Boxi Learn › Chinese › Stage 3 · Structure and Evidence
Explain a thing: numbers, comparison or analogy
CN-3 A text is what the writer choseCN-4 Reading needs evidenceX-2 Evidence outweighs opinion
What many people think
作比较 (comparing) and 打比方 (analogy) are the same thing: both say one thing is like another.
The idea
Listing numbers makes a fact exact, comparing with something known makes the size graspable, and an analogy makes it vivid but only roughly right; a writer picks the method by what the reader needs.
Explain it
Explain to a friend why “the Moon is like a mirror” and “Earth is 3.7 times as wide as the Moon” are different methods. Use the word “how much”.
Try at home
Describe your fridge three ways: measure it (numbers), compare it with something else in the kitchen (comparison), and say what it is like (analogy). Read all three to someone and ask which one helped them most.