Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • Hello everyone!

  • Welcome to Idiom 100, where we learn 100 commonly used idioms by native English speakers.

  • All of the explanations are in English, so it might be challenging for you,

  • but just try to imagine the meanings in your head and study hard and soon you'll be able to use these idioms in your conversations.

  • Is everyone ready? Let's begin.

  • Hello again!

  • Today's idiom is: learn by heart.

  • Learn by heart.

  • Can you imagine what this idiom might mean?

  • Well, you know the meaning of learn and heart, but learn by heart, that's interesting.

  • Let's picture your heart studying something and memorizing, learning something.

  • Is that possible?

  • Well, not exactly, that's why it's an idiom. Learn by heart.

  • Okay, so let's listen to 2 examples and try to think about the meaning of this idiom.

  • The first example is:

  • How did you learn to ride all the trains in Japan?

  • It took me a while, but after riding it everyday, I learned it by heart!

  • Okay, so he memorized it, but maybe he didn't exactly study, but he did it everyday and eventually he knew it.

  • Okay, let's listen to the second example.

  • What’s the hardest thing for the teacher on the first day of class?

  • Well, it's probably learning her studentsnames by heart.

  • Ah, yeah, a teacher needs to know her students' names and maybe she studies the names or maybe she learns them gradually.

  • Not on purpose, but from usage. She uses the names a lot and they kind of go to her heart and she knows them, okay?

  • So, 'learn by heart' is to memorize for long-term

  • and probably it's something you didn't mean to study, but you just remember it for a long time.

  • For example, your phone number.

  • Probably, you didn't study: 555-..., you just remember because you used it so many times, okay?

  • And we call this 'learn by heart' or 'know by heart', to know.

  • For example, 'I know my mother's birthday by heart,' or, 'I know my favorite song's lyrics by heart,' okay?

  • So, next time you want to talk about something you know by heart, let's try to use this phrase.

  • Okay, that's all for today. See you next time!

Hello everyone!

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it