speech bubble
- noun
- /spiːtʃ ˈbʌbəl/
- We created cut-out shapes that represent the speech bubble, thought bubble, and sound effects, and explained what they are and when they are used.
- speech bubbles with lines
Examples
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The images provided the primary details that freed the students to further investigate the text presented in the speech bubbles.
Academic text (2013) -
We first introduced different features of graphic novels, such as the speech bubble, thought bubble, narrative box, frame, and sound effects.
Academic text (2014) -
Two men with caps are shown in a conversation with a speech bubble pointing at one of them.
Academic text (2018) -
The speech bubble pointing towards the man says, "You look gorgeous today, dear."
Academic text (2018) -
Children select backgrounds, characters, plots, and speech bubbles.
Academic text (2011) -
The only dialogue in the speech bubble says, "Can you identify the shoplifter?"
Academic text (2018) -
Once the students finalized the text for the graphic story, they transferred it to the speech bubbles.
Academic text (2013) -
The cartoon contains only one linguistic statement in the speech bubble, saying, "I could take that for you if you'd like to be in it."
Academic text (2018) -
The second speech bubble is an answer by the woman who clarifies his misconception about her position.
Academic text (2018) -
In the comic, the character's thoughts are displayed in a speech bubble above their head.
Synonyms
A round shape in a comic that shows what a character says
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'speech' (spoken words) with 'bubble' (a rounded enclosure): it denotes the rounded enclosure used to contain a character's words in comics. This noun+noun compound follows a transparent composition pattern common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Speech bubble comes from old comics where artists drew a round bubble around a character's speech, often with a small tail pointing to the speaker. Because the picture looks like a bubble holding words, speech bubble now means the drawn shape that shows what a character is 'saying' or 'thinking'.