Chinese Conversation · Level 3
86 words
Chinese word
说
Pronunciation
Pinyinshuō
Meaning
- verbsay
Example
妈妈刚才说了什么？mā mā gāng cái shuō le shén me
What did Mom just say?
More examples
他刚才说他不去了。tā gāng cái shuō tā bú qù le
He just said that he wasn't going.
Core concept
Turning an idea or piece of information into words that can be heard and shared.
Common phrases
会说中文huì shuō zhōng wén
speak Chinese
说什么shuō shén me
what to say
别说了bié shuō le
don't say any more
Similar words
告诉gào sù: Give someone information about a fact or event.
讲jiǎng: Describe content or reasons in enough detail to explain them clearly.
说话shuō huà: Speak aloud to share thoughts, feelings, or intentions.
Definition in Chinese
用语言表达想法、陈述事实或把信息传达给他人的动作，也用于复述或引述他人话语。yòng yǔ yán biǎo dá xiáng fǎ chén shù shì shí huò bǎ xìn xī chuán dá gěi tā rén de dòng zuò yě yòng yú fù shù huò yǐn shù tā rén huà yǔ
Word origin
说 (shuō, "say") is built from 讠 (yán, "speech") + 兑 (duì, "exchange"), with the first component pointing to language and the second mainly signaling the sound.
Usage tips
- A reported message can follow this verb directly in Chinese, so a full statement often needs no English-style "that" between the reporting verb and the message.