{"id":5808,"date":"2026-06-24T09:08:43","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T09:08:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/18kenglish.com\/animal-idioms-english\/"},"modified":"2026-06-24T09:08:43","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T09:08:43","slug":"animal-idioms-english","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/18kenglish.com\/vi\/animal-idioms-english\/","title":{"rendered":"20 Animal Idioms in English | \u52d5\u7269\u82f1\u6587\u8afa\u8a9e\u5b8c\u6574\u6307\u5357"},"content":{"rendered":"
\nQuick Answer \u5feb\u901f\u89e3\u7b54\uff1a<\/strong> Animal idioms are common English phrases that use animals to describe people, feelings, or situations \u2014 like “hold your horses” (\u7a0d\u5b89\u52ff\u8e81) or “the elephant in the room” (\u5927\u5bb6\u90fd\u8ff4\u907f\u7684\u660e\u986f\u554f\u984c). They rarely mean what they literally say, so you have to learn the figurative meaning. The good news for Taiwanese learners: several map almost word-for-word onto Chinese sayings, such as “kill two birds with one stone” = \u4e00\u77f3\u4e8c\u9ce5.\n<\/div>\n

Roughly one in every ten everyday English expressions hides an animal inside it. Native speakers say “let the cat out of the bag” without picturing a single cat, and they tell you to “hold your horses” when there isn’t a horse in sight. For Taiwanese learners, this is exactly where textbook English and real English split apart \u2014 you can ace every grammar test and still freeze when a colleague says “that’s a whole different kettle of fish.” This guide breaks down 20 of the most useful animal idioms, with Chinese meanings, real example sentences, and a few honest warnings about the ones that sound rude if you use them wrong.<\/p>\n

\"Animal<\/p>\n

Animal idioms turn flat English into vivid, memorable language.<\/em><\/p>\n

What Are Animal Idioms? \u52d5\u7269\u82f1\u6587\u8afa\u8a9e\u662f\u4ec0\u9ebc\uff1f<\/h2>\n

Animal idioms are fixed expressions that use an animal to stand in for a human trait, an emotion, or a situation. The phrase as a whole carries a meaning you cannot work out from the individual words \u2014 “a fish out of water” has nothing to do with fishing and everything to do with feeling out of place. That gap between the literal words and the real meaning is what makes idioms hard, and also what makes them sound natural once you get them right.<\/p>\n

Here is the part most textbooks skip: idioms are not optional decoration. A 2010 study by Cambridge linguist Frank Boers found that learners who actively used idioms were rated as more fluent by native speakers, even when their grammar was identical to learners who avoided them. In other words, the idioms are doing real work \u2014 they signal that you belong in the conversation.<\/p>\n

Cat and Dog Idioms \u8c93\u72d7\u82f1\u6587\u8afa\u8a9e<\/h2>\n

Cats and dogs show up more than any other animal in English idioms, probably because they have lived alongside English speakers for centuries. Start here \u2014 these are the ones you will hear first.<\/p>\n