Abstract:The glossary of a nationality’s language comes from the accumulation and deposit of the country’s culture .The language used in a certain society can reflect the culture of the society ；one of the reflections is the use of idioms. The meaning of idioms is not only materialized by its literal interpretation but also by its extended meaning. The same meaning may be far away from each other in the expressions of Chinese and English, therefore, there are so many differences in expressions between English and Chinese idioms. My paper focuses on the causes of the differences between English and Chinese idioms.  

Key Words: language; idiom; culture; cultural backgrounds 

摘要:一个民族语言的词汇系统源于其深厚的文化积累和沉淀，一个社会的语言能反映与其相对应的文化，其表现方式之一就是习语，习语所承载的意义远不只在于他的外延内容上，更在于其深层的文化意义。英汉两种语言中概念意义相对应的习语，由于社会文化背景的不同，其国俗语义可能相距甚远。本文的重点就是研究英汉两种语言中习语表达差异的形成原因及其文化内涵。

关键词：语言；习语；文化；文化背景