说话 shuōhuà to talk
to talk; speak
How to remember 说话: 说 say + 话 speech = to talk.
Characters
How it is used
- To speak / talk in general - 别说话 (bié shuōhuà) stop talking, 他不爱说话 he's not talkative.
- It's a verb-object pair, so an object splits it: 说中国话 speak Chinese, 说一句话 say a sentence.
- Contrast 说 alone, which takes a said thing (说什么), whereas 说话 is the act of talking.
Example sentences
- 不要说话了。 Búyào shuōhuà le.Stop talking.
- 你和谁说话呢？ Nǐ hé shuí shuōhuà ne?Who did you talk to?
- 他说话说得很大声。 Tā shuōhuà shuō de hěn dàshēng.He talks very loudly.