说
to say; to speak
shuō
What does 说 mean?
说 (shuō) means 'to say / to speak / to tell.' It's the core verb for verbal communication — 说话 (shuō huà, 'to speak / talk'), 说中文 (shuō Zhōngwén, 'speak Chinese'), 他说他来 'he says he's coming.' Two things English speakers should know: first, 说 can take a direct quote OR an embedded clause without any 'that': 他说他不来 = 'He said (that) he's not coming' — no 说他说 needed; second, 说 differs from 讲 (jiǎng) in feel: 说 is the everyday neutral verb, while 讲 leans toward 'explain / tell at length' (讲故事 'tell a story').
For 'speak a language,' both work, but 说 is more common at HSK 1: 我会说一点中文 'I can speak a little Chinese.' Also useful: 听说 (tīngshuō, 'I heard that')
Character breakdown
to say; to speak (言 'speech' radical + 兑 phonetic, simplified from 說)
Memory hook: 说 has the 讠 (speech) radical on the left — speech coming out is exactly what 说 does.
Example sentences
你会说中文吗？
Nǐ huì shuō Zhōngwén ma?
Can you speak Chinese?
spoken
他说他不来。
Tā shuō tā bù lái.
He says he's not coming.
neutral
请你说慢一点。
Qǐng nǐ shuō màn yīdiǎn.
Please speak a little slower.
polite
我听说你病了。
Wǒ tīngshuō nǐ bìng le.
I heard you're sick.
spoken
Common phrases with 说
Hear it in real Fluentide episodes
说 appears in 2 podcast episodes at natural native speed, with full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.
Synonyms
Don't confuse 说 with
FAQ
Related words from the same episodes
Acquire by listening
Hear 说 in real Chinese, not in a flashcard.
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