idiomatic
/ˌɪdiəˈmætɪk/ (bre, ipa) · /ˌɪdiəˈmætɪk/ (ame, ipa) · /ˌi-dē-ə-ˈma-tik/ (ame, mw)
idiomatic — adjective
- idiomaticpositive
- more idiomaticcomparative
- most idiomaticsuperlative
1. of language: phrased the way a fluent speaker would actually say it, with word c
of language: phrased the way a fluent speaker would actually say it, with word choices and combinations that feel correct and not forced.
Karim's essay was grammatically perfect, but his teacher said it still wasn't quite idiomatic English.
predicative: be (not) idiomatic English
Mayumi spent a year in Taipei to make her spoken Mandarin sound more idiomatic.
collocation: sound idiomatic
A good translator turns the original sentences into idiomatic Spanish, not just word-for-word equivalents.
Iris rewrote the dialogue three times until every line felt idiomatic to a London teenager.
The new app gives writers instant feedback on whether their phrasing is idiomatic or sounds translated.
- natural
broader; covers tone and rhythm as well as wording
- native-sounding
informal; emphasises the same effect from a learner perspective
- fluent
applies to a speaker's overall ability, not a single sentence
文法句型
sound idiomatic
idiomatic English/Mandarin
用法筆記
Subject is almost always a stretch of language (a sentence, phrase, translation, or someone's English/Mandarin/etc.), not a person. Distinguish from sense 2: this sense praises phrasing that sounds native; sense 2 simply means a chunk of language contains an idiom.
常見錯誤
2. describing a phrase or expression whose meaning cannot be worked out from the in
describing a phrase or expression whose meaning cannot be worked out from the individual words — for example, 'kick the bucket' meaning to die.
Devika warned her students that 'spill the beans' is an idiomatic expression, not a cooking instruction.
an idiomatic expression
The textbook lists thirty idiomatic phrases that English learners often get wrong.
attributive: idiomatic phrases
'Let the cat out of the bag' is a common idiomatic way of saying you revealed a secret by accident.
Hyun keeps a notebook of idiomatic uses of 'get' that confuse him at work.
- non-literal
technical; emphasises that the words do not add up to the meaning
- figurative
broader; covers metaphor and other non-literal language too
- literal
each word contributes its ordinary meaning
文法句型
an idiomatic expression/phrase
用法筆記
Object is a fixed expression whose meaning is non-literal. Distinguish from sense 1: sense 1 says language sounds native; this sense labels a phrase as a frozen idiom whose parts cannot be added up.