Reader's question:

 Ling said going through all the proposals was tedious for the committee but still "far from stressful". This was because most proposals "struck a chord" with her, she said. Could you explain “strike a chord”?

Chord is a music term, referring to the resonating sound of a set of three or more different notes played simultaneously. Literally if something strikes a chord, it resonates (produces a sound).

Metaphorically, if something strikes a chord with someone, it evokes a response in them as though it reminds them of some familiar experience.

This idiom is so overused that it has become a cliché. Movies and books, for example, are said to be striking a chord with their audiences all the time.

To this, there’s an equally overused Chinese equivalent. That is none other than 引起共鸣。

Use it, along with its Chinese equivalent, sparingly.

Related stories:

Benefits package

Closed-door talk

March Madness

On-again,off-again

Go to Zhang Xin's column

本文仅代表作者本人观点，与本网立场无关。欢迎大家讨论学术问题，尊重他人，禁止人身攻击和发布一切违反国家现行法律法规的内容。

About the author:

Zhang Xin has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.