A place for learning English. 英語の学びのスペースです。 Un lugar para aprender Inglés. مكان لتعلم اللغة الإنجليزية. Un lieu pour apprendre l'Anglais. Ein Ort zum Englisch lernen.
⭐️ Vocabulary / Semantics
Hi,
I’m interested in learning the difference between:
-
The structure where pedestrian cross over ground from one platform to another in a train station.
-
The road that crosses over main national roads, like dual carriageways and freeways.
I know the terms “overpass” and “pedestrian bridge” for number 1, and “flyover” for number 2.
Are these the most common nouns for these structures? Also, is there a difference in popularity and usage between American English and British English?
Thank you 🙏🏼
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For me in the US, an "overpass" almost always refers to the second definition you described (e.g.).
I have never heard the word "flyover" used this way. I would call a structure for pedestrians to cross a road either a "pedestrian bridge" or a "pedestrian overpass." I'm not aware of a particular word for the same structure connecting two train platforms, I would just call that a "walkway."
This is where things get a little weird. None of these meanings are wrong, as are any other way people refer to them. Usually it's pretty clear what you mean simply from context, but there's so many regional terms that it's perfectly fine to ask someone to clarify if you get confused. It's not even just a problem of English being your second language, a lot of terms and expressions are regional so even amongst english speakers it's not uncommon to hear someone refer to something in a way you have never heard of before.
No shame in asking for someone to clarify, anyone reasonable understands that there's a hundred ways to refer to a single thing. Just be prepared for some jokes or fascination around less conventional ones.
In American English, a flyover refers to an aircraft flying over a location at a low altitude. I wouldn’t never understand a meaning related to bridges or roads.
I would say overpass for your second definition. I’m not quite sure what to picture in your first definition, but most likely I’d say bridge or walkway.
Flyover, at least in the US, refers to literally flying over something in an aircraft. There's a phrase "flyover states" that's used to describe parts of the country that don't get a lot of tourists and mostly get flown over to go somewhere else.