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to speak, to talk
友達と話す
to talk with friends
日本語を話す
to speak Japanese
Commonly used in everyday conversation. Often followed by particles like 'と' (with) or 'に' (to).
to tell, to say
真実を話す
to tell the truth
彼に話した
I told him
Can be used to convey information or stories.
'話す' is often used with particles like 'と' (with) or 'に' (to) to indicate who you are speaking to or with.
In formal contexts, use 'お話しする' (ohanasu) instead of '話す' to show respect.
Derived from the verb '話す' (hanasu), which comes from the classical Japanese 'はなす' (hanasu), meaning to speak or talk.
Often used in casual and formal contexts. Can be replaced with '言う' (iu) in some cases, but '話す' is more general and commonly used for ongoing conversations.