Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 告訴 / 告诉 | gàosu |
| 說 / 说 | shuō |
告訴 is the standard verb when you tell a person a piece of information, as in 告訴我真相, tell me the truth.
Which one should you use?
Use 告訴 when the focus is on passing specific information or a fact to someone. 說 / 说 (shuō) focuses on the act of speaking or saying words. In formal contexts you will also meet 宣布 (xuānbù), to announce, 陈述 (chénshù), to state or declare in detail and 传达 (chuándá), to pass a message from one person to another.
How does it change in a sentence?
告訴 takes two objects. The person you tell comes right after the verb, then the information, as in 告訴我真相. A short example is 告訴我, tell me.
How do you pronounce it?
告訴 is pronounced gàosu in pinyin, with a falling tone on the first syllable and a light, unstressed second syllable.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often put a person directly after 說, as in 說我, to mean tell me. 說 cannot take the person as its object in this way. Use 告訴我 instead, or put the person in the middle of 跟…说.
Did you know?
- The character 說 / 说 can be pronounced as yuè, where it changes meaning from 'to tell' to 'to be delighted' or 'pleased'.
- While 說 (shuō) means 'to speak', its ancient roots might actually be linked to the concept of 'loosening' or 'releasing', much like the word used for peeling off clothes.
- Although 說 / 说 translates to 'say' or 'tell', it is also used in expressions that mean 'to persuade', such as 說服, where the act of telling is used to change someone's mind.
Examples in context
- 请告诉我你的姓名Please tell me your name.
- 他宣布了会议延期He announced that the meeting is postponed.
- 他陈述了他的观点He stated his opinion.
- 请将这个消息传达给他Please pass this message on to him.
- 我跟他说了一件有趣的事情I told him an interesting thing.
- 你可以告诉一下我今天的日程安排吗？Can you tell me about today's schedule?
- 对朋友们说一声谢谢Say thank you to your friends.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “tell” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 說, CC BY-SA 4.0.
