说

2 readings · tap one to hear it

to speak; to talk; to say; to explain; to comment; to scold; to tell off; (bound form) theory; doctrine

Sound it out + = · + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

讠 meaning “speech” + 兑 sound ( duì )

Components 讠兑

speak · Heisig RSH #501

words + devil

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
说话	shuō huà	to speak; to say; to talk; to gossip; to tell stories; talk; word
有一说一	yǒu yī shuō yī	to speak plainly; to speak one's mind; to say directly
地心说	dì xīn shuō	geocentric theory
说不上	shuō bu shàng	to be unable to say or tell; to not be worth mentioning
不说自明	bù shuō zì míng	goes without saying; obvious; self-evident
小小说	xiǎo xiǎo shuō	flash fiction
小说家	Xiǎo shuō jiā	School of Minor-talks, one of the Hundred Schools of Thought 諸子百家\|诸子百家[zhu1 zi3 bai3 jia1]…
小说家	xiǎo shuō jiā	novelist
说不出	shuō bu chū	unable to say
说一不二	shuō yī bù èr	to say one and mean just that (idiom); to keep one's word
同人小说	tóng rén xiǎo shuō	fan fiction
有一说一，有二说二	yǒu yī shuō yī , yǒu èr shuō èr	to call sth as it is (idiom)
达尔文学说	Dá ěr wén xué shuō	Darwinism
日心说	rì xīn shuō	heliocentric theory; the theory that the sun is at the center of the universe
说不通	shuō bù tōng	it does not make sense
说不定	shuō bu dìng	can't say for sure; maybe
说东道西	shuō dōng dào xī	to chat about this and that; to talk about anything and everything
一说	yī shuō	an expression of opinion; according to some
说不得	shuō bu de	to be unmentionable; be unspeakable; must; cannot but
学说	xué shuō	theory; doctrine

Characters sharing the sound component 兑 — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
兑 sound part	duì	cash, check; to exchange
脱	tuō	to take off, to shed; to escape from
悦	yuè	contented, gratified, pleased
锐	ruì	sharp, pointed; keen, acute