据说
jùshuō · HSK 3
it is said that...
💬 据说 = 据 (according to) + 说 (say) — 'according-to-say' = it is said
据 means 'according to / basis' and 说 means 'speak/say', so 据说 literally reads as 'according to what is said'. Use it to report hearsay or rumors, like English 'reputedly' or 'they say that...'.
据 — hand radical 扌 + 豦
据 combines the hand radical 扌 with the phonetic component 豦. Originally meaning to seize or grasp with the hand, it later extended to 'rely on' or 'according to.' In modern simplified Chinese, 据 also serves as the simplified form of 據, merging the two characters' meanings.
说 — speech radical 讠(言) + 兑
说 combines the speech radical 讠(言, 'words') with 兑, which acts as the phonetic component. The character originally meant 'to explain' or 'to speak,' and broadened to mean 'say' or 'talk.' The same graph is also read 'yuè' meaning 'pleased,' a sense later written 悦.