Say or Tell? The Listener Trick

Your best friend just got engaged!

你最好的朋友刚刚订婚了！

You rush home and say, I said him the news!

你冲回家说："I said him the news!"

Hmm... something sounds wrong, doesn't it?

嗯……听起来有点不对，是吧？

Here's the trick.

诀窍是这样的。

Tell needs a listener. Say doesn't.

"tell" 需要一个听的人，"say" 不需要。

With tell, you name the person straight away.

用 "tell" 时，后面马上接人。

Tell me. Tell her. Tell your boss.

"Tell me." "Tell her." "Tell your boss."

With say, the words come first.

用 "say" 时，先出现的是说话的内容。

She said hello. He said it was late.

"She said hello." "He said it was late."

Want to add a person? Use to.

想加上一个人？用 "to"。

He said sorry to me.

"He said sorry to me."

Wait, what about tell a story?

等等，那 "tell a story" 呢？

Good catch! A few fixed phrases break the rule.

观察得真仔细！有几个固定搭配是例外。

Tell a story, tell the truth, tell a lie, tell a joke.

"tell a story"、"tell the truth"、"tell a lie"、"tell a joke"。

So when you're stuck, look for the listener.

所以拿不准的时候，就找听的人。

Is a person right after the verb? Then tell.

动词后面紧跟着人吗？那就用 "tell"。

No person? Then say.

没有人？那就用 "say"。

Go on, tell someone what you just learned!

去吧，把你刚学到的告诉别人！