Mandarin Chinese reference
说
shuō
to speak, to say
Verb pattern · 13 form tables
Mandarin verbs do not change for tense. These tables show aspect, negation, questions and sentence patterns. Short phrases omit the subject; full examples retain theirs.
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Aspect
Plain statement
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | shuōspeak |
| plain | tā shuō de hěn hǎoHe speaks very well |
| with an object, verb repeated | tā shuō Zhōngwén shuō de hěn hǎoHe speaks Chinese very well |
| speed | tā shuō de hěn kuàiHe speaks very quickly |
| compared with somebody | tā shuō de bǐ wǒ hǎoHe speaks better than I do |
Completed action
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | shuō lespoke |
Experience
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | shuō guohave spoken before |
In progress
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | zài shuōbe speaking |
Ongoing state
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | shuō zhebe speaking |
Future
About to
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | yào shuō lebe about to speak |
Will / can
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | huì shuōwill speak; can speak |
Negative
Not
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | bù shuōdo not speak |
Did not
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | méi shuōdid not speak |
Questions
Yes no question
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | shuō ma?do you speak? |
A not A question
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | shuō bu shuō?do you speak? |
Patterns
Negated
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| plain | tā shuō de bù hǎoHe does not speak well |
| with an object, verb repeated | tā shuō Zhōngwén shuō de bù hǎoHe does not speak Chinese well |
| speed | tā shuō de bú kuàiHe does not speak quickly |
| compared with somebody | tā shuō de méi yǒu wǒ hǎoHe does not speak as well as I do |
Question
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| plain | tā shuō de hǎo bu hǎo?Does he speak well? |
| with an object, verb repeated | tā Zhōngwén shuō de hǎo bu hǎo?Does he speak Chinese well? |
| speed | tā shuō de kuài bu kuài?Does he speak quickly? |
| compared with somebody | shéi shuō de hǎo?Who speaks well? |
Forms from the Loquus reference. Only supplied forms are shown. Browse all Mandarin Chinese entries.