一说…，一说…
one account says …, another says …
Structure
一说 说法A ， 一说 说法B
What it means
“One account says …, another says …”: sets out rival accounts without choosing between them. 说 here is “an account, a theory”.
How it is built
一说 + view A ， 一说 + view B: 这座桥建于哪个朝代，一说是唐朝，一说是宋朝 (one account says the Tang, another the Song). One 一说 can stand in brackets: 死于1433年（一说1435年）.
When to use it
History books, dictionaries and museum labels. A third view can follow with 还有一说. In speech say 有人说…，也有人说….
Watch out
The second view repeats 一说; it is not counted. ✗ 一说是唐朝，二说是宋朝 ✓ 一说是唐朝，一说是宋朝.
Examples
宝船有多长，一说一百多米，一说只有六七十米。
How long were the treasure ships? One view says over a hundred metres, another only sixty or seventy.
这座桥建于哪个朝代，一说是唐朝，一说是宋朝。
As to which dynasty built the bridge, one account says the Tang, another the Song.
郑和死于1433年（一说1435年）。
Zheng He died in 1433 (some say 1435).
Learn this in Lesson 97 · HSK 6–7: 郑和下西洋 (Zheng He’s voyages to the Western Ocean)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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