言语 yányǔ words
words; speech; (spoken) language
How to remember 言语: 言 words + 语 language = words.
Characters
How it is used
- Speech / words / language as spoken expression - 言语粗鲁 (yányǔ cūlǔ) crude speech.
- Refers to how one speaks and what one says: 言语之间 (yányǔ zhī jiān) in one's words.
- More abstract/literary than 话 (huà); note the reading yányǔ (colloquial yányu can mean 'to speak up' in some dialects).