phrase

See also: Phrase and phrasé

English

Etymology

From Late Latin phrasis (“diction”), from Ancient Greek φράσις (phrásis, “manner of expression”), from φράζω (phrázō, “I tell, express”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: frāz, IPA^(key): /fɹeɪz/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪz
• Homophones: fraise, frays

Noun

phrase (plural phrases)

Examples (grammar)
noun phrase: the big bird (head: bird)

1. A short written or spoken expression.

   Hypernym: syntagma

2. (grammar) A word or, more commonly, a group of words that functions as a single unit in the syntax of a sentence, usually consisting of a head, or central word, and elaborating words.
   • 2013 November 30, Paul Davis, “Letters: Say it as simply as possible”, in The Economist‎^[1], volume 409, number 8864:

     Congratulations on managing to use the phrase “preponderant criterion” in a chart (“On your marks”, November 9th). Was this the work of a kakorrhaphiophobic journalist set a challenge by his colleagues, or simply an example of glossolalia?

3. (music) A small section of music in a larger piece.
4. (archaic) A mode or form of speech; diction; expression.
   • c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene vi]:

     Thou speak'st / In better phrase and matter than thou didst.

   • 1847, Alfred Tennyson, “Part II”, in The Princess: A Medley, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 39:

     […] From out a common vein of memory / Sweet household talk, and phrases of the hearth, […]

5. (dance) A short individual motion forming part of a choreographed dance.

Synonyms

• (expression): figure of speech, locution
• See also Thesaurus:phrase

Derived terms

• adjective phrase
• adverbial phrase
• adverb phrase
• antecedent phrase
• bombard phrase
• catch phrase
• catch-phrase
• catchphrase
• consequent phrase
• determiner phrase
• empty phrase
• noun phrase
• participial phrase
• phrasal
• phrase book
• phrasemaker
• phraseology
• phrase structure
• prepositional phrase
• set phrase
• signature phrase
• turn a phrase
• verb phrase

 

Translations

short written or spoken expression

• Afrikaans: 'n frase, frase (af)
• Albanian: frazë (sq) f
• Amharic: ሐረግ (am) (ḥäräg)
• Arabic: جُمْلَة‎ (ar) f (jumla), تَعْبِير‎ m (taʕbīr), عِبَارَة‎ f (ʕibāra)

  Egyptian Arabic: تَعْبِير‎ m (taʕbīr)

• Armenian: արտահայտություն (hy) (artahaytutʿyun)
• Azerbaijani: ifadə (az), ibarə (az), fraza
• Belarusian: фра́за f (fráza), высло́ўе n (vyslóŭje)
• Bengali: বাক্য (bn) (bakko), ফ্রেজ (phrej)
• Bulgarian: фра́за (bg) f (fráza), и́зраз (bg) m (ízraz)
• Burmese: နိဒ္ဒေသ (my) (niddesa.)
• Chechen: алар (alar)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 片語／片语 (pin³ jyu⁵)

  Mandarin: 短語／短语 (zh) (duǎnyǔ), 片語／片语 (zh) (piànyǔ) (Taiwan), 詞組／词组 (zh) (cízǔ)

  Min Nan: 片語／片语 (phiàn-gí)

  Wu: 片語／片语 (phi nyy)

• Czech: fráze (cs) f
• Danish: frase c, udtryk n
• Dutch: uitspraak (nl) f
• Esperanto: frazo (eo)
• Estonian: fraas, väljend
• Finnish: ilmaus (fi)
• French: expression (fr) f, locution (fr) f
• Galician: frase (gl) f
• Georgian: ფრაზა (praza)
• German: Redewendung (de) f, Phrase (de) f
• Greek: φράση (el) f (frási)
• Hebrew: צֵרוּף לָשׁוֹן‎ f (tzeiruf lashon), מִשְׁפָּט‎ (he) m (mishpát)
• Hindi: मुहावरा (hi) m (muhāvrā), वाक्यांश m (vākyānś), वाक्य (hi) m (vākya), जुमला (hi) m (jumlā), इबारत (hi) f (ibārat)
• Hungarian: mondás (hu), kifejezés (hu)
• Icelandic: frasi (is) m, málsháttur (is) m
• Indonesian: ungkapan (id), frasa (id)
• Interlingua: expression (ia)
• Irish: frása m
• Italian: espressione (it) f, polirematica (it) f
• Japanese: 句 (ja) (く, ku), 語句 (ja) (ごく, goku), フレーズ (ja) (furēzu)
• Kazakh: фраза (fraza), сөйлем (söilem), сөйлемше (söilemşe)
• Khmer: ឃ្លា (km) (khliə)
• Korean: 어구(語句) (ko) (eogu), 구(句) (ko) (gu)
• Kyrgyz: фраза (fraza), сүйлөм (ky) (süylöm)
• Lao: ປໂຍກ (pa nyōk), ວະລີ (wa lī)
• Latvian: frāze f
• Lithuanian: žodžių junginys (lt) m, frazė f
• Macedonian: фраза f (fraza), израз m (izraz)
• Malay: ungkapan, frasa
• Maori: kīanga, rerenga kupu
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: хэлц (mn) (xelc)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: frase (no) m

  Nynorsk: frase m

• Pashto: عبارت‎ (ps) m ('ebārat)
• Persian: عبارت‎ (fa) ('ebârat), گروه واژه‎ (goruh vâže), جمله‎ (fa) (jomle)
• Polish: zdanie (pl) n, fraza (pl) f, wyrażenie (pl) n
• Portuguese: expressão (pt) f, frase (pt) f
• Romanian: expresie (ro) f, frază (ro) f
• Russian: фра́за (ru) f (fráza), выраже́ние (ru) n (vyražénije)
• Scottish Gaelic: abairt f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: фра́за f

  Roman: fráza (sh) f

• Slovak: fráza f, zvrat m
• Slovene: fraza (sl) f
• Spanish: expresión (es) f, frase (es) f
• Swedish: fras (sv) c, uttryck (sv) n
• Tagalog: parirala
• Tajik: ибора (tg) (ibora), ҷумла (tg) (jumla)
• Tatar: гыйбарә (tt) (ğıybarä), сүзтезмә (süztezmä)
• Thai: วลี (th) (wá-lii), ประโยค (th) (bprà-yòok)
• Tok Pisin: toktok
• Turkish: deyim (tr), tabir (tr), ifade (tr)
• Turkmen: jümle, fraza
• Ukrainian: фра́за f (fráza), ви́слів (uk) m (výsliv), ре́чення (uk) n (réčennja)
• Urdu: جُمْلَہ‎ m (jumlā), عِبارَت‎ f (ibārat)
• Uyghur: ئىبارەت‎ (ibaret)
• Uzbek: ibora (uz), fraza (uz), gap (uz)
• Vietnamese: cụm từ (vi), câu (vi)
• Volapük: fraseod (vo)
• Walloon: ratourneure (wa) f
• Yiddish: פֿראַזע‎ f (fraze)
• Zhuang: please add this translation if you can

grammar: group of two or more words that express an idea but do not form a complete sentence

• Albanian: frazë (sq) f, shprehje (sq) f
• Armenian: բառակապակցություն (hy) (baṙakapakcʿutʿyun)
• Azerbaijani: ibarə (az)
• Belarusian: словазлучэ́нне n (slovazlučénnje), фра́за f (fráza)
• Bulgarian: фра́за (bg) f (fráza)
• Catalan: sintagma m
• Czech: slovní spojení (cs) n, sousloví (cs) n
• Dutch: frase (nl) f
• Esperanto: lokucio
• Estonian: fraas
• Finnish: lauseke (fi), fraasi (fi)
• French: syntagme (fr) m, phrase (fr) f (sentence)
• German: Phrase (de) f
• Greek: φράση (el) f (frási)
• Hungarian: szókapcsolat (hu), szószerkezet (hu), (following an adjective that specifies it) csoport (hu) or szerkezet (hu)
• Indonesian: frasa (id)
• Irish: frása m, abairtín m
• Italian: locuzione (it) f, polirematica (it) f, frase (it) f
• Japanese: 句 (ja) (く, ku)
• Korean: 구(句) (ko) (gu)
• Lithuanian: žodžių junginys (lt) m, frazė f
• Northern Sami: gihppu
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: frase (no) m

  Nynorsk: frase m

• Persian: گروه واژه‎ (goruh vâže)
• Polish: wypowiedzenie (pl) n, fraza (pl) f
• Portuguese: locução (pt) f, sintagma (pt) m
• Romani:

  Kalo Finnish Romani: laavengo knippos

• Romanian: frază (ro) f, expresie (ro) f, sintagmă (ro) f
• Russian: словосочета́ние (ru) n (slovosočetánije), оборо́т ре́чи (ru) m (oborót réči), фра́за (ru) f (fráza)
• Scottish Gaelic: abairt f
• Slovene: stavek (sl) m
• Spanish: sintagma (es) m
• Swedish: fras (sv) c, uttryck (sv) n
• Tagalog: parirala
• Thai: วลี (th) (wá-lii)
• Turkish: öbek (tr)
• Ukrainian: словосполу́чення (uk) n (slovospolúčennja), фра́за f (fráza)
• Vietnamese: cụm từ (vi)
• Walloon: fråze (wa) f
• Yiddish: פֿראַזע‎ f (fraze)

music: small section of music in a larger piece

• Belarusian: фра́за f (fráza)
• Bulgarian: фраза (bg) f (fraza)
• Catalan: frase (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 樂句／乐句 (zh) (yuèjù)

• Finnish: fraasi (fi), lauseke (fi)
• French: phrase (fr) f
• German: Phrase (de) f
• Greek: φράση (el) f (frási)
• Hungarian: frázis (hu)
• Italian: frase (it) f
• Japanese: 楽句 (がっく, gakku), フレーズ (ja) (furēzu)
• Korean: 악구(樂句) (akgu), 프레이즈 (peureijeu)
• Macedonian: фраза f (fraza)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: frase (no) m

  Nynorsk: frase m

• Polish: fraza (pl) f
• Portuguese: frase (pt) f
• Russian: фра́за (ru) f (fráza)
• Spanish: frase (es) f
• Swedish: fras (sv) c
• Ukrainian: фра́за f (fráza)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Indonesian: ^{(please verify)} frase (id)
• Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} phrase (ia), ^{(please verify)} expression (ia), ^{(please verify)} locution

See also

• phrase on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Verb

phrase (third-person singular simple present phrases, present participle phrasing, simple past and past participle phrased)

1. (transitive) To express (an action, thought or idea) by means of particular words.

   I wasn't sure how to phrase my condolences without sounding patronising.

   • 1613 (date written), William Shakespeare; [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:

     These suns — for so they phrase 'em.

2. (intransitive, music) To perform a passage with the correct phrasing.
3. (transitive, music) To divide into melodic phrases.

Derived terms

• phraser
• phrasing

Related terms

• paraphrase
• rephrase

Translations

music: perform a passage with the correct phrasing

• Bulgarian: фрази́рам impf or pf (frazíram)
• Finnish: fraseerata (fi)
• Russian: фрази́ровать (ru) impf (frazírovatʹ)
• Swedish: frasera

express by means of words

• Bulgarian: изразя́вам (bg) impf (izrazjávam), изразя́ pf (izrazjá)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 表述 (zh) (biǎoshù)

• Finnish: ilmaista (fi), pukea sanoiksi (fi)
• French: exprimer (fr), formuler (fr)
• German: formulieren (de)
• Greek: φράζειν (frázein)
• Interlingua: exprimer
• Italian: esprimere (it), redigere (it)
• Macedonian: изразува impf (izrazuva)
• Portuguese: exprimir (pt), expressar (pt)
• Russian: формули́ровать (ru) impf (formulírovatʹ), сформули́ровать (ru) pf (sformulírovatʹ), выража́ть (ru) impf (vyražátʹ), вы́разить (ru) pf (výrazitʹ)
• Spanish: formular (es), expresar (es), frasear (es)
• Swedish: benämna (sv), beteckna (sv), formulera (sv), ge uttryck åt, uttrycka (sv)
• Turkish: anlatmak (tr), ifade etmek (tr)

music: divide into melodic phrases

• Finnish: fraseerata (fi)
• French: phraser (fr)
• Macedonian: фрази́ра impf or pf (frazíra)
• Russian: фрази́ровать (ru) impf (frazírovatʹ)
• Swedish: frasera

Further reading

• “phrase”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “phrase”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• phrase at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• E sharp, E-sharp, Harpes, Sharpe, Sherpa, Spehar, e sharp, e-sharp, harpes, hepars, pasher, phares, phaser, raphes, seraph, shaper, sharpe, sherpa, shrape, sphear

French

Etymology

From Latin phrasis (“diction”), from Ancient Greek φράσις (phrásis, “manner of expression”), from φράζω (phrázō, “to tell, express”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fʁaz/, /fʁɑz/

• audio

  (file)

• Audio (CAN)

  (file)

Noun

phrase f (plural phrases)

1. sentence

Usage notes

• This is a false friend to English phrase.

Derived terms

• phrase complexe
• phrase d'accroche
• phrase d'approche
• phrase simple
• phrasillon
• tournure de phrase

 

Further reading

• “phrase”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• harpes, phares

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈpʰra.se/, [ˈpʰräs̠ɛ]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈfra.se/, [ˈfräːs̬e]

Noun

phrase

1. ablative singular of phrasis

Portuguese

Noun

phrase f (plural phrases)

1. Obsolete spelling of frase (used in Portugal until September 1911 and in Brazil until the 1940s).