Learning idioms

In my last article, I talked about what idioms are, and aren’t. How many idioms are there in English? Some estimate that there are 25,000!

With so many idioms, you may feel overwhelmed at the prospect of learning them … and of course, you will probably never know them all, or need to!

My suggestion for learning idioms is to take it slow and make it fun. Don’t try to memorize boring lists of idioms from a textbook or website. Go on a never-ending “idiom hunt,” keep an “idiom notebook,” use visualization, discover origins of idioms, and work on slowly incorporating idioms into your vocabulary.

First, how do you “hunt” idioms? In my opinion, the best way to find new, unfamiliar idioms is to read non-academic texts like internet articles or popular books and listen to native English speakers (either “in person” or on a podcast, in a lecture, or on a YouTube channel). Encounter idioms in their natural environment … in the places where you are likely to go. This also helps ensure that you select idioms that are currently popular.

For example, many of my students are familiar with the idiom, “raining cats and dogs.” And that is an English idiom but, in my opinion, not one that is used much in day-to-day conversation. It’s more likely an American will just say that it’s “pouring.”

Once you find an idiom, you should have a place to store it. With an “idiom notebook,” you can collect idioms to memorize and review when you get a chance. Quizlet is a good choice, but you can also use a paper notebook, a document on your computer, or anywhere else that’s convenient and accessible.

You might also want to classify the idioms you collect into categories. For example, you could have categories for idioms that express certain emotions: surprise (to jump out of your skin, to do a double take, to be struck dumb); anger (to have a cow, to see red, to get your panties in a wad); and happiness (to be on cloud nine, to be happy as a clam, to be a happy camper).

How to remember idioms? Visualization can help. For example, an idiom I used when writing to my brother today was “to ring a bell.” I asked him about the name of a person I had read about and whether that name “rang a bell” … in other words, did he remember someone who had that name? Was it familiar to him? To memorize that idiom, you might visualize a little bell in your head that starts to ring when you remember something.

It can also be fun to match an English idiom with one in your own language, or to discover the origin of an English idiom …. something that many Americans themselves don’t know. This is one very scholarly and comprehensive website, but a simple Google search will usually give you some information about an idiom’s origin. For example, to “rub someone the wrong way” (to irritate or annoy someone) comes from the reaction cats have when you rub their fur against the grain. “Getting your back up” (getting upset and ready to fight) also relates to cats, this time their tendency to arch their backs when they’re angry.

If you accept that you can never learn every idiom in English, and instead just relax and enjoy your discoveries, you’ll be a happier learner. Idioms shouldn’t cause stress but instead be a source of amusement. With persistence, you’ll slowly add idioms into your working vocabulary and have fun in the process.