曰

yuē

HSK 3.0 Level 7 Verb Rare

Definitions

1. to speak
2. to say

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Character focus

Stroke order

4 strokes

Word relationships

Register variants

1 item

说

shuō

to speak; to talk; to say

classical vs. modern; 曰 is classical/literary 'to say', 说 is modern standard

Related words

2 items

言

yán

words

classical verb 'to say'; both used in formal contexts, e.g., 言曰

道

dào

road

classical verb 'to say'; common in traditional sayings, e.g., 道曰

Usage notes

Common mistakes

Learners often misuse 曰 in place of 说 or 讲; reserve 曰 for historical quotations or stylized language to avoid sounding unnatural.

Formality

曰 is highly literary and archaic; used primarily in classical Chinese texts, proverbs, or elevated formal writing, not in spoken modern Mandarin.

Example Sentences

1 shown

孔子曰：学而时习之，不亦说乎？

Confucius said: Is it not a pleasure to learn and to practice often?

AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Words Containing 曰

Confucius says:

to call by the glorified name of (idiom)

to be named

a poem goes:

曰