讲

讲 (jiǎng) means 'to speak, to tell, to explain.' It overlaps with 说 (shuō, 'to say') but carries a more deliberate, structured feeling — you 讲 something to teach, narrate, or unpack it. A teacher 讲课 (gives a lesson), a parent 讲故事 (tells a story), a friend 讲道理 (reasons something out).

Three useful distinctions: first, 讲 implies the speaker is giving an account that the listener will absorb — narration or explanation rather than quick exchange; second, 讲 can also mean 'to value, to pay attention to' in fixed expressions like 讲卫生 ('be hygienic'), 讲面子 ('care about face'), 讲信用 ('keep one's word'); third, as a regional verb it functions as the local word for 'speak' in much of southern China (讲粤语 'speak Cantonese,' 讲普通话 'speak Mandarin'). For everyday 'say,' default to 说