1.
fable; allegory; parable
A short story, often featuring animals or other non-human characters, that conveys a moral lesson or deeper meaning through analogy.
イソップの寓話を読む。
To read Aesop's fables.
この映画は現代社会への寓話になっている。
This film serves as an allegory for modern society.
子供のころに読んだ寓話の教訓が、大人になってからよく分かるようになった。
The moral lessons from the fables I read as a child became clearer once I grew up.
Composed of 寓 (allegory/implied meaning) and 話 (story). The key feature of a 寓話 is that it uses a fictional narrative to convey a moral or philosophical lesson indirectly.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 寓話的: allegorical, parable-like
- 寓話集: collection of fables
- イソップ寓話: Aesop's fables
- 動物寓話: animal fable
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 童話: fairy tale, children's story — aimed at children, not necessarily with a moral
- 民話: folk tale — passed down orally by common people in a region
- 昔話: old tale — traditional Japanese stories, often beginning with 昔むかし
- 神話: myth — stories about gods and the origins of the world