HSK · Level 116
45 words
Chinese word
曰
Pronunciation
Pinyinyuē
Meaning
- verbsay
Example
孔子曰：学而时习之。kǒng zi yuē xué ér shí xí zhī
Confucius said, "Study and practice what you learn from time to time."
More examples
原文曰该发现具有重要意义。yuán wén yuē gāi fā xiàn jù yǒu zhòng yào yì yì
The original text says that this discovery is of great significance.
Core concept
A compact literary signal that presents words as a recorded statement or declaration.
Common phrases
原文曰yuán wén yuē
the original text says
古籍曰gǔ jí yuē
ancient texts say
Similar words
说shuō: Express a thought or opinion by speaking or writing.
告诉gào sù: Give someone information about a person, matter, or situation.
讲jiǎng: Make content clear to listeners through an explanation.
说道shuō dào: Mark the start of what a speaker says within a narrative.
Definition in Chinese
作为文言动词，用来记述说话内容或转述语句，常见于经史子集和碑刻等书面材料中。zuò wéi wén yán dòng cí yòng lái jì shù shuō huà nèi róng huò zhuǎn shù yǔ jù cháng jiàn yú jīng shǐ zi jí hé bēi kè děng shū miàn cái liào zhōng
Word origin
The ancient character 曰 (yuē, "say") represents a mouth producing words and became a standard way to introduce reported speech in classical writing.
Usage tips
- In classical reading, its appearance often signals a change from the surrounding narration to a speaker's statement, making the structure of a passage easier to follow.
Other meanings
- stateverb