說

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

說 (Kangxi radical 149, 言+7, 14 strokes, cangjie input 卜口金口山 (YRCRU), four-corner 0861₆, composition ⿰訁兌)

Derived characters

• 𡁾

Related characters

• 説 (Traditional form used in Hong Kong, mainland China and Japan)
• 说 (Simplified Chinese)

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 1164, character 8
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 35556
• Dae Jaweon: page 1629, character 14
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): not present, would follow volume 6, page 3979, character 3
• Unihan data for U+8AAA

• Unihan data for U+F96F

• Unihan data for U+F9A1

Chinese

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 說
Warring States	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)
Chu slip and silk script	Small seal script

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *hljods, *hljod, *lod) : semantic 言 + phonetic 兌 (OC *l'oːds).

Etymology

All of the pronunciations of this character are in the same word family derived from a root *lo meaning “to loosen; to relax” (Schuessler, 2007). STEDT compares it to Proto-Sino-Tibetan *g/s-lwat (“free; release; slip; dislocate”).

Pronunciation 1 is derived by causative devoicing of 悅 (OC *lod, “to relax; to be delighted”) (pronunciation 3).

Pronunciation 2 is probably the exoactive of pronunciation 1.

Pronunciation 1

Definitions

說

1. to say; to speak

   說漢語／说汉语  ―  shuō Hànyǔ  ―  speak Chinese

   說話／说话  ―  shuōhuà  ―  to speak

   這就是我所說的。 [MSC, trad.]
   这就是我所说的。 [MSC, simp.]

   Zhè jiù shì wǒ suǒ shuō de.

   That’s what I said.

2. to explain

   把話說清楚／把话说清楚  ―  bǎ huà shuō qīngchǔ  ―  to make it clear

3. to refer to

   是說你，不是說他。 [MSC, trad.]
   是说你，不是说他。 [MSC, simp.]

   Shì shuō nǐ, bùshì shuō tā.

   I am talking about you, not them.

4. to discuss

   沒有好說的。／没有好说的。  ―  Méiyǒu hǎo shuō de.  ―  There is nothing to say.

5. to introduce; to bring parties together

   說媒／说媒  ―  shuōméi  ―  to act as a matchmaker

6. to criticize; to scold; to upbraid

   你怎麼天天都說我？ [MSC, trad.]
   你怎么天天都说我？ [MSC, simp.]

   Nǐ zěnme tiāntiān dōu shuō wǒ?

   Why do you constantly criticize me?

7. to perform

   說相聲／说相声  ―  shuō xiàngshēng  ―  to perform cross-talk

8. theory; explanation

   學說／学说  ―  xuéshuō  ―  theory

   假說／假说  ―  jiǎshuō  ―  hypothesis

Synonyms

• (to say):

• (to explain):

• (to refer):

• (to discuss):

• (to criticize):

• (theory):

Compounds

Descendants

Pronunciation 2

Definitions

說

1. to persuade; to canvass; to lobby
2. (Quanzhou Hokkien) to swindle; to defraud; to cheat out of

Synonyms

• (to persuade):

Compounds

Descendants

Pronunciation 3

Definitions

說

1. ^† Alternative form of 悅／悦 (yuè, “happy; delighted”)

   • 學而時習之，不亦說乎？ [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     学而时习之，不亦说乎？ [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Xué ér shí xí zhī, bù yì yuè hū?

     Is it not pleasant to learn with a constant perseverance and application?

Compounds

Pronunciation 4

Definitions

說

1. ^† Alternative form of 脫／脱 (“to free; to relieve”)

   • 此宜無罪，女反收之；彼宜有罪，女覆說之。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]
     此宜无罪，女反收之；彼宜有罪，女覆说之。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11^th – 7^th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Cǐ yí wú zuì, rǔ fǎn shōu zhī; bǐ yí yǒu zuì, rǔ fù tuō zhī.

     Here is one who ought to be held guiltless,
     But you snare him .
     There is one who ought to be held guilty,
     But you let him escape .

Compounds

References

• “說”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎, 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

Japanese