cho biết

While English journalism often relies on the neutral word 'said,' Vietnamese media prefers cho biết as the professional standard for introducing factual statements, findings, or official stances. While nói is still frequently used in formal writing (e.g., Ông nói thêm...), cho biết is the preferred choice for reporting. Literally a serial verb construction meaning 'give to know' (let know), it implies a transfer of concrete information.

Key Characteristics:

• Authoritative Nuance: It implies the transfer of concrete information, facts, or decisions from a knowledgeable source.
• No Indirect Object Needed: While cho [someone] biết (let someone know) is used in daily life, the journalistic cho biết conventionally omits the receiver (the public or the reporter).
• Register: The object-less reporting structure (Subject + cho biết + Clause) is the hallmark of formal journalism. However, native speakers also use it naturally in casual speech when relaying concrete announcements, factual updates, or decisions from a third party (rather than casual opinions). The phrase is also perfectly normal in daily speech when an object is included (e.g., Cho tôi biết đi!).
• Variations: You will also frequently see cho hay (a slightly more literary synonym), cũng cho biết (also stated / added), and cho biết thêm (stated further / added).

Other Core Usages:

• Negative Form: The negated form không cho biết is highly common in news to mean 'did not disclose' or 'declined to say' (e.g., Cảnh sát không cho biết chi tiết - The police did not disclose the details).
• Passive Construction: được cho biết means 'to be informed' or 'to be told' (e.g., Tôi được cho biết rằng... - I was informed that...).
• Polite Requests & WH-Questions: It is commonly used in formal requests and pairs naturally with WH-question words. In daily speech and polite requests, it frequently precedes question words, as in Xin cho biết or Làm ơn cho biết (Please let me know / Please tell me), Cho tôi biết tại sao (Let me know why), or Xin cho biết giá bao nhiêu (Please let me know how much it costs).
• Inanimate Subjects: When used with inanimate subjects like studies, reports, or data, cho biết shifts in meaning to 'indicates' or 'shows' (e.g., Báo cáo cho biết... - The report indicates...).
• Common Collocations & Idioms: You will often hear báo cho biết (to inform/notify), nói cho biết (to tell/inform), or cho biết ý kiến (to give/state one's opinion). Additionally, there is a very common idiom, cho biết tay, which means 'to teach someone a lesson' or 'to show someone what you are capable of' (usually in a threatening or competitive context).

Syntax:
The pattern attaches directly to the source of information (a person, organization, or study). It is often followed by an optional complementizer like rằng or là, a direct noun phrase, or simply a colon or comma before the quote or clause:

• Subject + cho biết + (rằng/là) + [Reported Clause]
• Subject + cho biết + [Noun Phrase] (e.g., lý do, chi tiết)
• Subject + cho biết: + ["Direct Quote"]
• Subject + cho biết, + [Reported Clause]