Abstract: In order to understand university students' perception of general elective courses, the authors guide students to create three metaphors based on their experiences and feelings:what general elective courses are like, what the teachers of general elective courses are like and what the students of general elective courses are like. The authors ask students to give explanations of their metaphors, so as to put forward their own understanding of general elective courses. The analysis result shows that the metaphors created by students are cognitive, diverse and systematic. Students mainly focus on the function of the courses to acquire knowledge and expand their vision, the richness of course type and content, teachers' professional competence and the teaching process and students' personal characteristics, their needs and learning process, etc. At the same time, the result also reflects the following problems, such as inadequate supply of high-quality courses, the weakness of some teachers' professional competence and insufficient participation of students in the courses.