说不上 / 谈不上【shuōbushàng / tánbushàng】

说不上 and 谈不上 are verbs of speaking with a potential complement – the 不上 that says something can't be reached. Both mean "hardly counts as": the thing named is too strong a word for the situation.

谈不上 is the more common of the two in this sense, and it takes a noun as easily as an adjective or verb.

说不上: "can't say"

说不上 has a second meaning that 谈不上 lacks: "can't say, can't tell". It takes a question clause, or 来 when the thing is hard to put into words.

Neither one nor the other

Two 说不上 clauses side by side place a feeling in the middle.

谈不上 for "can't say"

• × 我谈不上他为什么走 → 我说不上他为什么走
• × 这种感觉我谈不上来 → 这种感觉我说不上来