谓 (wèi) - to speak & to say

谓Tone 4

wèi ｜ 11 strokes ｜ radical:

万响

谓 · wèi

to speak;

to say;

to call;

to mean;

to refer to;

used in classical Chinese as a grammatical particle.

to speakto sayto call

Usage highlights

sono wonderto have nothing to sayto be called/namedmeaninglesspredicate

Synonyms

  • 说— to speak; to say
  • 称— to call; to name
  • 曰— to say (classical Chinese)

Antonyms

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • What do you mean by that?(所谓何事?)
  • This is what we call teamwork (这就是所谓的团队合作).
  • He said nothing in response (他无所对谓).
  • I don't know what you're talking about (不知所云).

Collocations

  • so-called(所谓)
  • no wonder(无怪乎)
  • to have nothing to say(无谓)
  • to be called/named(谓之)
  • meaningless(无谓的)
  • predicate(谓语)

Idioms

  • Meaningless or pointless(无谓之争)
  • One's so-called(一己之谓)
  • Hard to put into words(难以名状)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Frequently appears in classical Chinese texts as a grammatical function word introducing explanations or definitions.
  • Used in modern linguistics as part of grammatical terms like 谓语 (predicate).
  • Carries a formal, literary tone when used in contemporary contexts.

FAQ