<p>"还真别说" literally translates to "you don't say". It means the same kind of "contrary to common belief".</p>

<p>Unlike "you don't say" which is usually used as a standalone sentence to express surprise and strong disbelief, "还真别说" is way milder and mainly used as a phrase to <em>start a sentence</em> with some following up comments.</p>

<p>It's when you give a thing a second thought, and find out it <em>actually</em> has some other interesting properties that you didn't notice before.</p>

<p>So, you can safely replace "还真别说，..." with "Wow, it actually ...".</p>

<p>"On second thought, it actually..." is an option too, but it's a bit too formal. "还真别说" appears mostly in spoken language.</p>

<p>还真别说，这个笑话有点意思。<br>
You don't say, the joke is funny. (weird, too strong)<br>
Wow, the joke is actually funny. (better)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-21T16:22:06.547Z
2019-04-21T16:22:06.547Z
hackape
<p>说 is the key to understanding. Here it means to judge, deny, or disapprove (especially quickly). 还真别说 translated character by character is "just really don't judge too soon". As a whole it means "(contrary to what I expected,) I just realize that...", or "admittedly".</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-20T03:01:02.010Z
2019-04-20T03:01:02.010Z
wdscxsj
<p>还真别说 (or 你别说) is a colloquial term, meaning <em>Things are different from what you would say about them</em>. It expressed that something is not just like what you thought it would be. it usually follows the reason. </p>

<p>还真别说，这个笑话有点意思 expresses <em>originally, we thought the joke would not be very interesting, but now I find it's not that bad.</em> The lieral translation can be: <em>Don't say that joke is tedious, it's actually quite interesting.</em></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-19T23:35:01.120Z
2019-04-20T08:08:31.327Z
2019-04-20T08:08:31.327Z
dan
<p>I think this word expresses a kind of recognition that is beyond your expectations. Literally speaking, the full meaning of &quot;你别说&quot; is something like &quot;Don't think this is just talk or a joke, because after careful consideration, I found that it is really the case.&quot;
Here's an example:</p>
<ul>
<li>那场考试也太简单了吧，就算是让小学生参加，考个80分也是没问题的。(That exam was too easy. It wouldn't be a problem to achieve 80 points even for a primary school student.)</li>
<li>你别说，还真是(You are right.(Although it's an exaggerated expression and may not be accepted by common sense, but I found it true after careful consideration.))。</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-21T10:17:36.210Z
2024-04-21T10:17:36.210Z
Bubble
<p>还真别说，这个问题挺不好回答。
大概可以这么解释吧：</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>It really shouldn't be played down</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-19T08:53:18.767Z
2019-04-19T09:27:14.033Z
2019-04-19T09:27:14.033Z
Zhang
<p>How to correctly translate this Chinese sentence &quot;还真别说, 这个笑话有点意思. &quot;?</p>
<p>You are correct. It is not valid to translate &quot;还真别说&quot; into &quot;Don't mention it&quot;. A few of better translations could be,</p>
<p>(1) <strong>It turns out that</strong> (the joke is funny).</p>
<p>(2) <strong>Needless to say that</strong> (the joke is funny).</p>
<p>(3) <strong>Out of my expectation that</strong> (the joke is kind of funny).</p>
<p>The easy way for a CSL (Chinese as a Second Language) student to learn this idiom 还真别说 is to think that the speaker has omitted or hidden the object of the verb 说. Such as,</p>
<p>还真别说<strong>这个笑话没有意思</strong> - Please do not say that <strong>it is not funny</strong>.</p>
<p>Therefore, the speaker uses 还真别说 to prepare the listener for something contradicting or out of their expectation.</p>
<p>Another example is,</p>
<p>还真别说, 他竟然把钱包找回来了. - Surprisingly, he found his wallet. (implies that nobody thinks that he can get it back.)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-21T11:18:29.350Z
2024-04-21T14:42:21.160Z
2024-04-21T14:42:21.160Z
PdotWang
<p>it is kinda like indeed, i think?
my understanding is that:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>you just read/heard sth
  your first thought was: what is that bullsh*t/i dont agree with that/etc
  a few seconds later: i kinda like it</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-09T17:27:21.167Z
2019-05-09T17:27:21.167Z
sasasqt
<p>Some commented about a joke,</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>还真别说，这个笑话有点意思。</p>
</blockquote>

<p>The translator gives</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Don't mention it</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I don't think it's right.</p>

<translation><meaning-in-context><idioms>
What does 还真别说 mean?
# What does 还真别说 mean?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-04-19)

Some commented about a joke,

> 还真别说，这个笑话有点意思。

The translator gives

> Don't mention it

I don't think it's right.

**Tags:** translation, meaning-in-context, idioms


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## 7 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2019-04-21. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

"还真别说" literally translates to "you don't say". It means the same kind of "contrary to common belief".

Unlike "you don't say" which is usually used as a standalone sentence to express surprise and strong disbelief, "还真别说" is way milder and mainly used as a phrase to *start a sentence* with some following up comments.

It's when you give a thing a second thought, and find out it *actually* has some other interesting properties that you didn't notice before.

So, you can safely replace "还真别说，..." with "Wow, it actually ...".

"On second thought, it actually..." is an option too, but it's a bit too formal. "还真别说" appears mostly in spoken language.

还真别说，这个笑话有点意思。  
You don't say, the joke is funny. (weird, too strong)  
Wow, the joke is actually funny. (better)


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### Answer by username_2 on 2019-04-20. Score: 3

说 is the key to understanding. Here it means to judge, deny, or disapprove (especially quickly). 还真别说 translated character by character is "just really don't judge too soon". As a whole it means "(contrary to what I expected,) I just realize that...", or "admittedly".


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### Answer by username_3 on 2019-04-19. Score: 2

还真别说 (or 你别说) is a colloquial term, meaning *Things are different from what you would say about them*. It expressed that something is not just like what you thought it would be. it usually follows the reason.

还真别说，这个笑话有点意思 expresses *originally, we thought the joke would not be very interesting, but now I find it's not that bad.* The lieral translation can be: *Don't say that joke is tedious, it's actually quite interesting.*


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### Answer by username_4 on 2024-04-21. Score: 1

I think this word expresses a kind of recognition that is beyond your expectations. Literally speaking, the full meaning of "你别说" is something like "Don't think this is just talk or a joke, because after careful consideration, I found that it is really the case."
Here's an example:

* 那场考试也太简单了吧，就算是让小学生参加，考个80分也是没问题的。(That exam was too easy. It wouldn't be a problem to achieve 80 points even for a primary school student.)
* 你别说，还真是(You are right.(Although it's an exaggerated expression and may not be accepted by common sense, but I found it true after careful consideration.))。


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### Answer by username_5 on 2019-04-19. Score: 1

还真别说，这个问题挺不好回答。
大概可以这么解释吧：

> It really shouldn't be played down


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### Answer by username_6 on 2024-04-21. Score: 0

How to correctly translate this Chinese sentence "还真别说, 这个笑话有点意思. "?

You are correct. It is not valid to translate "还真别说" into "Don't mention it". A few of better translations could be,

(1) **It turns out that** (the joke is funny).

(2) **Needless to say that** (the joke is funny).

(3) **Out of my expectation that** (the joke is kind of funny).

The easy way for a CSL (Chinese as a Second Language) student to learn this idiom 还真别说 is to think that the speaker has omitted or hidden the object of the verb 说. Such as,

还真别说**这个笑话没有意思** - Please do not say that **it is not funny**.

Therefore, the speaker uses 还真别说 to prepare the listener for something contradicting or out of their expectation.

Another example is,

还真别说, 他竟然把钱包找回来了. - Surprisingly, he found his wallet. (implies that nobody thinks that he can get it back.)


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### Answer by username_7 on 2019-05-09. Score: -1

it is kinda like indeed, i think?
my understanding is that:

> you just read/heard sth
> your first thought was: what is that bullsh\*t/i dont agree with that/etc
> a few seconds later: i kinda like it


---

