别说 (let alone)

• 拼音: biéshuō
• 结构: 别说 + A ，连 / 就是 + B + 也 / 都 + Verb
• 汉字拆解: 别 = 另 (other) + 刂 (knife); 说 = 讠(speech) + 兑 (exchange)

含义

The pattern 别说...连/就是...也/都 is used to express 'let alone' or 'not to mention.' It emphasizes that if even an easier or more expected thing cannot happen, then a harder or less expected thing certainly cannot either.

This structure creates emphasis through contrast. The speaker first mentions the more extreme or difficult case (A) after 别说, then states what actually happens with the lesser case (B) using 连/就是...也/都. The logic is: 'Don't even mention A — even B is already the case.' This is a powerful rhetorical device used to strengthen arguments. The pattern is related to 更不用说 but differs in word order: with 别说, the more extreme case comes first. It is common in both spoken and written Chinese at an advanced level. Sometimes 别说 is shortened to 甭说 in northern dialects.

例句

1. 别说出国旅游了，连周末去郊区他都觉得太远。
2. 别说跑步了，他连走路快一点都喘不过气来。
3. 别说买房了，就是租房的压力对年轻人来说都不小。

用法指南

语境: spoken, written, emphatic

语气: emphatic

正确说法

• 别说帮忙了，他连一句安慰的话都没说。
• 别说考满分了，就是及格对他来说都很困难。
• 别说请客了，连自己的饭钱他都快付不起了。

错误说法

• 别说他去了北京，连上海都去了。(This reverses the logic — 别说 should introduce the harder/less likely case, not the easier one that already happened) → 别说去上海了，他连北京都去过了。
• 别说看书。(别说 requires a contrasting second clause with 连/就是...也/都 — it cannot stand alone as a complete sentence) → 别说看书了，连手机他都懒得看。

起源与历史

别说 literally means 'don't say' or 'don't even mention,' used as a rhetorical device to dismiss the more extreme possibility before presenting the lesser one. This escalation pattern is a hallmark of Chinese rhetorical argumentation.

文化背景

世代: All ages

社会背景: Universal