别说 biéshuō to say nothing of
to say nothing of; not to mention; let alone
How to remember 别说: 别 don't do something + 说 say = to say nothing of.
Characters
How it is used
- Sets up an a-fortiori jump: X is out of reach, so of course the easier Y is too - 别说英语，他连中文都说不好 (bié shuō Yīngyǔ, tā lián Zhōngwén dōu shuō bu hǎo) forget English, he can't even speak Chinese well.
- Almost always pairs with 连…都/也 in the second clause; 别说 raises the hard case, 连…都 delivers the failed easy case.
- Note the literal reading '别说' = 'don't say' also exists (别说了 = stop talking); context tells them apart.
Example sentences
- 如果你没好话说，那就什么都别说。 Rúguǒ nǐ méi hǎohuà shuō, nà jiù shénme dōu biéshuō.If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.