说话
to speak; to talk
shuōhuà
What does 说话 mean?
说话 (shuōhuà) is a verb-object compound meaning 'to speak' or 'to talk' in the general sense — to produce speech, to be talking, or to have a conversation. Literally 'speak words' (说 + 话), it's a separable verb: you can split it for grammatical purposes (说了一句话 'said one sentence,' 说什么话 'say what'). Important contrast: 说话 is intransitive — you cannot say 说话中文 for 'speak Chinese.'
For 'speak a language,' use 说 alone (说中文, 说英语). Use 说话 when the focus is the act of talking itself: 'don't talk in class' (上课不要说话), 'he's not talking to me' (他不跟我说话), 'the baby is starting to talk' (孩子开始说话了). It also covers 'keep one's word' in 说话算话 (shuōhuà suàn huà).
Character breakdown
to say; to speak
speech; words; spoken language
Memory hook: Literally 'speak words' — the most basic possible verb for talking.
Example sentences
请不要在图书馆说话。
Qǐng bú yào zài túshūguǎn shuōhuà.
Please don't talk in the library.
neutral
他生气了，不跟我说话。
Tā shēngqì le, bù gēn wǒ shuōhuà.
He's angry and won't talk to me.
spoken
我儿子一岁就开始说话了。
Wǒ érzi yí suì jiù kāishǐ shuōhuà le.
My son started talking at one year old.
neutral
你说话太快了，我听不懂。
Nǐ shuōhuà tài kuài le, wǒ tīng bù dǒng.
You're talking too fast, I can't understand.
spoken
做人要说话算话。
Zuò rén yào shuōhuà suàn huà.
A person should keep their word.
written
Common phrases with 说话
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说话 appears in 1 podcast episode at natural native speed, with full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.
Synonyms
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