言わば

いわば · iwaba · JLPT N3 · adverb

so to speak

💬 言わ (say) + ば (if) = if one were to say it, i.e. so to speak

言わば comes from the verb 言う, to say, plus the conditional ば, meaning if. So it literally means if I were to say it, which is how English uses so to speak: to soften a figurative description.

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