📖 Meaning
To connect and group similar things together for comparison. It describes a method of reasoning that draws analogies between related objects or concepts. The phrase often refers to grouping analogous items to illustrate a point.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the Han Feizi (《韩非子·难言》), a work by the Legalist philosopher Han Fei of the late Warring States period. Han Fei discussed the difficulties of persuasion, noting that when someone speaks at length with elaborate comparisons and links many similar things together, listeners may perceive it as empty and useless. The phrase thus originally carried a somewhat critical tone, describing overly elaborate analogical reasoning that fails to convince.
💡 Example Usage
他在文章中连类比物，把三种植物的生长习性逐一对照说明。
In his article he linked and compared similar things, contrasting the growth habits of three plants one by one.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 连类比物
- Pinyin: lián lèi bǐ wù
- Literal Translation: link, category, compare, things
- Category: Logic
- Characters: 4