曰

yuē

HSK 3.0 Level 7 Verb Rare

Definitions

1. to speak
2. to say

Character focus

Stroke order

4 strokes

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Word relationships

Register variants

1 item

• 说 shuō 说 shuō to speak; to talk; to say classical vs. modern; 曰 is classical/literary 'to say', 说 is modern standard: to speak; to talk; to say

Related words

2 items

• 言 yán 言 yán words classical verb 'to say'; both used in formal contexts, e.g., 言曰: words
• 道 dào 道 dào road classical verb 'to say'; common in traditional sayings, e.g., 道曰: road

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

• 子曰 子曰 zǐ yuē: Confucius says:
• 美其名曰 美其名曰 měi qí míng yuē: to call by the glorified name of (idiom)
• 号曰 号曰 hào yuē: to be named
• 诗曰 诗曰 shī yuē: a poem goes: