A figurative phrase means something other than its surface picture. To explain it, you use the plain sentences around it as proof.
This lesson sits inside evidence-led Chinese reading. If you are not yet sure whether a sentence is fact or feeling, revisit fact versus writer attitude first.
What are the four steps?
- Name the device in a few words. “拟人”, “比喻”, “夸张”.
- State what is really being described. Time, a person’s mood, a place.
- Find the clue sentence. Read one sentence before and one after, and underline the plain words.
- State the effect. What does the reader feel or picture because of this phrase?
Worked example: personification
“考试前一晚，时钟仿佛长了脚，转眼就跑过了十二点。我合上书本，眼前的公式却还在打转。”
Question: 解释“时钟仿佛长了脚”的意思。
The device is personification, because a clock is given feet. The thing described is time passing. The clue is “转眼就跑过了十二点”, which says it went past midnight in an instant, and “公式却还在打转”, which shows the student has not finished revising.
A full model answer: “这句用拟人，说时间过得很快，好像时钟长了脚会跑。上下文写‘转眼就跑过了十二点’，表现出考试前夕作者觉得时间不够，心里着急。”
The mistake that costs marks
Students usually go wrong in one of two ways: reading the picture literally, or naming the device and stopping.
| Answer | Problem |
|---|---|
| “时钟真的长了脚。” | Literal reading of the picture. |
| “这是拟人。” | Names the device but gives no meaning or effect. |
| “时间过得很快，作者着急，因为‘转眼就跑过了十二点’。” | States meaning, clue and feeling. |
The third answer also avoids a hidden trap: it does not claim the writer failed the exam, because the passage does not say so.
A second example: simile
“母亲的手像一把旧梳子，粗糙，却总能把我乱糟糟的心事一根一根理顺。”
The device is simile, marked by “像”. The thing described is the mother’s hands, and then her comfort. “粗糙” shows the hands are worn from work, while “理顺心事” shows she calms the writer’s troubled thoughts.
Model answer: “把母亲的手比作旧梳子，写出她的手虽然粗糙，却能安抚作者纷乱的心情，表现母亲的温柔与体贴。” Here the effect is gentle care, and the clue is the pair “粗糙……却……”.
Check yourself
“奶奶的话像冬天的炉火，不吵不闹，却让整间屋子暖了起来。”
Explain “像冬天的炉火” in two sentences. Use one clue from the sentence.
Answer
The device is a simile, marked by “像”. Grandmother’s words are compared to a winter fire, so the phrase means her words bring comfort and warmth.
The clue is “不吵不闹，却让整间屋子暖了起来”, which says the warmth arrives quietly. A model answer: “这句用比喻，把奶奶的话比作炉火，说她的话温和安慰人心，让大家感到温暖。”
Do not say the house is literally cold or that grandmother lit a fire, because the passage does not state this.
What to study next
The next lesson shows how to choose quoted evidence that proves a point: selecting evidence that supports an inference. The Chinese composition structure planner is also useful when you want to try similar figures in your own writing.
To practise explaining figurative phrases with a teacher, see online one-to-one Chinese tuition.