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不说 (bù shuō) — needless to say; obviously; not to mention; let alone

Definition

A colloquial set phrase (离合词) used like a discourse marker or hedge. Pauses to introduce what the speaker really wants to say, often as 'needless to say' or 'let alone' before a stronger point.

verb
needless to sayobviouslynot to mentionlet alone

Examples

  • 不说，。
    bù shuō Bié de, guāng shì zhè ge shè jì jiù huā le yì nián.
    Not to mention anything else, just this design alone took a year.
  • 不说，。
    bù shuō, Tā kěn dìng zhī dào zhè jiàn shì.
    Needless to say, he definitely knows about this.
  • 不说，。
    Nà bù diàn yǐng bù shuō jù qíng, lián tè xiào dōu chà de yuǎn.
    That movie — not to mention the plot, even the special effects are far from good.

Origin

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 說; 说 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
兌
兌duì說shuō
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 說 pairs 言 (meaning) with 兌 (sound); the simplified 说 is not the form described here.

Open 说 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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