语言是人类沟通的工具。人们使用语言更好的融入社会生活。然而,在人们的日常活动很多事情不应该直接或如实的表示。人们总是用温和的或模糊的说法,以避免不愉快的尴尬境地通信,从而可以减少交际压力。这种语言现象叫做委婉。使用委婉语是一种特殊的交际语言艺术,而且为人们表达自己的想法搭建了桥梁。委婉语是可替代不文雅的词,禁忌词或者人们不愿提及的词语。本文先介绍了委婉语的特点以及功能然后运用了一些实例从社会文化的角度揭示了英汉委婉语的一些显著特点。委婉语不仅美化了语言,而且使人们的社交生活变得更为和谐。 Language is a tool of human communication. People use language to better integrate into social life. However, many things in people’s daily activities should not be expressed directly or truthfully. People tend to use gentle or vague terms to avoid unpleasant embarrassing situations in communication, which can reduce communication pressure. This linguistic phenomenon is called euphemism. The use of euphemism is a special kind of communicative language art, and it bridges the gap between the way people express their thoughts. Euphemism is a word that can replace uncivilized, taboo words or words that people do not want to mention. This paper first introduces the features and functions of euphemism and then uses some examples to reveal some notable features of euphemism from the angle of social culture. Euphemisms not only beautify the language, but also make people’s social life more harmonious.