Meaning of 说明
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to explain
- to illustrate
- to indicate
- to show
- to prove
- explanation
- directions
- caption
Measure word: 個|个
How to use 说明
As a verb, 说明 means to explain something, or to show that a fact points to a conclusion. As a noun, it means instructions or a caption, as in 说明书 (shuōmíngshū) for a product manual. Example: 这说明他很忙。(Zhè shuōmíng tā hěn máng.) This shows that he is very busy.
说 (shuō) means to speak and 明 (míng) means bright or clear, so 说明 is to speak something until it becomes clear. Picture 明, the sun 日 and moon 月 together, lighting up what you just said.
Common mistake: Learners often use 说明 for every kind of explaining, but for explaining a word or a lesson to someone, 解释 (jiěshì) is often more natural. Also, 说明 does not mean to speak clearly in the sense of pronunciation. For that, say 说得很清楚 (shuō de hěn qīngchu).
说明 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
说 shuō · to speak · 9 strokes
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明 míng · bright · 8 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 说明.
| 明白 | míngbai | clear; obvious; unequivocal; sensible; reasonable |
| 明天 | míngtiān | tomorrow |
| 说话 | shuōhuà | to speak; to say |
| 明年 | míngnián | next year |
| 听说 | tīngshuō | to hear (sth said); one hears (that) |
| 明星 | míngxīng | star; celebrity |
| 小说 | xiǎoshuō | novel; fiction |
| 比如说 | bǐrú shuō | for example |
| 证明 | zhèngmíng | proof; certificate |
| 明显 | míngxiǎn | clear; distinct |
| 传说 | chuánshuō | legend; folk tale; to repeat from mouth to mouth; they say that... |
| 发明 | fāmíng | to invent; an invention |
Questions about 说明
What does 说明 mean?
说明 (shuōmíng) means "to explain; to illustrate" and is used as a verb and noun.
How do you write 说明?
说明 is made of 2 characters: 说 (9 strokes), 明 (8 strokes). That is 17 strokes in total.
Is 说明 an HSK word?
Yes. 说明 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 说明 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 说明 is written 說明.
What is the difference between 说明 and 明白?
说明 is something you do: you explain or show something to others. 明白 (míngbai) is the result: you understand, or something is clear. For example, 老师说明了以后，我明白了 means after the teacher explained, I understood.
Can 说明 be followed by a whole sentence?
Yes. In its sense of to show or to prove, 说明 is often followed by a full clause, as in 你来了，说明你很关心 (nǐ lái le, shuōmíng nǐ hěn guānxīn), meaning you came, which shows you care. This pattern is very common in speech and writing.