Language is like the rose, which needs watering, fertilizing and pruning. In some degree, we can say figures of speech is its gardener. The reason is that figures of speech endow the mundane words with vitality and spirit. Yet the careful gardener actually brings a lot of trouble for us, who have to struggle with the beautiful but tricky words.

Here I list some figures of speech which are commonly seen in our daily work.

Periphrasis 折绕

Her olfactory system was suffering from a temporary inconvenience.

她的嗅觉系统暂时有些不便/不适。

His brother is a disturber of the piano keys.

他哥哥是个专跟钢琴键过不去的家伙。

Rhetorical question 反问

O if you felt the pain I feel!

But O, who ever felt as I? (W.S.Landor)

啊，倘你能体会我这痛苦！

唉，可谁的感觉能如我般？（兰道）

Read Also: Word on Word Translation – The Commonest Problem That Translator Newbies Would Have

Antithesis 对偶

Beauty, strength, youth, are flowers but fading seen;

Duty, faith, love, are roots, and ever green.

美貌、强壮、年轻，仿如花卉，终将衰尽；

义务、信念、爱情，恰似木本，万古长青。

If we pay more attention on this part, we would find out in fact it is not so difficult as we think. Some efforts are demanded, and some returns will attract you to study further.