诉说

• Pinyin: sù shuō
• Hanzi breakdown: 诉 = 讠(speech radical) + 斥 (to express forcefully) — to recount, to express; 说 = 讠+ 兑 (to speak)

Meaning

To narrate or recount something in a heartfelt or detailed manner, often involving personal experiences, emotions, or struggles. Implies an expressive and flowing form of telling rather than a simple factual report.

More literary and emotionally charged than simply 说 or 讲. Often used in writing to describe characters articulating inner feelings, memories, or profound life experiences. Can also describe non-human subjects in a metaphorical sense (e.g., ancient ruins silently telling their history). Common in prose, poetry, documentary narration, and formal speeches.

Examples

1. 她在日记中用细腻的文字诉说了那段旅途中的心路历程，将沿途的所见所感与内心变化一一如实记录下来。 In her diary, she used delicate, thoughtful prose to recount her inner journey on that trip, faithfully recording what she saw and felt along the way and how she changed inside.
2. 这部纪录片以当事人的亲口诉说为核心叙事手段，真实还原了那个年代普通人所经历的喜悦与苦难。 This documentary centers its storytelling on the firsthand accounts of the people involved, truthfully reconstructing the joys and hardships ordinary people experienced in that era.
3. 那幅画作静静悬挂在展厅正中央，无声地诉说着画家在异乡漂泊岁月中深藏心底的思念与孤独。 The painting hangs quietly in the very center of the gallery, silently expressing the longing and loneliness the artist kept buried deep inside during years of drifting far from home.

Usage Guide

Context: literary, personal, emotional, journalism, documentary

Tone: expressive

Do Say

• 老人向来访的记者诉说了自己六十年前随家人颠沛流离、辗转迁徙的艰辛历程，言语间数度哽咽，泪水模糊了双眼。(The elderly man recounted to the visiting journalist his arduous journey of displacement with his family sixty years ago, his voice breaking repeatedly as tears blurred his eyes.)
• 这首诗以第一人称的方式诉说了游子对故乡的深切思念，语言质朴而情感真挚，令无数读者产生了强烈的情感共鸣。(This poem narrates in the first person a wanderer's deep longing for home — the language plain, the emotion genuine — stirring powerful resonance in countless readers.)

Don't Say

• 诉说 比 说 情感深度更强，不适合用于简单的事实陈述 — 不说'他诉说了明天的会议时间'；简单告知用 告知 或 通知

Origin & History

诉 (to express, to recount) + 说 (to speak, to narrate) — to recount in an expressive and heartfelt manner

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal