Say、Tell、Speak 和 Talk：用法区别详解

很多英语学习者会被 say、tell、speak 和 talk 这四个动词弄糊涂。它们都和“说话”有关，但实际用法并不相同。本文会依次讲清每个动词的核心用法、常见句型，并指出最容易犯的错误（英文单词和例句全部保留为英文）。

1. 快速总览

先用一句话记住它们的大致区别：

• say：更关注说出的那句话/内容
• tell：更关注把信息告诉给谁
• speak：比较正式，多用来表示语言能力和正式发言
• talk：比较口语化，多用在聊天、讨论、交流

一个简单的英文口诀（保持英文，方便记忆）：

say = the words, tell = the person;
speak = formal/ability, talk = chat/discuss.

2. Say：强调“说出的那句话”

say 用在我们关注“别人说了什么”时，重点是那句话本身。

常见结构

• say + words/content

  • She said nothing.
  • Don’t say that.

• say (that) + clause

  • He said (that) he was busy.
  • They say (that) it will rain.

• say to somebody（较少见，多见于书面语）

  • She said to me, “Good luck.”

要点小结

• 用 say 时，直接跟在后面的通常是说出的内容，而不是“人”。

• 一般不用 say 直接接“人”，像下面这样是错的：

  • Wrong: He said me the truth.
  • Correct: He told me the truth.
  • Correct: He said (that) he was telling the truth.

当你主要是想强调“说的那句话/那件事”时，用 say 更合适。

3. Tell：强调“告诉谁什么”

tell 用在我们想强调“把信息告诉给谁”的时候，它的结构几乎总是会带有一个人。

常见结构

• tell + somebody + something

  • She told me the news.
  • Please tell him the truth.

• tell somebody that + clause

  • She told me that she was leaving.
  • He told us that the meeting was canceled.

• tell somebody to do something

  • My boss told me to finish it today.
  • I told you not to touch it.

tell 的常见固定搭配

• tell the truth

  • To tell the truth, I don’t like it.

• tell a story / tell a joke

  • Grandpa is telling the children a story.
  • He loves telling jokes.

• tell the difference

  • Can you tell the difference between these two photos?

• tell right from wrong

  • Children should learn to tell right from wrong.

常见错误

• Wrong: She told that she was tired.
• Correct: She said that she was tired.
• Correct: She told me that she was tired.

记住：tell 后面几乎总要出现一个人，比如 tell me / tell him / tell your teacher。

4. Speak：更正式、强调“语言能力/正式发言”

speak 经常用在比较正式的场合，典型有两种用法：

1. 表示“会说某种语言”
2. 表示“正式讲话/发表演讲”

1）表示语言能力

• Do you speak English?
• She speaks three languages.
• He doesn’t speak German very well.

在这个用法里，一般不用 talk 来代替：

• Natural: He can speak French.
• Not natural: He can talk French.

2）表示正式发言/演讲

• The president will speak on TV tonight.
• She will speak at the conference.
• He spoke about climate change in his speech.

常见结构：

• speak about/on + topic
  • He spoke about his experience.
  • She spoke on education reform.

3）speak to/with somebody

• I need to speak to you.
• Can I speak with the manager, please?

speak to/with 和 talk to/with 很像，但语气通常更正式一点，也更像是“严肃地谈一谈”。

5. Talk：更口语、强调“聊天/讨论”

talk 更口语化，经常用来表示聊天、讨论、双向交流。

基本用法

• We talked for hours.
• They are talking on the phone.

常见结构

• talk to/with somebody

  • I like talking to my friends.
  • Can I talk with you for a minute?

• talk about + topic

  • Let’s talk about your plan.
  • We talked about the movie yesterday.

talk 的常见表达

• talk business

  • Let’s sit down and talk business.

• talk nonsense

  • Stop talking nonsense.

• talk sense

  • Now you’re talking sense.

• small talk（轻松闲聊）

  • I’m not very good at small talk.

当你脑海里的画面是“几个人坐在一起聊天、交换想法、讨论事情”时，大多可以用 talk。

6. 常见对比：成对理解更清楚

a) Say vs. Tell

• say：更关注说出的那句话/内容
• tell：更关注把信息告诉给谁

对比来看：

• She said (that) she was tired.

  • 重点是“她说她累了”，并不强调说给谁听。

• She told me (that) she was tired.

  • 重点是“她告诉我她累了”，明确了听话的人是 me。

更多纠错示例：

• Wrong: He said me the truth.

  • Correct: He told me the truth.

• Wrong: She told that she would come.

  • Correct: She said that she would come.
  • Or: She told me that she would come.

实用记忆：

• 想在动词后面直接接人（me / you / him 等），用 tell。
• 想在后面接句子或引号里的话，用 say。

b) Speak vs. Talk

• speak：更正式，用在语言能力和正式讲话
• talk：更口语，多用在聊天、讨论

对比来看：

• He can speak French.

  • 表示语言能力。

• The manager will speak at the meeting.

  • 表示在会议上正式发言。

• We talked about the meeting yesterday.

  • 表示昨天“聊到了”这次会议，是非正式的讨论。

• I need to speak to you.

  • 语气比较严肃/正式，像是“我得和你认真谈谈”。

• Can we talk?

  • 很口语，常用在“我们聊聊吧”“我想和你谈谈”的语境。

7. 总结记忆

可以这样在脑中给四个动词贴标签：

• say

  • 关注：说出的话/信息本身
  • 结构：say (that) + clause, say + something

• tell

  • 关注：听话的人 + 信息
  • 结构：tell + somebody + something, tell somebody that + clause, tell somebody to do something

• speak

  • 关注：语言能力、正式发言
  • 结构：speak English, speak at a conference, speak about/on + topic, speak to/with somebody

• talk

  • 关注：聊天、讨论、双向交流
  • 结构：talk to/with somebody, talk about + topic

记住这些核心概念和结构，你在使用 say、tell、speak、talk 时就会少走很多弯路。

8. 简短练习

先试着用正确形式的 say、tell、speak 或 talk 填空（英文句子保持英文）：

1. He _______ three languages.
2. She _______ me that she would be late.
3. Don’t _______ anything. Just listen.
4. We _______ about our future plans last night.

再把下面这些“想法”写成完整的英文句子，注意搭配合适的动词：

1. Be honest about your opinion of this movie.
2. You want to have a conversation with someone about their plan.
3. Someone tells you not to worry about the problem.
4. A friend can use German fluently in conversation.

你可以一边对照上面的规则，一边自己写答案。多练几次之后，选择合适的动词就会变得越来越自然。