ZHIZHI 知止 · LEARN CHINESE DAILY

to speak / to say

shuō
9 strokes · 讠 (speech radical) + 兑 · HSK 1

Where 说 comes from

说 (traditional 說) has the speech radical 讠 on the left — the same one you met in 谢 (thanks). Speaking is an act of the mouth, so words about talking carry this radical. The right side 兑 gave the sound. 讠 = words coming out; 说 = to SAY them.

说 in Chinese culture

说 is everyday Chinese: 说话 (to talk), 你说 (you say / what do you think?), 说不定 (maybe, 'can't say for sure'). 听说 ('hear-say') means 'I heard that...' — pairing the 听 you just learned with 说. Chinese loves stitching simple verbs together like this.

Example

说话 shuōhuà — to speak / to talk

你说什么?
Nǐ shuō shénme?
What did you say?

How to remember it

The speech radical (讠) — words coming out of the mouth to SAY something.

听 (listen) + 说 (say) = 听说, 'I heard that...' — literally 'hear-say'. Chinese builds new meanings by simply placing two verbs side by side.

Same sound, different tones

Words unlocked by 说

你说 nǐ shuō
you say / what do you think?
说话 shuōhuà
to speak
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