1.
so to speak, as it were
Used to introduce an analogy or figurative expression.
彼は言わば天才だ。
He is, so to speak, a genius.
これは言わば革命だ。
This is, as it were, a revolution.
言わば運命のようなものだ。
It's something like fate, so to speak.
これは言わば第二の故郷だ。
This is, so to speak, my second home.
彼女は言わばチームの母親だ。
She is, as it were, the mother of the team.
ここは言わば聖地だ。
This place is, so to speak, a sacred ground.
この本は言わば私の辞書だ。
This book is, as it were, my dictionary.
2.
in a manner of speaking
Indicating that a phrase is not meant literally.
言わば人生の転機だった。
It was, in a manner of speaking, a turning point in life.
言わば実験のようなものだ。
It's something like an experiment, in a manner of speaking.
言わば奇跡のような出来事だった。
It was, in a manner of speaking, a miraculous event.
それは言わば最後のチャンスだった。
That was, in a manner of speaking, the last chance.
彼は言わば時代の犠牲者だったと言えるだろう。
One could say he was, in a manner of speaking, a victim of the times.
言わば introduces figurative or analogical expressions.
USAGE:
- Introduces a comparison or analogy
- Signals that the following phrase is not entirely literal
- Softens or qualifies a statement
ETYMOLOGY:
- From 言う (to say) + ば (conditional)
- Literally: "if one were to say"
SIMILAR:
- いわゆる: so-called (introduces a label)
- 言わば: so to speak (introduces analogy)