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Resources
Expressing 'to tell' with 告诉 (gàosu)
Actions & Events
Connecting Ideas
Structure
Subject + 告诉 + Person + Content
Explanation
The verb 告诉 (gàosu) means "to tell" or "to inform" in Chinese. It is used when one person communicates information to another. The structure typically places the recipient directly after the verb, followed by the content being communicated.
Examples
妈妈告诉我明天不用上课。
Māma gàosu wǒ míngtiān bùyòng shàngkè.
Mom told me there's no class tomorrow.
他告诉朋友们他要搬家了。
Tā gàosu péngyoumen tā yào bānjiā le.
He told his friends that he's moving.
请你告诉她会议改到下午三点。
Qǐng nǐ gàosu tā huìyì gǎi dào xiàwǔ sān diǎn.
Please tell her the meeting has been moved to 3 PM.