语 (yǔ) is a bound morpheme (b.f.) that primarily means 'language' or 'speech' and appears in countless modern compounds such as 汉语, 英语, 语言, 语法. It can also carry a literary sense of 'to say' or 'to tell,' found in expressions like 不语 ('not speak') or 低语 ('murmur'). Unlike standalone verbs like 告诉, 语 is not used freely in modern Mandarin as 'tell' – it always requires a compound or fixed phrase context.