说起来

• 拼音: shuō qǐ lái
• 汉字拆解: 说 = 言 + 兑; 起 = 走 (walk) + 己 (self) — to rise, to start; 来 = pictograph of a wheat plant — to come

含义

Speaking of which; when it comes to it; come to think of it. A discourse marker that introduces a topic, reflection, or qualifying remark.

A versatile sentence-initial phrase with several uses: (1) introducing a topic (说起来这件事…); (2) expressing that in theory something should be one way, but in reality it is different (说起来容易做起来难); (3) reflecting on something that just came to mind. Very common in both spoken and written Chinese.

例句

1. 说起来，我们已经好几年没有见面了，时间真的过得很快。
2. 说起来容易，真正要坚持每天锻炼一个小时，没有强大的意志力是做不到的。
3. 说起来这件事还挺有意思的，当初谁也没有预料到会有这样的结局。

用法指南

语境: conversation, reflection, discourse, transition

语气: reflective

正确说法

• 说起来，这项技术早在十年前就已经有了初步研究，只是当时的硬件条件限制了它的实际应用。(Come to think of it, this technology already had preliminary research as far back as ten years ago; it was only the hardware limitations of the time that restricted its practical application.)
• 说起来这两家公司的发展路径非常相似，都是从一个细分市场起步，然后逐步扩展到更广泛的领域。(Speaking of which, the development trajectories of these two companies are remarkably similar — both started from a niche market and gradually expanded into broader fields.)

错误说法

• 不能将 说起来 与 说起 混淆 — 说起来 is a discourse marker introducing a topic or reflection, while 说起 means 'to mention/bring up' and must be followed by a noun object

起源与历史

说 (speak) + 起来 (directional complement indicating initiation) — to bring up in speech, when speaking of it

文化背景

世代: All ages

社会背景: Universal