說

說 U+8AAA, 說 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-8AAA ← 誩 [U+8AA9] CJK Unified Ideographs 誫 → [U+8AAB]

說 U+F96F, 說 CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-F96F ← 葉 [U+F96E] CJK Compatibility Ideographs 殺 → [U+F970]

說 U+F9A1, 說 CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-F9A1 ← 裂 [U+F9A0] CJK Compatibility Ideographs 廉 → [U+F9A2]

Stroke order

Traditional	說
Shinjitai	説
Simplified	说

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 *g/s-lwat (“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？ [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
     学而时习之，不亦说乎？ [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

     From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Xué 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. 11^th – 7^th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Cǐ 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–

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]

Wikisource

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}}.