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告诉gào suto tell; to inform; to let know

HSK 2word

By Chinese Copilot · Last updated

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. 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?

  1. 请告诉我。

    Qǐng gàosu wǒ.

    Please tell me.

  2. 你告诉他。

    Nǐ gàosu tā.

    You tell him.

  3. 我可以告诉你吗?

    Wǒ kěyǐ gàosu nǐ ma?

    Can I tell you?

  4. 他告诉我这件事。

    Tā gàosu wǒ zhè jiàn shì.

    He told me about this matter.

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?

  1. Speaker A:

    你可以告诉我吗?

    Nǐ kěyǐ gàosu wǒ ma?

    Can you tell me?

  2. Speaker B:

    可以,我告诉你。

    Kěyǐ, wǒ gàosu nǐ.

    Yes, I'll tell you.

  3. Speaker A:

    他知道这件事吗?

    Tā zhīdào zhè jiàn shì ma?

    Does he know about this?

  4. Speaker B:

    不知道。你告诉他。

    Bù zhīdào. Nǐ gàosu tā.

    He doesn't know. You tell him.

  5. Speaker A:

    请告诉我这件事。

    Qǐng gàosu wǒ zhè jiàn shì.

    Please tell me about this.

  6. Speaker B:

    好,我告诉你。

    Hǎo, wǒ gàosu nǐ.

    OK, I'll tell you.

Can you use 告诉 correctly?

0 of 3 answered
  1. 1.Fill in the blank: 请___我。
  2. 2.Which sentence correctly tells a person something?
  3. 3.Fill in the blank: 不要___他这件事。

What should you learn next?

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.