告诉告訴 gàosu — to tell, to let someone know
gàosu (fourth tone, falling)gao4su5
Traditional: 告訴
to tell, to let someone know
HSK 2· HSK 1–4 (classic)verb
Meanings
to tell, to let someone know
To pass information to a listener. The listener is compulsory and comes first — 告诉我, 告诉老师 — and what is told follows: 告诉我你的名字.
verb
Example sentences
- 请告诉我你的名字。請告訴我你的名字。Qǐng (third tone, dipping) gàosu (fourth tone, falling) wǒ (third tone, dipping) nǐ (third tone, dipping) de (neutral tone) míngzi. (second tone, rising)···
Please tell me your name.
- 他没告诉我为什么。他沒告訴我為什麼。Tā (first tone, high and level) méi (second tone, rising) gàosu (fourth tone, falling) wǒ (third tone, dipping) wèishénme. (fourth tone, falling)···
He didn’t tell me why.
Common mistakes
Not quite他告诉：我明天来。
Correct他说：我明天来。
告诉 must name the person told; it cannot simply introduce quoted words. To report what was said with no listener mentioned, use 说.