Idiom là gì? Các idiom thông dụng nhất trong tiếng Anh là gì? Cùng The SOL tìm hiểu Top 50 idioms (thành ngữ) thông dụng nhất trong tiếng Anh với bài viết này.
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Idiom là một thuật ngữ ngôn ngữ dùng để chỉ một cụm từ hoặc cụm từ cụ thể có ý nghĩa riêng biệt khác với ý nghĩa của các từ riêng lẻ trong cụm từ đó. Idiom thường được sử dụng phổ biến trong tiếng Anh và nhiều ngôn ngữ khác. Các cụm từ idiom không thể hiểu bằng cách dịch từng từ một mà cần phải hiểu ý nghĩa tổng thể của cụm từ đó. Hiểu nôm na, idiom chính là thành ngữ trong tiếng Việt.
Idiom thường xuất hiện trong hội thoại hàng ngày, văn bản và văn phạm, làm cho ngôn ngữ trở nên phong phú và thú vị hơn. Tuy nhiên, việc hiểu và sử dụng idiom có thể khó đối với người học ngôn ngữ mới bởi vì ý nghĩa của chúng thường khá trừu tượng và không dễ đoán. Để hiểu được ý nghĩa và cách sử dụng của một idiom, người học thường phải tìm hiểu từng idiom cụ thể và ngữ cảnh mà nó được sử dụng.
Dưới đây, SOL sẽ chia sẻ với các bạn top 50 thành ngữ tiếng Anh thông dụng nhất nhé. Số lượng từ lớn nên chúng mình sẽ chia thành 5 nhóm nhỏ, mỗi nhóm 10 idioms để bạn có thể học vừa phải và đều đặn, không bị nhồi nhét quá nhiều một lúc nha.
| Idiom | Nghĩa | Ví dụ |
|---|---|---|
| cost an arm and a leg | Very expensive | It cost me an arm and a leg to take my trip to Australia. |
| over the moon | Extremely pleased or happy | I was over the moon when he asked me to marry him. |
| jumping the gun | Doing or starting something too early | You are taking your IELTS test next week?? Aren’t you jumping the gun. You’ve only just started studying. |
| once in a blue moon | Happening very rarely | He comes round to see me once in a blue moon. |
| have a chip on your shoulder | Feeling inferior or having a grievance about something | He’s got a chip on his shoulder. |
| a piece of cake | Very easy | I reckon getting a band 7 in IELTS will be a piece of cake! I’m very good at English. |
| a drop in the ocean | A very small part of something much bigger | The money sent by comic relief to help poverty in Africa is just a drop in the ocean. They need far more than this. |
| blessing in disguise | Something positive that isn’t recognized until later | Getting a low score the first time I took IELTS was a blessing in disguise. It forced me to study extremely hard so I got a much better score the next time. |
| Actions speak louder than words | It’s better to actually do something rather than just talking about it | We have to actually do something about global warming. Actions speak louder than words. |
| a small world | Meeting someone you would not have expected to | I bumped into Jenny in town the other day. It's a small world. |
| Idiom | Nghĩa | Ví dụ |
|---|---|---|
| Back to the drawing board | When an attempt to do something fails and it's time to start all over again using different methods | Oh well, I got 5.5 in IELTS again. Back to the drawing board! |
| stuck / caught between a rock and a hard place | Having two very bad choices | I hate my job so much I can’t bare going to work, but if I quit I don’t think I can get another job. I’m really stuck / caught between a rock and a hard place. |
| bite my tongue | Wanting to say something but stopping yourself | I have to bite my tongue so I don’t say what I really think of him! |
| cut to the chase | Leave out all the unnecessary details and just get to the point | Come on, cut to the chase. We haven’t got all day! |
| put all your eggs in one basket | Putting all of ones resources into one possibility | Are you putting all of your savings into that company? Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. |
| Every cloud has a silver lining | Believing that every bad situation has a positive side / eventually leads to something good | Try not to worry about it. Every cloud has a silver lining. |
| found my feet | To become comfortable in what you are doing | It was difficult when I moved to another country but I eventually found my feet. |
| fixed in (one's) ways | Not wanting to change from the normal ways of doing things | My parents are very fixed in their ways. They won’t start using the internet. |
| get up on the wrong side of the bed | To refer to someone who is having a bad day | I think he got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. He is in a terrible mood. |
| go the extra mile | Doing much more than is required when doing something | My mother will always go the extra mile to help people. |
| Idiom | Nghĩa | Ví dụ |
|---|---|---|
| hit the nail on the head | Say exactly the right thing | I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. That’s the reason he didn’t get the job. |
| If it’s not one thing, it’s the other | When everything seems to be going wrong | Today’s going so badly. If it’s not one thing, it’s the other. |
| the heat of the moment | Saying or doing something suddenly without thinking about it | I just said it in the heat of the moment. I was angry. I know I shouldn’t have. |
| keep your/an eye on something/someone | Watch someone or something carefully | Keep an eye on him. I think he may cheat in the exam. |
| kicked the bucket | Died | Have you heard? John down the road has kicked the bucket. |
| let sleeping dogs lie | Avoid a conflict | I don’t want to argue with him again. It’s better to let sleeping dogs lie. |
| let the cat out of the bag | Tell someone something that you were not supposed to | I told him what gift you have bought him for his birthday. Sorry, I didn’t mean to let the cat out of the bag. |
| bite the hand that feeds you | Hurt or upset someone who is helping you | Don’t tell her what you really think of her if she’s helping you with your English! Don’t bite the hand that feeds you. |
| sit on the fence | Not making a firm decision between different choices | I’m not sure which party he is going to vote for. He’s sitting on the fence. |
| over the top | Excessive | Everything she does is very over the top. She can’t just have a few drinks – se has to get really drunk. |
| Idiom | Nghĩa | Ví dụ |
|---|---|---|
| Practice makes perfect | Continuously doing something to improve | Let’s keep studying for IELTS. Practice makes perfect. |
| pull someone's leg | Joking around | Don’t get upset about what he said. He’s just pulling your leg. |
| take a rain check | To decline an offer that you will take up later | Sorry but I think I’ll take a rain check on that. |
| rule of thumb | Principal that is strictly adhered / kept to | As a rule of thumb, I don’t study at weekends. I spend the time with my family. |
| smell a rat | To sense that something is not right | I can smell a rat. He said he has a PhD but he can’t even remember which university he studied at. |
| be the (living/spitting) image of someone | To look exactly like someone else | She’s the spitting image of her mother. |
| the ball's in someone's court | Telling someone it's now their turn to make a decision | The ball's in your court now. What are you going to do? |
| until the cows come home | For a very long time | Unfortunately I think he’ll be studying for IELTS until the cows come home. His English is very poor. |
| tongue-in-cheek. | Something said in humour rather than seriously | It was all tongue-in-cheek. He didn’t really mean what he said. |
| under the weather | Unwell | She’s feeling under the weather today so she won’t be going to work. |
| Idiom | Nghĩa | Ví dụ |
|---|---|---|
| water under the bridge | Things from the past that are not important anymore | We've had some big disagreements over the years, but it’s all water under the bridge now. We get on fine. |
| You are what you eat | If you eat bad food, you’ll be unhealthy, if you eat good food, you’ll be healthy | You are what you eat so it’s better to have a healthy diet. |
| judge a book by its cover | The belief that outside appearances do not reveal what someone or something is really like | You can’t judge a book by its cover. I need to get to know him before I decide what he is like. |
| against the clock | Not having enough time to do something | We're really working against the clock now. We must hurry. |
| flog a dead horse | Attempting to continue with something that is finished / over | Why are we bothering? We're flogging a dead horse. Our online business is making no money, so we should move on and do something else. |
| bent over backwards | Doing all you can to help someone | I bent over backwards to help him. I hope he appreciates it. |
| Break a leg | Good luck | So you have the IELTS test today?? Break a leg. |
| play devil's advocate | To put forward a side in an argument that may not be your own in order to show the counter-argument / ensure all sides are discussed | Ok, I'm playing devil's advocate here, but if marijuana is legalized, isn't it more likely young people will smoke it? |
| Hold your horses | Telling someone who is getting ahead of themselves to wait / be patient | Hold your horses! We haven't won anything yet. |
| drive someone up the wall | Annoying or irritating somebody | She is driving me up the wall. She won't stop talking. |
Thành ngữ là một yếu tố quan trọng để bạn có thể sử dụng tiếng Anh, đặc biệt là sử dụng một cách tự nhiên như người bản ngữ. Hy vọng 50 idioms thường gặp trên đây sẽ giúp bạn có thể làm giàu thêm vốn từ vựng của bản thân.
