再说
let’s leave it till later · besides
Structure
…… + 以后／明天 + 再说 · 理由一 ， 再说 ， 理由二
What it means
At the end of a sentence, 再说 puts something off: “we’ll see about it later”. At the start of a clause it adds one more reason: “besides, what’s more”.
How it is built
Time word + 再说 (+ 吧): 今天太晚了，明天再说吧 (It’s too late today; let’s deal with it tomorrow). For “besides”: reason one，再说，reason two: 太贵了。再说，你已经有一个了.
When to use it
Both are everyday spoken uses. The “later” 再说 usually follows 以后、明天 or 下次 and often takes 吧 to sound softer. The “besides” 再说 adds a reason on top of one already given, close to 而且.
Watch out
Don’t confuse either with 再 + 说 “say again”: 请你再说一遍 just means “please say it once more”. If a number of times (一遍) follows, it is “say again”.
Examples
今天太晚了，明天再说吧。
It’s too late today; let’s deal with it tomorrow.
回不回成都，以后再说。
Whether or not to go back to Chengdu, we’ll see later.
别买了，太贵了。再说，你已经有一个了。
Don’t buy it, it’s too expensive. Besides, you already have one.
我不想去爬山，天太冷了，再说我也很累。
I don’t want to go hiking: it’s too cold, and besides, I’m tired.
Learn this in HSK 4 · Lesson 24: 后悔 (Regrets)
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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