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话说 (huà shuō) — (narrative opener) it is said; once upon a time; (topic shift) speaking of which; by the way

Definition

话说 (huàshuō) is a narrative or conversational opener, not a neutral verb. In stories it means 'once upon a time / it is said'; in conversation it shifts topic ('speaking of which, by the way').

verb
(narrative opener) it is saidonce upon a time(topic shift) speaking of whichby the way

Examples

  • 话说，。
    huà shuō, Cóng qián yǒu yí gè měi lì de gōng zhǔ.
    It is said that once upon a time there was a beautiful princess.
  • 话说，。
    huà shuō, Zhè jiàn shì hái yào cóng shí nián qián shuō qǐ.
    Speaking of this matter, we have to start from ten years ago.
  • 话说，？
    huà shuō, Nǐ shàng cì shuō de nà ge jì huà zěn me yàng le?
    By the way, how's that plan you mentioned last time going?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

话huàwords/story
说shuōsay

话 refers to the words or story, and 说 says them, so it introduces what is being said.

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 話; 话 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánword
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠯑
𠯑𠯑話huà
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 話, 言 relates to words and 𠯑 gives the sound; the simplified 话 is a shorthand, so its right side is not that sound part.

Open 话 →

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
Communication & Speech

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