说英语
shuō yīngyǔ
The English phrase 'speak english' is translated into Chinese as 说英语 (shuō yīngyǔ).
This phrase is used to describe the act of communicating using the English language.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase consists of the verb 说 (to speak/say) and the noun 英语 (English language).
How does it change in a sentence?
When you want to express the specific ability to speak English, Chinese speakers often add the auxiliary verb 会 (to know how to/can) before the phrase, resulting in 会说英语.
How do you pronounce it?
shuō yīngyǔ
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers sometimes use 英文 to refer to the spoken language. For the spoken tongue, 英语 is the more precise term to use.
Did you know?
Examples in context
- 你说英语吗？Do you speak English?This sentence is useful for asking if someone speaks English.Tatoeba #10052415 by GlossaMatik, translation #378270 by saeb
- 有人说英语吗？Does anyone speak English?This sentence is useful for asking if anyone speaks English.Tatoeba #1691743 by sadhen, translation #434640 by lukaszpp
- 我每天都说英语。I speak English daily.This sentence is useful for describing how often you use the phrase 说英语.Tatoeba #2030788 by sadhen, translation #261835 by Zifre
- 如果你会说英语，你能帮助我吗？ (Rúguǒ nǐ huì shuō yīngyǔ, nǐ néng bāngzhù wǒ ma?)If you speak English, can you help me?
- 请讲英语，我们外国人听不懂中文。 (Qǐng jiǎng yīngyǔ, wǒmen wàiguó rén tīng bù dǒng zhōngwén.)Please speak English, we foreigners don't understand Chinese.
- 你好吗？你会说英文吗？ (Nǐ hǎo ma? Nǐ huì shuō yīngwén ma?)How are you? Can you speak English?
- 他跟我讲英文，我听不懂。 (Tā gēn wǒ jiǎng yīngwén, wǒ tīng bù dǒng.)He speaks English to me, but I don't understand.
- 25 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A new student asks a classmate about language requirements.
- 浩然 Haoran梓涵，你会说英语吗？Zǐhán, nǐ huì shuō Yīngyǔ ma?Zihan, do you speak English?
- 梓涵 Zihan我会说一点英语。Wǒ huì shuō yìdiǎn Yīngyǔ.I can speak a little English.
- 浩然 Haoran老师要求我们说英语。Lǎoshī yāoqiú wǒmen shuō Yīngyǔ.The teacher requires us to speak English.
- 梓涵 Zihan那没问题。Nà méi wèntí.That's no problem.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
