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劝说 (quàn shuō) — to persuade, to advise

Definition

劝说 focuses on patiently persuading someone to change their mind, often after resistance. Compared with 说服, it implies the listener hasn't yet agreed; 忠告/劝告 are more about giving advice.

verb
to persuadeto advise

Examples

  • 劝说。
    Wǒ quàn shuō tā bú yào qīng yì fàng qì.
    I advised him not to give up easily.
  • 劝说，。
    Jīng guò dà jiā de quàn shuō, tā zhōng yú tóng yì le.
    After everyone's persuasion, he finally agreed.
  • 劝说，。
    Tā quàn shuō wǒ duō xiū xi, bié tài lèi.
    She advised me to rest more and not get too tired.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

劝quànadvise
说shuōspeak

“劝” and “说” both describe urging someone to act, forming the idea of persuasion.

Characters in this word

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 勸; 劝 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lìstrength
Sound part声符shēngfú
雚
雚guàn勸quàn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 勸 pairs 力 (strength) with 雚 as a sound part; the simplified 劝 is a shorthand and its parts are not the historical parts.

Open 劝 →

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
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Communication & Speech

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