NetChai Chinese
我不会说
wǒ bú huì shuō
I dont speak · trad. 我不會說

我不会说 (wǒ bú huì shuō) is the most common way to say "I don't speak" in Mandarin Chinese, specifically when referring to not knowing how to speak a particular language. It implies a lack of ability or knowledge.

When to use it

Neutral. You can follow it with the name of the language you don't speak, for example, 我不会说中文 (wǒ bú huì shuō Zhōngwén) means "I don't speak Chinese." If you mean you are simply not talking at the moment, you would say 我不说话 (wǒ bù shuō huà). If you mean you don't *want* to speak, use 我不想说 (wǒ bù xiǎng shuō).

How to pronounce it

Sounds like “waw BOO hway SHWORE.” The character 不 (bù) changes from a falling tone to a rising tone when followed by another falling tone, like 会 (huì).

Other ways to say it

  • 我不会说中文wǒ bú huì shuō zhōng wénI don't speak Chinese
  • 我不太会说wǒ bú tài huì shuōI don't speak very well (implies some limited ability)
  • 我不说话wǒ bù shuō huàI'm not speaking / I don't talk (referring to the act of talking)

Examples

对不起，我不会说法语。
duì bù qǐ ， wǒ bú huì shuō fǎ yǔ 。
Sorry, I don't speak French.
我只会说一点点英语，不会说德语。
wǒ zhī huì shuō yì diǎn diǎn yīng yǔ ， bú huì shuō dé yǔ 。
I only speak a little English, I don't speak German.
他今天心情不好，所以不说话。
tā jīn tiān xīn qíng bù hǎo ， suǒ yǐ bù shuō huà 。
He's in a bad mood today, so he's not speaking.
Pro tip: The character 不 (bù, 'not') normally has a falling (fourth) tone, but it changes to a rising (second) tone when followed by another falling (fourth) tone. So, in 我不会说, 不 is pronounced with a rising tone (bú), not a falling tone (bù).

Related phrases

和平 · Peace钱 · Money闭嘴 · Shut up
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