<p>給 = Give/Let, 跟 = With/Together. When used with another verb together, "給" designate the "transceiver" / "receiver" of the verb, while with "跟", both party are the subjects.</p>

<p>The examples you chose is a indistinguishable case (there are probably a lot of them). Let me elaborate with something else:</p>

<ul>
<li>我給你吃飯 = I let you eat</li>
<li>我跟你吃飯 = I eat with you</li>
<li>你給我吃飯 = You let me eat</li>
<li>你跟我吃飯 = You eat with me / You and I eat together</li>
<li>我給你休息十分鐘 = I give you 10 minutes to rest</li>
<li>我跟你休息十分鐘 = I rest for 10 minutes with you</li>
<li>你跟我休息十分鐘 = You rest 10 minutes with me / You and I rest for 10 minutes together</li>
<li>我給你看看 = I'll show you this / (I give you a look of this)</li>
<li>我跟你看看 = Let's see this / (I look at this with you)</li>
</ul>

<p>As for your examples, I guess we can distinguish them literally with:</p>

<ul>
<li>我給你講 = I give you a speech</li>
<li>我跟你講 = I speak with you</li>
</ul>

<p>However, the physical actions of these two are probably not distinguishable from each other.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-01T00:26:06.533Z
给我 is often used colloquially for rude commands or rude emphasis. For example, 你**给我**滚出去. = You, **fucking** get out of here. 你**给我**吃饭 = You, **fucking** eat the meal.
Victor
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-29T23:36:54.913Z
2019-06-29T23:36:54.913Z
gugod
<p>What is the difference between 我给你讲 and 我跟你讲? These two phrases both seem to translate to I told you. But when would one be preferable to another?</p>

<translation><word-choice><difference>
Difference between 给 and 跟 (e.g. in 我给你讲 and 我跟你讲)?
# Difference between 给 and 跟 (e.g. in 我给你讲 and 我跟你讲)?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-06-29)

What is the difference between 我给你讲 and 我跟你讲? These two phrases both seem to translate to I told you. But when would one be preferable to another?

**Tags:** translation, word-choice, difference


---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2019-06-29. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

給 = Give/Let, 跟 = With/Together. When used with another verb together, "給" designate the "transceiver" / "receiver" of the verb, while with "跟", both party are the subjects.

The examples you chose is a indistinguishable case (there are probably a lot of them). Let me elaborate with something else:

* 我給你吃飯 = I let you eat
* 我跟你吃飯 = I eat with you
* 你給我吃飯 = You let me eat
* 你跟我吃飯 = You eat with me / You and I eat together
* 我給你休息十分鐘 = I give you 10 minutes to rest
* 我跟你休息十分鐘 = I rest for 10 minutes with you
* 你跟我休息十分鐘 = You rest 10 minutes with me / You and I rest for 10 minutes together
* 我給你看看 = I'll show you this / (I give you a look of this)
* 我跟你看看 = Let's see this / (I look at this with you)

As for your examples, I guess we can distinguish them literally with:

* 我給你講 = I give you a speech
* 我跟你講 = I speak with you

However, the physical actions of these two are probably not distinguishable from each other.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: 给我 is often used colloquially for rude commands or rude emphasis. For example, 你**给我**滚出去. = You, **fucking** get out of here. 你**给我**吃饭 = You, **fucking** eat the meal.  

---

