说

shuō

Pinyin
shuō
Pinyin (Plain)
shuo
Tone
1
Strokes
9
Readings
shuōshuoTone: 1to speak; to talk; to say; to explain; to comment; to scold; to tell off; (bound form) theory; doctrineOrder: 0Primary
shui4shuiTone: 4to persuadeOrder: 1
Stroke Order Code
Speed
Stroke Order Data
["M 278 746 Q 306 722 335 694 Q 350 681 367 681 Q 379 682 384 696 Q 390 712 379 745 Q 367 779 272 799 Q 256 803 248 799 Q 242 795 244 781 Q 248 768 278 746 Z", "M 147 487 Q 98 474 71 472 Q 56 472 54 465 Q 50 458 60 449 Q 100 422 132 437 Q 243 483 249 482 Q 250 482 253 479 Q 260 475 253 368 Q 252 256 219 155 Q 203 127 245 75 Q 255 63 265 70 Q 272 77 284 100 Q 323 151 405 240 Q 417 250 414 258 Q 413 265 402 257 Q 360 229 320 198 Q 278 162 285 215 Q 285 279 310 438 Q 314 462 336 484 Q 349 494 339 507 Q 329 523 291 540 Q 279 547 262 536 Q 189 499 147 487 Z", "M 490 720 Q 526 663 555 647 Q 568 643 579 653 Q 586 665 587 681 Q 580 724 507 755 Q 492 762 482 759 Q 476 759 477 747 Q 477 735 490 720 Z", "M 723 790 Q 708 763 634 663 Q 624 645 642 650 Q 699 690 768 748 Q 787 766 810 777 Q 831 789 819 806 Q 804 822 777 836 Q 752 848 739 844 Q 726 843 732 828 Q 736 810 723 790 Z", "M 484 566 Q 472 570 452 572 Q 440 575 437 570 Q 430 564 439 548 Q 467 494 484 407 Q 488 380 504 363 Q 522 341 527 357 Q 528 364 530 375 L 528 409 Q 521 424 508 535 C 505 560 505 560 484 566 Z", "M 738 437 Q 766 524 800 545 Q 816 564 802 582 Q 786 597 731 622 Q 713 629 691 621 Q 618 588 484 566 C 454 561 479 527 508 535 Q 523 541 676 572 Q 695 576 703 570 Q 716 554 684 443 C 676 414 728 409 738 437 Z", "M 651 393 Q 691 400 748 405 Q 758 406 760 415 Q 760 422 738 437 L 684 443 L 683 443 Q 598 421 528 409 C 498 404 500 376 530 375 Q 537 374 547 376 Q 572 383 611 388 L 651 393 Z", "M 490 303 Q 500 204 416 112 Q 394 84 335 32 Q 328 25 335 23 Q 342 20 351 25 Q 450 65 512 169 Q 527 197 543 234 Q 550 252 561 270 Q 568 279 563 288 Q 557 297 529 312 Q 510 322 501 321 Q 488 317 490 303 Z", "M 973 108 Q 960 136 941 224 Q 940 240 933 246 Q 927 250 922 231 Q 894 137 875 108 Q 865 95 834 88 Q 764 73 705 95 Q 683 107 676 121 Q 649 172 682 347 Q 686 372 651 393 C 627 411 603 417 611 388 Q 611 384 614 376 Q 627 336 624 297 Q 614 144 627 101 Q 631 79 651 60 Q 726 -4 882 26 Q 888 29 894 29 Q 931 39 966 65 Q 987 81 973 108 Z"]
Meaning
“说” most commonly means “to speak” or “to say,” and is used when someone is talking, expressing an opinion, or telling something to others. It can also mean “to explain” or “to persuade” in some contexts.
Metadata
Locale: en
Cached At: 3/24/2026, 5:19:39 PM

Usage

“说” (shuō) is one of the first and most frequent verbs learners meet in Mandarin. Its core meaning is “to speak / to say / to talk,” and it appears in very basic patterns like 他说… “he says…,” 你说什么？ “what are you saying?,” or 说中文 “speak Chinese.” It’s also used in set phrases such as 说话 “to speak” and 听说 “I’ve heard that…,” which shows up a lot in textbooks and everyday conversation. In questions, adding 可以 after it (可以说吗？) makes “is it okay to say (this)?,” and with 就 (我就说嘛) it can express “That’s what I was saying / I knew it.” Learners also quickly see “说” in extended senses beyond literal speaking. With other characters it can mean “to explain / discuss,” as in 说明 “to explain; explanation” or 解说 “commentary.” It can form verbs about “criticizing / blaming,” like 他说我懒 “he scolded me for being lazy.” In some everyday expressions it’s closer to “to mention / to talk about,” such as 别说了 “stop talking about it” or 先不说这个 “let’s not talk about this for now.” Across all of these, the shared idea is using words—saying, explaining, or commenting on something.

Handwriting Notes

说 is visually compact and slightly asymmetrical: on the left is the “speech” component 讠 (a simplified form of 言), and on the right is the component 兑. In neat handwriting, 讠 is usually written quite slender and vertical, with the small dot or short stroke on top and a downward stroke below. The right side 兑 tends to be a bit wider and can look like a box‑like top with an opening, plus strokes underneath that may slightly curve or angle depending on the writer’s style. Overall, the character tends to lean very slightly to the right in casual writing, and the left part is often narrower than the right, giving it a balanced but non‑symmetrical appearance. In everyday handwriting, there is noticeable variation: some people compress the whole character so it looks more square, while others stretch it vertically. The strokes of 兑 may be joined more fluidly, and some corners that are sharp in print can become rounded. The left component 讠 might be written with a very small top stroke or even a tiny dot, and the lower stroke may curve or hook more than in the printed form. Despite these variations, the distinction between the slim 讠 and the broader 兑 is usually clear enough that both humans and AI handwriting recognition systems can reliably identify it; such systems rely on many handwritten samples and stroke patterns to recognize 说 even when people write it quickly or with personal stylistic quirks.

Description

说 (shuō) is a common verb meaning “to speak,” “to say,” or “to explain.” It is frequently used in everyday speech, as in 他说 (“he says/said”) or 说明 (“to explain; explanation”). The simplified form 说 corresponds to the traditional form 說.

Common Words

  • 说shui4to persuade
  • 且说qie3 shuo1thus
  • 小说xiao3 shuo1novel
  • 学说xue2 shuo1theory
  • 演说yan3 shuo1speech

Example Sentences

我喜欢说。

wo3 xi3 huan5 shui4

I like to persuade.

且说很常见。

qie3 shuo1 hen3 chang2 jian4

且说 is very common.

我们在学习小说。

wo3 men5 zai4 xue2 xi2 xiao3 shuo1

We are learning novel.

这个学说很重要。

zhe4 ge5 xue2 shuo1 hen3 zhong4 yao4

This theory is important.

请写一下“说”。

qing3 xie3 yi1 xia4 shui4

Please write '说'.

Try writing this character