虽说
suīsuō · HSK 7
though
🗣️ 虽 although + 说 say = though one says; sounds like sway-shuo, a sway-but-still hedge
虽说 stacks 虽 (although) onto 说 (to say), literally though one says, used to open a concession before a but-clause. Say-shuo: it sways toward one claim, then the sentence pivots the other way.
虽 — mouth 口 + insect 虫, with 唯-like phonetic
虽 is the simplified form of 雖. The traditional character combined 唯 (phonetic, giving the 'sui' sound) with 虫 (insect), originally referring to a kind of lizard. Over time the meaning shifted entirely to the grammatical sense 'although', and the original creature reading was lost.
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.