言过其实，又不至于误会成真有其事，用以表现事物的精神实质，就是夸张。夸张是用特殊的方式突出被一般掩盖着的特质；用异常的艺术手段从寻常的常态中生发出不寻常的效果。艺诀有云：“不像不是戏，真像不是艺！”这既是生活与艺术的辩证关系，也是夸张与庸实的区别所在。

曹雪芹运用夸张手法，以非常写寻常，既新奇别致，又不违背情理，既超越实际，又不脱离实际。常见的微小的现象，一经《红楼梦》夸张，便形成鲜明的形态,并具有深刻的意义。下面，我们从数量上的夸理，既超越实际，又不脱离实际。常见的微小的现象，一经《红楼梦》夸张，便形成鲜明的形态,并具有深刻的意义。下面，我们从数量上的夸张法入手，研究夸张格这一汉英共有的修辞方式的语际转换。

1)此时林黛玉虽不是嚎啕大哭，然越是这等无声之泣，气噎喉堵，更觉得利害。听了宝玉这番话，心中虽然有万句言语，只是不能说得，半日，方抽抽噎噎的说道：“你从此可都改了罢！”（第三十四回）

杨译：

Daiyu was not crying aloud. She swallowed her tears in silence till she felt as if she would choke. She had a thousand replies to make to Baoyu, but not one word could she utter. At long last she sobbed:

"Never do such things again."

霍译：

Dai-yu's sobbing had by this time ceased to be audible;but somehow her strangled,silent weeping was infinitely more pathetic than the most clamorous grief. At that moment volumes would have been inadequate to contain the things she wanted to say to him;yet all she could get out,after struggling for some time with her choking sobs，was:

'I suppose you’ll change now.'

宝玉挨打，黛玉见状，思绪万千，心潮起伏，作者在数量上进行夸张，说她心中有“万句言语”，极言要说的话之多。但最后又只说出一句，突出强调了这句话的分量之重。从“万”到“一”，使读者经历了想象的飞跃，从而加深了印象，更好地突出了意境主旨。

从数量上夸张，也是英语中最常见的对夸张辞格（hyperbole)的 运用手段，例如：