曰 yuē — to say; to speak; to call; to name; to mean 曰 yuē Level 1 · Common HSK 7-9 #111 yuē yue1 Basic definition verb to say; to speak; to call; to name; to mean e.g 子曰美其名曰一曰水 Detailed explanation verb (指事。甲骨文字形，下象口形，加上的短横表示声气。本义:说，说道) say e.g 子曰 国人皆曰可杀 call particle 句首、句中助词，无实义 Related words 美其名曰 měi qí míng yuē to call by the glorified name of (idiom); euphemistically called 子曰 zi yuē Confucius says; Confucius said 子曰诗云 zi yuē shī yún quotes from the Classics; literary references 一曰水 yī yuē shuǐ the first is called water (ancient definitional phrasing)