Today’s word of the day is 说 (shuō) which means ‘to speak’. Let’s practice by making different words, phrases, and sentences with 说 (shuō).
小说 (xiǎo shuō) Novel
The first word is 小说 (xiǎo shuō) which is a noun that means novel. Let’s look at each character of this word, 小 means little, and 说 (shuō) means 'to speak'. A way of using it in a sentence is 我很喜欢这本小说。(Wǒ hěn xǐhuān zhè běn xiǎoshuō.) I really like this novel. Use this when you want to tell someone about a novel you like.
说谎 (shuō huǎng) To lie
Another word we can create with 说 (shuō) is 说谎 (shuō huǎng). This means to lie. Let’s again look at each character of this word, 说 means ‘to speak’ and 谎means ‘lie’, so it literally means ‘to tell lies’. A way of using it in a sentence is 别说谎! (Bié shuōhuǎng!) Don’t lie!
说实话 (shuō shíhuà) To be honest
Finally, we can create the phrase 说实话 (shuō shíhuà) which means ‘to be honest’. The 实话means ‘the truth’. A way of using it in a sentence is 说实话,我真的不喜欢你。(Shuō shíhuà, wǒ zhēn de bù xǐhuan nǐ.) To be honest, I really don’t like you.