説 is the Japanese form of the character written 说 in Mainland Chinese and 說 in traditional Chinese (to speak; a theory; in Japanese the word for 'novel' uses this form). It is not used in Chinese writing. A separate, rare classical reading jì means 'to admonish / a taboo'.
register
Japanese variant only — appears in etymology notes and Japanese text, not in modern Chinese; write 说 instead.
Components
radical
訁yán
speech; words (left-side 言 radical, full form)
The left side is the full left-hand speech radical 言 (simplified 讠). It carries the meaning — speaking, telling, explaining — exactly as in the modern 说.
