告诉gào suto tell; to inform; to let know
告诉 (gào su) means "to tell" or "to inform." Use it when you let someone know a fact or piece of news. Put the person after 告诉, as in 告诉我 or 告诉他这件事. This entry is the everyday tell/inform reading with neutral su, not the press-charges reading.
What does 告诉 mean?
- 1.
to tell; to inform; to let knowverb
What do the characters in 告诉 mean?
- 告(bound form) to say; to tell
- 诉to tell
How do you use 告诉?
告诉 usually needs a person as the one you inform; put that person right after 告诉 before what you say.
Patterns
告诉 + Person
请告诉我。
Qǐng gào su wǒ.
Please tell me.
告诉 + Person + 事 / Obj.
不要告诉他这件事。
Bú yào gào su tā zhè jiàn shì.
Don't tell him about this.
What are some examples of 告诉 in a sentence?
How is 告诉 different from 说?
说 is to speak or say something. 告诉 is to tell a person information. 请告诉我 needs a person after 告诉; 请说我 is not the same pattern.
Only 告诉 fits here
请告诉我。
Qǐng gào su wǒ.
Please tell me.
How is 告诉 used in a conversation?
- Speaker A:
你可以告诉我吗?
Nǐ kěyǐ gàosu wǒ ma?
Can you tell me?
- Speaker B:
可以,我告诉你。
Kěyǐ, wǒ gàosu nǐ.
Yes, I'll tell you.
- Speaker A:
他知道这件事吗?
Tā zhīdào zhè jiàn shì ma?
Does he know about this?
- Speaker B:
不知道。你告诉他。
Bù zhīdào. Nǐ gàosu tā.
He doesn't know. You tell him.
- Speaker A:
请告诉我这件事。
Qǐng gàosu wǒ zhè jiàn shì.
Please tell me about this.
- Speaker B:
好,我告诉你。
Hǎo, wǒ gàosu nǐ.
OK, I'll tell you.
Can you use 告诉 correctly?
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Related words
- 说shuōto speak; to talk; to sayHSK 1
- 知道zhī dàoto know; to become aware ofHSK 1
- 给gěito giveHSK 1
- 的deof; 's (possessive particle)HSK 1
- 要yàoto want; to need; to ask forHSK 1
- 不bùno; not so; (bound form) not; un-HSK 1
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English glosses on this page are adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG (snapshot 2026-10-23), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Glosses were edited for learners.