He asked me or told me to

Question

Please help me with below sentences which one is correct to say?Or is there any specific condition where I can use both?

a) He asked me to call you hence I have called you.

b) He told me to call you hence I have called you.

Answer 1

These are the relevant meanings from the Cambridge Dictionary:

ask:
to speak or write to someone saying that you want them to do something, to give you something, or to allow you to do something

tell:
- to say something to someone, often giving them information or instructions
- to order someone to do something

Both of your sentences are grammatically correct, but the meaning may be different depending on the context.

Ask is definitely a polite request.

Tell could be giving instructions: for example, if you asked somebody how to contact the person you are speaking to, and they told you to call. Tell could also be giving an order: you are not calling because you want to, but because you don't have any choice- your boss, or maybe a mafia hit-man, told you to call.

Answer 2

In this context, there's no difference whatsoever. Because you can also ask someone to do something. It's like telling only.

He asked/told me to call you - the context is clear and, therefore, both are okay and understandable.