說

說 U+8AAA, 說 ← 誩[U+8AA9] CJK Unified Ideographs 誫 →[U+8AAB] 說 U+F96F, 說 ← 葉[U+F96E] CJK Compatibility Ideographs 殺 →[U+F970] 說 U+F9A1, 說 ← 裂[U+F9A0] CJK Compatibility Ideographs 廉 →[U+F9A2] Stroke order

說 (Kangxi radical 149, 言+7, 14 strokes, cangjie input 卜口金口山 (YRCRU), four-corner 08616, composition ⿰訁兌)

• 𡁾

• 説 (Traditional form used in Hong Kong, mainland China and Japan)
• 说 (Simplified Chinese)

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 1164, character 8
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 35556
• Dae Jaweon: page 1629, character 14
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): not present, would follow volume 6, page 3979, character 3
• Unihan data for U+8AAA

• Unihan data for U+F96F

• Unihan data for U+F9A1

trad. 說/説 simp. 说

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *hljods, *hljod, *lod): semantic 言 + phonetic 兌 (OC *l’oːds).

All of the pronunciations of this character are in the same word family apparently derived from a root *lo meaning “to loosen; to relax” (Schuessler, 2007); based on this, STEDT compares the word to Proto-Sino-Tibetan *lot (“free; release; slip; dislocate”), whence also 脫 (OC *l̥ʰoːd, *l’oːd, “to peel off, take off (clothes), escape, etc.”). However, STEDT also offers an alternative derivation from a provisional Proto-Sino-Tibetan *b-tsyat (“to speak, say”), comparing Tibetan འཆད (‘chad, “to say, explain”), which is semantically more appealing; the association with the words associated with “release” may be a case of phonetic pigeonholing.

According to the “release” theory, Pronunciation 1 is derived by causative devoicing of 悅 (OC *lod, “to relax; to be delighted”) (pronunciation 3).

Pronunciation 2 is probably the exoactive of pronunciation 1.

說

1. to say; to speak 說漢語／说汉语 ― shuō Hànyǔ ― speak Chinese 說話／说话 ― shuōhuà ― to speak 這就是我所說的。 [MSC, trad.]这就是我所说的。 [MSC, simp.]Zhè jiù shì wǒ suǒ shuō de. [Pinyin]That’s what I said.
2. to explain 把話說清楚／把话说清楚 ― bǎ huà shuō qīngchǔ ― to make it clear
3. to refer to 是說你，不是說他。 [MSC, trad.]是说你，不是说他。 [MSC, simp.]Shì shuō nǐ, bùshì shuō tā. [Pinyin]I am talking about you, not them.
4. to discuss 沒有好說的。／没有好说的。 ― Méiyǒu hǎo shuō de. ― There is nothing to say.
5. to introduce; to bring parties together 說媒／说媒 ― shuōméi ― to act as a matchmaker
6. to criticize; to scold; to upbraid 你怎麼天天都說我？ [MSC, trad.]你怎么天天都说我？ [MSC, simp.]Nǐ zěnme tiāntiān dōu shuō wǒ? [Pinyin]Why do you constantly criticize me?
7. to perform 說相聲／说相声 ― shuō xiàngshēng ― to perform cross-talk
8. theory; explanation 學說／学说 ― xuéshuō ― theory 假說／假说 ― jiǎshuō ― hypothesis

• (to say):

• (to explain):

• (to refer):

• (to discuss):

• (to criticize):

• (theory):

說

1. to persuade; to canvass; to lobby
2. (Quanzhou Hokkien) to swindle; to defraud; to cheat out of

• (to persuade):

說

1. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) alternative form of 悅 / 悦 (yuè, “happy; delighted”)
   • 學而時習之，不亦說乎？ [Classical Chinese, trad.]学而时习之，不亦说乎？ [Classical Chinese, simp.]From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge’s versionXué ér shí xí zhī, bù yì yuè hū? [Pinyin]Is it not pleasant to learn with a constant perseverance and application?

說

1. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) alternative form of 脫 / 脱 (“to free; to relieve”)
   • 此宜無罪，女反收之；彼宜有罪，女覆說之。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]此宜无罪，女反收之；彼宜有罪，女覆说之。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11th – 7th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge’s versionCǐ yí wú zuì, rǔ fǎn shōu zhī; bǐ yí yǒu zuì, rǔ fù tuō zhī. [Pinyin]Here is one who ought to be held guiltless,But you snare him [in the net of crime].There is one who ought to be held guilty,But you let him escape [from it].

• “說”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎[2], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014-
• 李如龙 [Li, Ru-long]; 刘福铸 [Liu, Fu-zhu]; 吴华英 [Wu, Hua-ying]; 黄国城 [Huang, Guo-cheng] (2019), “说（～话）”, in 莆仙方言调查报告 [Investigation Report on Puxian Dialect] (overall work in Mandarin and Puxian Min), Xiamen University Press, →ISBN, page 226.

Shinjitai

説

Kyūjitai

說

(Hyōgai kanji, kyūjitai kanji, shinjitai form 説)

1. opinion
2. theory
3. explanation
4. rumor

• Go-on: えち (echi)、せ (se)、せち (sechi)
• Kan-on: えつ (etsu)、せい (sei)、せつ (setsu)
• Kan’yō-on: ぜい (zei)
• Kun: とく (toku, 說く)
• Nanori: あき (aki)、かぬ (kanu)、かね (kane)、こと (koto)、さとし (satoshi)、つぐ (tsugu)、とき (toki)、とく (toku)、のぶ (nobu)、ひさ (hisa)

This character lacks essential JIS support and is not used in Japanese. The character 説 (U+8AAC) is used instead.

From Middle Chinese 說 (MC sywet).

Historical readings Dongguk Jeongun reading Dongguk Jeongun, 1448 ᄉᆑᇙ〮 (Yale: syyélq) Middle Korean Text Eumhun Gloss (hun) Reading Hunmong Jahoe, 1527[3] 니ᄅᆞᆯ (Yale: nilol) 셜 (Yale: syel)

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [sʰʌ̹ɭ]
• Phonetic hangul: [설]

說 (eumhun 말씀 설 (malsseum seol))

1. hanja form? of 설 (“opinion, view; rumour”) [noun]
2. hanja form? of 설 (“theory”) [suffix] (scientific fact, proven hypothesis)
3. hanja form? of 설 (“to explain; to speak; to talk”) [affix]

From Middle Chinese 說 (MC sywejH).

Historical readings Dongguk Jeongun reading Dongguk Jeongun, 1448 ᄉᆒᆼ〮 (Yale: syyéy) Middle Korean Text Eumhun Gloss (hun) Reading Sinjeung Yuhap, 1576 달앨 (Yale: talGayl) 셰 (Yale: syey)

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [sʰe̞(ː)]
• Phonetic hangul: [세(ː)]
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

說 (eumhun 달랠 세 (dallael se))

1. hanja form? of 세 (“to persuade”) [affix]

From Middle Chinese 說 (MC ywet).

Historical readings Dongguk Jeongun reading Dongguk Jeongun, 1448 ᄋᆑᇙ〮 (Yale: yyélq)

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [jʌ̹ɭ]
• Phonetic hangul: [열]

說 (eumhun 기쁠 열 (gippeul yeol))

1. hanja form? of 열 (“used in personal names”) [1]
2. (literary Chinese) alternative form of 悅 (“hanja form? of 열 (“to be happy”)”)

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [4]

說: Hán Nôm readings: thuyết

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.