myth

迷信、誤った通念

事実ではないのに、多くの人が正しいと信じていること。

やさしい英語で： Something many people believe, although it is not true.

• That health claim is a myth.
• The study challenged several popular myths about sleep.
• Is it a myth that carrots improve night vision?

使い方： the myth that… (The teacher challenged the myth that boys are better at maths.)

類義語： misconception, fallacy

反対語： fact

よく使う表現： common myth, debunk a myth, dispel a myth, popular myth

神話

神々や英雄、世界の始まりについて、古くから伝えられてきた物語。

やさしい英語で： An old traditional story about gods, heroes, or how the world began.

• We read a Greek myth at school.
• These myths describe the creation of the world.
• Which god appears in that myth?

類義語： legend

よく使う表現： greek myth, ancient myth, creation myth

作り話、虚構

誰かが作り上げた、事実ではない話や考え。

やさしい英語で： A story or idea that someone has invented and that is not true.

• His account of the rescue is pure myth.
• She built a myth around her mysterious past.
• The missing treasure turned out to be a myth.

類義語： fiction, invention, fabrication

反対語： fact

よく使う表現： pure myth, complete myth, invent a myth

神話体系、神話

神々や英雄についての伝統的な物語を、一つの物語の種類としてまとめたもの。

やさしい英語で： Traditional stories about gods and heroes, considered together as a type of storytelling.

• The course explores myth and religion.
• Myth often explains a culture’s values.
• She studies the role of myth in literature.

類義語： mythology

よく使う表現： myth and folklore, study of myth, myth and ritual