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How to Say ‘To say; to tell’ in Japanese

言う

iu

[ee-oo]

💬 Usage Tip: Basic verb: [言う]. Useful forms here: [言って] (te-form), [言ってください] (please tell), [言ってくれてありがとう] (thanks for telling).

🇯🇵 In Japan: Learning the “family” of a verb (dictionary form + [て] form + polite request) gives you lots of real-life mileage fast.

Phrase Breakdown

言う

iu

[ee-oo]

to say; to tell

Basic dictionary form. In neighbor contexts, it can mean “to tell (someone)” as in 言ってください (please tell me).

Example

気になることがあったら言うね。

If something bothers me, I’ll tell you.

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