .etc…
In the folklore of the world, simile is the interesting part for us to examine. The power it
brings is not merely in the words but the meaning it conveys. Each of us has to use it at
least once in the process of learning English. It is well-used not only in written form but
also in daily conversation, which makes language more symbolic and comprehensible.
Through the frequency of simile used every day as well as the culture it contains,
teachers inspire students, ignite their passions in studying English by giving them
curiosities to explore an entirely new culture by using simile.
In this essay, my aim is to:
1. Give a clear definition about simile
2. Some common English and Vietnamese simile
3. Give a teaching implication
I do not mean to carry everything about simile in this essay. The selected
categories in this essay are the most frequent similes in English. For you to follow
easily, I arrange the Vietnamese equivalent to compare. I hope you would enjoy the
essay.
Definition
Simile is one of the most frequent used in English. However, we often mistake the simile
to the metaphor. Although, both of them are forms of comparisons, the biggest
difference between them is simile compares two ideas indirectly; whereas the metaphor
compares directly (Wikipedia definition).
Tran and Hoang (2008) provide that simile is comparison of two different categories but
have (a) common(s) (p.137). For example: Goodness is better than beauty. Goodness
and beauty are the two different quality of a person and they have no thing in common
but achievements of people. They want to reach those two characteristics to become
perfection.
The briefest definition about simile from Cambridge Dictionaries Online is ‘an
expression comparing one thing with another, always including the words ‘as’ or ‘like’’.
For example: ‘She walks in beauty, like the night’ (Byron)
All in all, we can imagine that a simile must contain ‘like’ or ‘as’ and it must be a
comparison between two objects. Moreover, the object or the characteristic of the object
is always clear in simile. For example:
She is as cunning as a fox (simile)
She is a fox (metaphor)
Some common types of simile in English and
Vietnamese
Talking about simile, the classification is based on the subjects of the similes not the
objects. According to Tininis (1971) (as cited in Tran and Hoang, 2008), there are four
types of simile:
1. Human is the subject of simile
2. Abstract concept is the subject of simile
3. Concrete things are the subjects of simile
4. Animal is the subject of simile
Nevertheless, we do not see the animal as the subject in English and Vietnamese
simile. They always take part as objects.
For example:
1. Người không học như ngọc không mài.
A child without parents is like a ship without a rudder.
2. Lời chào cao hơn mâm cỗ.
Time flies like an arrow.
3. Trăm nghe không bằng một thấy.
The tongue is more venomous than a serpent’s sting.
Besides, there is another classification from www.Englishclub.com (retrieved Nov 28th,
2012) which is easier for us to understand. First of all is the simile contains ‘as’ and
‘like’

S + [is*] + as + adj + as + noun/object.
Ex: He is as cold as ice. (He is very hard to talk/ indifferent.)
Anh ấy lạnh như băng/ tiền.

S + [does*] + like + noun/object.
Ex: You eat like a bird. (You eat very little.)
Bạn ăn như mèo ngửi/ hửi.

S + [is*] + like +noun/object.
Ex: This cookie tastes like rubbish.
*stative verb: be, feel, smell, taste, etc…
**action verb
Second of all, simile also makes use of irony or sarcasm. They use the adjectives which
means oppositely to the characteristic of the object. For example:


His explanation was as clear as mud (not clear at all since mud is always dark
and dirty)
Watching this show is like watching the paint dry (very boring)
In Vietnamese, this type is also very common in daily conversations. For example:

Đầu nó sáng như đêm ba mươi.
The 30th night of the month in the lunar calendar has no moon therefore it is
completely dark. However, it is the object for the adjective bright in order to say the
contrary meaning and create laughter.
Third of all, simile comes from literature. To every culture, the art of creating a simile in
literature shows the passion of the readers to the art of works which forever lives in
communities. For example:


Dawn breaks open like a wound that bleeds afresh - Wilfred Owen
So are you to my thoughts as food to life - William Shakespeare
 Happy as pigs in mud - David Eddings
Or



Mặt nó gian như thằng Sở Khanh. – Nguyen Du
Thằng đó nói láo như Cuội. – Folk story
Xứng đôi vừa lứa như Chí Phèo với Thị Nở. – Nam Cao
The comparison which is quoted directly from the literature is rarely used for daily
conversations in both languages. People tend to create comparison taking from the
novel once it is popular and easy to understand.
The differences in English and Vietnamese simile
Tran and Hoang (2008) prove that there are differences between English and
Vietnamese simile. Here is the list:
1. The rhythm
The subject and the object are put in a comparison and they all share the same
characteristic is the “adj”. In Vietnamese, we use many words (conjunctions) to describe
the comparison such as như, như thể, bằng, không bằng, tày, chẳng tày, hơn to serve
the purpose of making rhythm. In English, the rhythm in simile is not as important as in
Vietnamese. In order to make simile easy to remember, Vietnamese always create
sentences with rhythm. The acute and grave accent combines together and makes the
simile rhythmic. However, English itself is a rhythmic language so it focuses on the
meaning of simile. For example:



Học thầy không tày học bạn. (Praising the importance of learning from friends)
Trăm hay không bằng tay quen. (Experience is better than knowledge)
Anh em như thể tay chân. (The united of brotherhood)
2. The multi component
In English, simile seems to stand alone to form a comparison. However, in Vietnamese,
it composes two or sometimes more to make a clear and complete comparison. For
example:


Công cha như núi Thái Sơn, nghĩa mẹ như nước trong nguồn chảy ra.
Con có cha như nhà có nóc, con có mẹ như bẹ ấp măng.
To Vietnamese, there are some components must be together like father and mother
or eat (enjoying things) and do (working or laboring). Since Vietnamese is an
analytic language, each word contains one meaning. Consequently, Vietnamese
simile must have several parts.
3. The missing conjunction
In English, because the structure of simile is fixed, the missing conjunction does not
exist. On the other hand, Vietnamese simile sometimes omits the conjunctions or
comparison words to protect the rhythmic of the simile. For example:


Miếng ngon nhớ lâu, (cũng như) đòn đau nhớ đời.
(The best memories as well as the worst one last very long.)
Liệu cơm gắp mắm (cũng như) liệu con gả chồng.
(This suggests us to predict something beforehand.)
4. The clichéd simile
To Vietnamese, there are no cliché. If it was outdated, it would be replaced by another.
In English, many similes are clichés because they are overused and become
meaningless. We should take consideration on them. But it is certainly useful to know
clichéd similes so that we can enrich our knowledge of English. For example:



Happy as a pig in mud.
Tight as a drum.
Eat like a pig.
TEACHING IMPLCATION
The matter of teaching students is to inspire them to study. Our course books are very
mundane with several parts repeated lessons after lessons. Besides, learning a
language is equal to explore the beauty of a culture. What we should do is to introduce
the magnificent of English by telling them stories, showing them metaphors or similes,
or simply singing an interest English song.
Through this essay, I would love to recommend to teachers the lovely aspect of English
and Vietnamese and comparison between English and Vietnamese. Many of us focus
too much on English course books. Sometimes, we can teach them something different
like songs, metaphors, proverbs or similes. With some interesting information, students
are curious to know more. Then, they will eagerly search for more.
Secondly, many forget one of the easiest ways to make every student understand is to
make comparison between English and Vietnamese. We are too busy make use of
English in class. If we compare something close to them, they will learn fast and
remember for a long time. Not only do they learn English, but also they understand
more about Vietnamese.
Finally, I hope you all get something helpful for your teaching. Students do not solely
need acknowledgement. They love to explore themselves new knowledge. By that way,
they will remember longer. Another way is to make comparison between English and
Vietnamese. With some information provided in this essay, I wish you can get an
appropriate teaching method.
CONCLUSION
Simile is a part of a language, a culture. It is not only important for experts but also
language learners. Similes enrich the images in everyday life speech as well as in
written texts. It also reflexes the knowledge of the users. To learn simile is to learn the
vividness and history of a language. English and Vietnamese are sharing many
common similes. It means that although they are from different branches of languages,
they have many similarities. That is why we should take care of our Vietnamese as well
as English.
References
Tran, V. H., & Hoang, K. A., (2008), Similes in Vietnamese and English proverbs,
Science and Technology journal, p.4
Similes. Retrieved December 29th 2011, from
http://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/figures-simile.htm
Clichéd similes. Retrieved December 29th 2011, from
http://cw.marianuniversity.edu/jburns/Agendas/WAC/Assessment/cliched_similes.htm
Nguyen, L. (1997). Tu dien thanh ngu va tuc ngu Viet Nam. Ho Chi Minh city: Social
Science Publishing House.
Dang, H. P., (2010, May), A study on metaphor and simile in English idioms and
Vietnamese equivalent. Retrieved December 29th 2011, from http://www.booksfree.eu/freebook/121163/a-study-on-metaphor-and-simile-in-english-idioms-andvietnamese-equivalents-a-ng-h-ng-pha%C2%BAc-qh-1-e
Simile. Retrieved December 29th 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simile
Simile definition. Retrieved December 29th 2011, from
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/simile?q=simile