比喩

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 比喩 (ひゆ) is a noun for a figure of speech that explains one thing by likening it to another.
• Basic usage: 時間を川にたとえる比喩 makes the time-to-river comparison the figure used, while 比喩で説明する uses figurative language as a means to explain a difficult mechanism.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Compared content and explanatory means
  • 時間を川にたとえる supplies the comparison’s content, and 比喩で marks it as an explanatory device. The expression does not assert that time is literally a river.