Welcome to the English we speak with me Neil and me fefei in this episode we're looking at the expression under your breath

It means say something so quietly that no one else can hear exactly what you're saying.

We use it to describe when someone complains or makes negative comments to themselves.

We often talk under our breath to let people know we are unhappy or angry

about something but don't want them to hear the words we're saying.

Yes and it can be a quite unpleasant or nasty situation.

We could be saying negative things about someone,

and we don't want them to hear exactly what we're saying.

Yes, last night I was watching a terrible film with Jaiing. I said, I hate this film under my breath.

I wanted her to know I wasn't enjoying it, but I said it under my breath so she didn't know my exact feelings.

While we often use it for complaints or negative comments, sometimes we can use it to describe

when we talk to ourselves directly.

Yes, so yesterday I played a game of table tennis against Rob.

I said under my breath, I'm going to beat you Rob.

This is to encourage myself.

Exactly. Let's hear some examples before we talk more about this idiom. He always says things under his breath about the work and tasks he's given.

I'm not sure what his problem is.

Bruce told himself under his breath that he would not come back to the restaurant again. He hated it.

She said something under her breath, but I couldn't quite hear it. She looked angry though.

You're listening to the English we speak from BBC Learning English

and we're learning about the expression under your breath

which means say something very quietly. We often use it to describe talking to

...