告 gào — to tell; to inform; to say
请告诉我你的地址。Qǐng gào su wǒ nǐ de dì zhǐ.Please tell me your address.
Common words: 告诉 (gào sù)、广告 (guǎng gào)、报告 (bào gào)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "to tell"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "to tell", including 告 (gào), 讲 (jiǎng), 述 (shù), 晓 (xiǎo). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "to tell" covers 4 different Chinese characters — 告 (gào), 讲 (jiǎng), 述 (shù), 晓 (xiǎo) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 4 characters do not share a sound — their readings span gào, jiǎng, shù, xiǎo — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 告 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 告 gàoto tell; to inform; to sayUseful words: 告诉, 广告
- 讲 jiǎngto talk; speech; to speak; to tell; to explainUseful words: 讲话, 听讲
- 述 shùto state; to tell; to narrate; to relateUseful words: 描述, 讲述
- 晓 xiǎodawn; to know; to tell (sb sth); dawnUseful words: 晓得, 家喻户晓
Common words for these 4 "to tell" characters
Anchor each of these 4 characters in a word you can picture — start with 告 (gào) — so "to tell" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
告诉gào sùto press charges; to file a complaint广告guǎng gàoto advertise; a commercial; advertisement报告bào gàoto inform; to report; to make known; report讲话jiǎng huàa speech; to speak; to talk; to address听讲tīng jiǎngto attend a lecture; to listen to a talk演讲yǎn jiǎngto give a lecture; to make a speech描述miáo shùto describe; description讲述jiǎng shùto talk about; to narrate; to give an account叙述xù shùto relate (a story or information); to tell or talk about; to recount; narration晓得xiǎo deto know
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 4 ways to say "to tell".
讲 jiǎng — to talk; speech; to speak; to tell; to explain
老师正在讲一个有趣的故事。Lǎo shī zhèng zài jiǎng yí ge yǒu qù de gù shi.The teacher is telling an interesting story.
Common words: 讲话 (jiǎng huà)、听讲 (tīng jiǎng)、演讲 (yǎn jiǎng)
述 shù — to state; to tell; to narrate; to relate
请简单叙述一下事情的经过。Qǐng jiǎn dān xù shù yí xià shì qing de jīng guò.Please briefly describe what happened.
Common words: 描述 (miáo shù)、讲述 (jiǎng shù)、叙述 (xù shù)
晓 xiǎo — dawn; to know; to tell (sb sth); dawn
这个道理大家都晓得。Zhè ge dào lǐ dà jiā dōu xiǎo de.Everyone knows this principle.
Common words: 晓得 (xiǎo de)、家喻户晓 (jiā yù hù xiǎo)、揭晓 (jiē xiǎo)
All 4 characters
Open 告、讲、述 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.