曰 yuē to speak
How it came to be
A mouth with a short stroke inside: the breath on its way out. It is the mouth with speech added. It differs from the sun block only in being wider than tall.
How it is used
- Classical Chinese 'to say' - 子曰 (zǐ yuē) 'the Master said', 名曰 (míng yuē) 'named'.
- Purely literary/quotational; modern spoken 'say' is 说 (shuō). Recognize it, don't produce it in ordinary writing.