retell

retell — 動詞

1. to repeat a story, piece of news, or information to someone, often using differe

1.動詞及物B1
釋義

重述；複述

再次講述故事或資訊

to repeat a story, piece of news, or information to someone, often using different words or adding personal detail

例句

Hiro's grandmother retold how her family came to Taiwan after the war.

Hiro 的祖母重述了她的家族在戰後如何來到臺灣的故事。

retell + how-clause for recounting past events

The news anchor retold the day's events in simple words for young viewers.

那位新聞主播用簡單的詞語為年輕觀眾複述了當天發生的事件。

retell + events for news coverage

同義詞
  • recount

    more formal; suggests giving a detailed, step-by-step account

  • narrate

    more literary; implies structured storytelling with a clear beginning and end

  • repeat

    broader meaning; can refer to saying anything again, often word-for-word

文法句型

retell + noun phrase

retell + noun phrase + to + person

用法筆記

Object is usually a narrative, account, or set of information that the listener has heard before. Unlike 'repeat', retelling often involves rephrasing or summarising rather than saying the exact same words.

常見錯誤

❌Please retell me the joke.
✅Please tell me the joke again.
💡'retell' takes the content as direct object; the listener is introduced by 'to', not as a direct object.
❌She retold again the story.
✅She retold the story again.
💡'again' is redundant with the 're-' prefix but still used for emphasis; place it after the object.

2. to deliver a joke you picked up from someone else, or to say a joke once more af

2.動詞及物B2
釋義

轉述笑話

重複或轉述別人說過的笑話

to deliver a joke you picked up from someone else, or to say a joke once more after already having told it

例句

Bilal retold the same joke at every party, but people still laughed.

Bilal 在每場派對上都重複同一個笑話，但大家還是會笑。

retell + joke; informal spoken context

Constanza tried to retell the joke from her coworker, but she forgot the punchline.

Constanza 想轉述同事告訴她的笑話，卻忘記了笑點在哪裡。

retell + joke + from [source person]

同義詞
  • repeat

    more general; works for any kind of information, not just jokes

  • rehash

    negative connotation; suggests telling something old or unoriginal

文法句型

retell + a joke

retell + joke + to + person

用法筆記

This sense is restricted to jokes and humorous stories — not used for other types of information. Common in informal spoken English. The listener may or may not have heard the joke before; the focus is on the act of delivering a joke that originates from somewhere else.

常見錯誤

❌He retold me the joke.
✅He retold the joke to me.
💡'retell' requires 'to' before the indirect object; it does not allow a double-object construction like 'tell me'.