说 (shuō) · to speak

说 (shuō) means “to speak”. It is made of 讠 + 兑 and has 9 strokes, and is an HSK 1 word in the current exam syllabus (2025).

Break 说 into its parts

What 说 is made of

• 讠 yán — speech
• 兑 duì — cash
  • 丷 ha — kwukyel
    • 丶 — dot
  • 兄 xiōng — elder brother
    • 口 kǒu — mouth
    • 儿 ér — child

Origin hint: 讠 gives the meaning, 兑 gives the sound. (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)

说 stroke order

Example sentences

Words with 说

• 说话shuōhuàto speak
• 比如说bǐrúshuōfor example
• 说明shuōmíngto explain
• 听说tīngshuōto hear
• 小说xiǎoshuōnovel
• 传说chuánshuōlegend
• 据说jùshuōit is said that
• 说不定shuōbudìngmaybe
• 说服shuōfúto persuade
• 一般来说yībān lái shuōgenerally speaking
• 胡说húshuōto talk nonsense
• 学说xuéshuōtheory
• 说法shuōfǎway of saying something
• 说明书shuōmíngshūinstruction manual
• 再说zàishuōbesides

Also built with 讠

• 计jìto calculate
• 订dìngto book
• 认rènto know
• 讥jīto ridicule
• 讨tǎoto haggle
• 让ràngto let
• 训xùnto teach
• 议yìto consult
• 讯xùnnews
• 记jìto remember
• 讲jiǎngto speak
• 讳huìtaboo

Quick facts

Questions about 说