Recalling when I went to the US for the first time- which was over 20 years ago, the first 3 months of living there was a challenge and it also took about that long for my English language communication adjustments to settle, especially when it came to understanding the deep southern accents, uttering and pronouncing words for others to understand what I tried to say and explaining words and things I wanted to say but didn’t know the exact words for them. But you know what, when talking in a foreign language, it’s ok to tell other people you don’t know the words or cannot think of the words. You might be surprised by how much they would try to help you out. ;)
However, there are some tips you can use if you don’t know a word in English or in that particular language, you can try using these tips to describe it:
I. Use the Opposite Word:
tall / short
big / small
cheap / expensive
near / far
·Etc.
Examples:
“I don’t know the word – it’s the opposite of ‘tall.'” “Short?” “Yes!”
“What’s the opposite of ‘far‘?” “Near.” “Thanks! My school is near my house.”
II. Use Similar Word(s):
Words that have related definitions but are not exactly the same.
·apple / orange (both are fruit)
·horse / zebra (both are from the horse family)
·book / notebook (both look like books but used for different purposes)
·dress / skirt (both are items of clothing)
·Etc.
Examples:
“It’s similar to a book, but you write in it.” “A notebook?” “Yes!”
“It’s similar to a horse, but it’s black and white.” “A zebra?” “Yes!”
III. Use Synoneme(s):
Synonyms are words that have the same or similar meanings/definitions.
(This can also be used if you don’t understand a certain word and you want the person talking to you describe more.)
“I don’t know what anxious means.” “I meant worried.” “Oh, Yes! I am.”
“She is a very outgoing young girl.” “What does outgoing mean?”
“Friendly, sociable.” “Ah… I see!”
IV. Use Kind / Type:
You can also use these words to talk about a word that is inside a category:
Category: FRUIT – apple, banana, grapes, mango
Category: ANIMALS- cat, dog, mouse, elephant
Category: CLOTHING - shirt, pants, hat, dress
Examples:
A banana is a type of fruit that is yellow.
A mouse is a kind of animal that is small and grey.
Hope these tips can help you out in some situations. However, I am sure there are many other ways to describe words you don’t know in English or in other foreign languages. So, please share with us and friends in the comments what tip(s) you normally used when facing these situations.
By Umaporn C.- ESL Training @ Work Team
Note: Sources for ideas of this article are from espressoenglish.net and www.thesaurus.com
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