我告诉他 or 我对他说?

[Guest Pipas]

Is it better to say 我告诉他 or 我对他说? What's the difference?

[skylee]

I think the difference is about the same as that between "I tell him" and "I say to him".

[nipponman]

Like skylee said, not much difference here. I think another possible question is: is 我对他说 more broad than 我告诉他 ? For example you can say, 我告诉他我的名字 but you can't say (x) 我告诉他回家. You can say 我叫他回家 but can you say 我对他说回家?

[Guest Pipas]

But my chinese friends always corrected me, when I tried to say, for example "我对他说我不会去"

---"我告诉他...." !

[nipponman]

Hmmm, I can't explain that. Maybe its usage is similar to that of the equivalent english expression.

[Quest]

But my chinese friends always corrected me, when I tried to say, for example "我对他说我不会去"

---"我告诉他...." !

I told him I won't go.

vs.

I said to him I won't go.

[amego]

But my chinese friends always corrected me, when I tried to say, for example "我对他说我不会去"

---"我告诉他...." !

you can also say "我跟他说/讲...." i said to him/i told him....simple, versatile and casual, in this case "我跟他说我不会去" is perfectly natural...but just one little note: this sentence can mean i told him i wouldn't be going, OR i told him i don't know how to go...but the context will settle it most of the time...

[Guest Pipas]

Can we say that "告诉" is a more colloquial form?

[HashiriKata]

Can we say that "告诉" is a more colloquial form?

No, both 说 and 告诉 are neutral and equally commonly used.

As for the formal difference between 说 and 告诉, let's settle it this way:

You 说 SOMETHING (but)

You 告诉 SOMEONE

So, just remember what is to come directly after them.

[peterwelm]

Pipas is right. People(人们 ren2 men) are usually inclined to using shortest words/sentence to express his thought in everyday life.