Conceptual metaphor is an important theory of cognitive linguistics, and the essence of it is to construct one concept by another, and human cognition cannot be separated from metaphor. Using this theory, this paper studies the metaphorical thinking of anger expression in English and Chinese based on the analysis of anger metaphor by Lakoff and Johnson, sums up the similarities and differences of anger expression in English and Chinese, and analyzes the reasons for differences. The study found that in the metaphor of anger, both English and Chinese are represented by natural forces, animals, fire, substances in containers, etc. But the difference is that Chinese use viscera, animal names, gas and so on to conceptualize angry emotions. These similarities are derived from the same physiological basis and similar cognitive style, and the difference between the two languages in expressing anger is due to their different cultural backgrounds. This study contributes to language teaching, language research, and cross-cultural communication, and promotes language learners’ learning of metaphor as well as language culture. Studies in English Language Teaching ISSN 2372-9740 (Print) ISSN 2329-311X (Online) V ol. 10, No. 4, 2022 www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/selt 52 Original Paper The Comparative Study of Anger Metaphors between English and Chinese Hanru Zhou1* 1 North China Electric Power University, Beijing, China * Hanru Zhou, E-mail: 1637595868@qq.com Received: November 9, 2022 Accepted: November 23, 2022 Online Published: November 25, 2022 doi:10.22158/selt.v10n4p52 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/selt.v10n4p52 Abstract Conceptual metaphor is an important theory of cognitiv e linguistics, and the essence of it is to construct one concept by another, and human cognition cannot be separated from metaphor. Using this theory, this paper studies the metaphorical thinking of anger expression in English and Chinese based on the anal ysis of anger metaphor by Lakoff and Johnson, sums up the similarities and differences of anger expression in English and Chinese, and analyzes the reasons for differences. The study found that in the metaphor of anger, both English and Chinese are represented by natural forces, animals, fire, substances in containers, etc. But the difference is that Chinese use viscera, animal names, gas and so on to conceptualize angry emotions. These similarities are derived from the same physiological basis and similar cognitive style, and the difference between the two languages in expressing anger is due www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/selt Studies in English Language Teaching V ol. 10, No. 4, 2022 59 Published by SCHOLINK INC. uses more colors because it contains more words to express colors. In addi tion, anger provokes body responses that can be metaphorized but refer to different organs. When we liken anger to dangerous animals, English uses animal -related words and rarely uses names to express anger. But in Chinese metaphorical expressions, the nam es of hazardous animals often appear. This is due to our culture; certain dangerous animals have been labeled, such as the fierceness of the tiger and lion signs. We name them with their typical characteristics. 5.3 Reasons for Similarities 5.3.1 Similar Physical and Psychological Experience According to Kö vecses, metaphorical mapping is rooted physiologically, and the physical and life experiences contribute to mapping as well. When human beings get angry, they have similar physiological reactions and life experiences, which form the commonality of anger metaphors. Humans’ physical and psychological factors are mostly the same. Physiologically, the body is composed of water and salt and has the same body structure, such as the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, etc. Psychologically, as one of basic emotions shared by human beings, the factors that cause “anger” are generally consistent. Therefore, most emotion metaphors are based on the physiological and psychological effects of emotion on the body. For example, the temperature metaphor comes from the rise and fall of body heat during people’s emotional experience, the color metaphor comes from the change of skin color during emotional experience, and the direction metaphor comes from people’s experience of basic space and emotion. 5.3.2 Similar Cognitive Style In cognitive linguistics, conceptual metaphor is the way people perceive and think about the world. According to the Philosophy in The Flesh, human concepts, reasoning, and mind are all built on material experience, and its primary forms are gradually formed depending on the perception of body parts, spatial relationships, and force movements. In other words, regardless of the cultural environment, the way people understand the unknown is mostly the same. People tend to understand and express concepts that are more tangible, concrete, and simple. Therefore, the emotional concepts of both English and Chinese are conceptualized from abstraction to concrete metaphorization. The vague and abstract concept of anger needs to be understood through specific concepts such as the heat of body, the change of color, fire, and natural force. Moreover, it is based on the metaphor that the body is a container. As we all know, the source of cognition can be the experience of humans in the physical world. We call it natural environment. Natural environment impacts the changing of cognition and language . Because cognitive style is influenced by natural environment, people living in a similar environment may share the same cognitive style. As a result, emotion metaphors may be based on the same cognitive source. 5.4 Reasons for Differences 5.4.1 The Influence of Different Philosophy In Chinese philosophy, everything in the universe derives from “qi”. The flow of qi has no permanent shape, and can only be grasped as a whole. Therefore, the traditional Chinese way of thinking is