How to Write 讲 (jiǎng) — Meaning “To speak / To tell / To explain”

Imagine a well (井) where people gather to talk. The speech radical 讠 on the left reminds you it's about speaking, so the whole picture is 'speaking at the well'. This helps you remember that 讲 means 'to speak' or 'to tell'.

Write 讲 starting with the radical 讠: dot, horizontal turning up, then vertical (3 strokes). Then write 井: horizontal, horizontal, left-falling stroke, vertical (4 strokes). A common mistake is making the left-falling stroke of 井 too curved or forgetting the second horizontal stroke – keep it straight and balanced.

讲 (jiǎng) means 'to speak/tell', while 计 (jì) means 'to calculate' and 订 (dìng) means 'to order/book'. Visually, 讲 has 井 inside the radical, 计 has 十 (ten), and 订 has 丁 (nail). In usage, you use 讲 for talking or explaining, 计 for counting or planning, and 订 for making reservations or subscriptions.

讲 is very common in everyday speech and formal settings, such as 讲话 (make a speech), 讲故事 (tell a story), and 讲课 (teach a lesson). Culturally, 讲话 is often used for official speeches or public talks, and 讲故事 is a key activity in Chinese childhood education to teach morals and language.

Common words containing 讲 include: 讲话 (jiǎng huà) — To speak / To talk / A speech; 讲故事 (jiǎng gù shì) — To tell a story; 讲课 (jiǎng kè) — To teach a lesson / To give a lecture.