Improve Chinese Listening Skills EFFORTLESSLY & Learn to Express Your Ideas in Mandarin Chinese

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Hi, welcome to ShuoshuoChinese 说说中文; my name is Shuo, I’m a native Chinese teacher living in Bangkok, Thailand, I’ve been teaching Chinese as a foreign language for more than 10 years and I’m also a language learner.
In this channel, I will upload a weekly video, in which I talk about Chinese vocabulary, Chinese grammar, Chinese culture, Chinese stories with pinyin and the English translation for listening practice.
With my channel, you can easily start to learn and understand complicated Chinese grammar, sentence structure, and differences/nuances between similar Chinese words.
If you are a Chinese beginner, I’m planning to upload videos about what Chinese language is, how it differs from English, Chinese pronunciations, Chinese characters and Chinese stroke sequences and a mini Chinese course, (10 minutes per day), which can help you learn quickly and easily. Don’t miss it!
So, subscribe to my channel and start your Chinese learning journey!

[@user-unfriendly_-o-]

I'm a begginer (200 days of self-learning) and i could understand the meaning of this video without English subtitles! It's actually the thing that made me interested in learning Chinese! I like the way Chinese speakers refer to other people and each other and the way Chinese names work. My native language actually uses both ways of referring to people frequently.

[@yeroca]

Ah, now I understand why my chinese language learning partner was so eager to teach me how to address people who are related to my spouse. To me it seemed so weird, because I knew I was never going to remember any of them :/ The system has some logic to it, but it's also quite large, and a bit inconsistent, making me want to fall asleep during every explanation of it.

[@DatuxGames]

Not only is this an excellent video for learning the language via following along, practicing listening skills & learning new characters, the idea expressed here is so insightful! Allows me to better understand and put into perspective certain interactions I've had in the past. Thank you for making this!

[@MyChineseLanguageLearnin-ii9ts]

Hello, I like this video was done really well. I am a beginner in Mandarin but still watched the video because the topic and format was really good. I’m American and wanted to clarify a bit about names. Sometimes perceptions of customs can sometimes be too generalized and some people may assume that everyone in the US do the same thing. I also wanted to share a bit about my experience addressing people by their names or mentioning names in stories. I’m in my 40’s so I grew up being taught not to address elders by first name whether relatives or strangers. A title had to be used. So, for relatives I had to say Aunt so and so, Uncle so and so. It would be rude otherwise. For friends parents I would always say Mrs/Mr and the last name or initial of the last name of it was hard pronounce. My kids follow the same rules as well. It’s impolite and blurs the line of friend and authority figure when addressing someone older than you or someone you don’t really know by their first name. Their are times when a person gives permission to address them by their name but for me and for my kids their are slight nuances for when it is ok to agree with it. For example, my kids must not address a teacher by first name even if the teacher tells them to. My kids had a teacher that wanted that by the students but to me it was unacceptable because your a teacher not a friend. So, not everyone calls strangers or adults by their first name. It really depends on culture and household here in the US. Another reason that I can speculate when people mention names of people they know but the person their speaking to may not know is possibly because it helps for the person listening to keep track of the story especially when multiple people are mentioned in the story. Maybe it helps with envisioning the scenario. Again, great video.

[@volvodude101]

you bring up a very good point; it seems to be a trend that follows the erasure and degradation of European culture. Such a thing would not have been considered normal 70 years ago.

[@egcrazycool8793]

你好shuoshuo老师😊. This was a very interesting video. The part of the Western globe where I am from, we use a bit more formalities when addressing certain people. I'll try to break it down as simple as possible. I grew up in a Latino household but went to a French school. In French when addressing an adult that is a stranger (if we are a kid), or someone we are not familiar with, someone in authority, we use the formal version of "you" which is "vous". When we adresse a teacher we always use Sir or Miss followed sometimes by their family name. We don't even know their first name most of the time. I am an adult now, and if I meet one of my teachers on the street, I would still adresse them as "Monsieur, Madame followed by their family name. And use "vous" (您), when engaging in conversation. To adresse them otherwise, even as an adult, it would be rude and impolite. At least for me. In Spanish, we use the formal version of "you" (usted) too in similar situations as in French but also when addressing our older relatives (Aunt, Uncle, Grand parents, godparents....)Also, for our parent's siblings, we always use Aunt and Uncle and "usted"(您) we never adresse this relative by their names. Or say "Uncle Charly", like in some cultures. Their names are never used. At least where I am from. Also in the latino culture whereI'm from, we also have the habit of using nicknames for our family members (but nicknames than can be actual names.) So we might not even know the real name written on their legal document because we have always called them by another name.😅 for example, you have a cousin you've always called Celine. But her government name is Angela. Makes no sense to me!😅 I also usually adresse my friends' parent by their family name and use 您, to adresse them. And for me, when I'm relating a story about someone the person does not know, I don't use their names. I say, my friend, my brother, my cousin, my colleague... This is how we do it in my Western part of the globe😊. As for the words I learned in this video: 姐夫，侄女，姑姑

[@chuggerwatson4504]

Thank you again for this awesome format!!!! Keep this type of videos up!!

[@pierregagnon2666]

Funny, because this week, in my Chinese 101 class, were learning "家庭” and how to identify them 😅 what perfect timing?!?!

[@skane3109]

Another excellent video. Your teaching style and personality is highly effective. 非常感谢老师。 Personal thoughts about naming and addressing others…Having lived in the continental US all my life I have seen this subject of naming children - and also the forms of addressing others - shift from formal to informal. For example, I broke from the tradition of naming my first son after my father’s father. Instead I named him after a character in a book. My children also named their children based on personal preference not cultural tradition. And so did almost everyone I know since the 1950s. Using first names of higher ups at work still depends on company culture. Your experience might be different.

[@ireneciu6419]

谢谢说老师的分享❤我们在印度尼西亚也是和中国一样，更重视人和人之间的关系。😅

[@tedcrowley6080]

I agree, with extra comments: I say "aunt Helen" and "cousin Jane". To me "my friend Jim" makes more sense than "Jim" or "my friend", the first time. Repeated times are "Jim" or "he". Many Americans have a formal name ("Thomas Russell Johnson") and a nickname ("Tom") for informal use. In formal situations we use the last name (Mr. Smith, Ms. Jones) and nothing else. In my regions, an older person (my mother's friend) is "Mrs. Johnson", no first name. A kid is "Tom" or even "Tommy".

[@onedaya_martian1238]

Excellent !! Very, very helpful !!! Subscribed and will be watching this and other presentations multiple times !!

[@StratosFair]

This is excellent listening practice material and I learned a lot about a part of Chinese culture I had no clue about ! Thank you for this one :)

[@ashleycapdeboscq364]

This is super fascinating!!! The focus on individuals in the US, I think is exactly right the way you said it- they are "themselves" first. Also, in situations where you have multiple of a group of people (ie aunts) when i was growing up we'd call them for example "Aunt Jane" or "Aunt Rachel". It would have felt weird to me to call an adult just by their first name- for example, my boyfriend's dad was "Mister Frank." I think this could be a north vs south divide- using a title of some sort like I described was really common back home in Louisiana, but I see it much less the further north I go. Honestly though, I could take it or leave it as a system - it isnt like, offensive to call someone by their first name, it's just kinda weird. As for using a friend's name while im telling a story, generally i only do it when 1) it's a friend I talk about regularly, so who I'm talking to can get a sense of which stories I've told about that friend in the past to add flavor to the story or 2) if there are multiple friends in the story, to make it clearer to tell.

[@AsisVendrell]

Súper interesting! As an Spanish native, I have to say that to me it has always been weird when people mention the names of someone I don’t know personally, or at least have some specially important influence on what is happening. This gives me impression of talking with someone who usually only interacts with a very small group of people, like a village cluster identity, who doesn’t normally use to abstract that relationship to mention it, or even the relevance that the whole story has to the listener 🤷‍♂️

[@melindamucsi]

So how do you put together a family tree? For example, I know the names of my great grandmother's sister even though they are so far from me in the family tree. This way I can find and keep track of the relatives on that branch of the family tree. Yes, they are far away and we have nothing to do with each other in our daily lives but they are part of the family and our history.

[@Shadowemulator]

Very clear explanations and so interesting 💥

[@ougenia]

This is overwhelming!) So interesting!

[@erikseiler504]

Funny! Usually I call even my mom by her given name. And every time I'm trying to tease her or we're having an unpleasant problem to discuss I adress her as Mrs…. . Great video!

[@quadfirein]

These types of videos are awesome

[@quickdr4w131]

amazing video. thanks :D

[@victoriastell9389]

you have been helping me so much these days thank you very much you are awesome

[@SusanaFAlves]

I love this format! It's really helpful to practice especially if you are intermediate ❤

[@TOTTLIVE]

I love your content! Videos like this are extremely necessary to understand when studying or learning about other cultures. Thank you! You are a great teacher

[@nkyw255]

Thank you.

[@Aerynvala]

Great video, very informative and I really love the format of the video. Even words I didn't know were easily understood by context. :D

[@dnisbet71]

Your videos are fantastic, and you are clearly one of the best teachers on the web. It would be even better still if you could provide the chinese transcript - i like being able to analyse the hsk content. Great stuff, thanks for your awesome work!!

[@ShuoshuoChinese]

What are the new words you've learned from this video? Leave them here so you can memorize them better!

[@Amaranthyne]

As a native English speaker, I tell people the name because in English it is just easier to talk about them this way. I think in Chinese, you have more ways of referring to other people by age, gender, and relationship. For example, if you discuss something that happened between two of your friends, one might be a 妹妹 and the other is your 姐姐, but in English both are just your “friend”. So for me to make it clear which friend I am talking about, it is best to use their names. Even today, I was trying to tell my 书法 teacher about something that happened with a friend without using her name; my teacher had to clarify who I was talking about more than once. Also, I don’t feel at all comfortable calling my friend’s parents by their first names. I do call my mom’s friends by their names though.

[@vasileseicaru8740]

正好 = 偶然 自我存在 = 身份 重视 = 在乎 + 尊重 隆重 = 盛大 + 优秀

[@mountaintag]

有必要吗? = Is that necessary?

[@ostracostio64]

奇怪=supprised 差异=difference 事情=matter,thing 礼貌=polite 即使=even if 关系=relationship 作为=action 故事=story 正好=on time 身份=identity 直接=direct

[@garygreen5670]

I can vouch for this. I still don't know my wife's parents names after several decades. I just call them 'Mama' and 'Baba', which they like, apparently, but which I find a bit weird.

[@pansaltman]

Don't you use 'comrade' any more when addressing the other people? ;) The topic itself reaaly interesting and the way you explain it as always superb!

[@ableoswimmingpond]

说实话我对中国文化的说法更同意。我来自印尼，我觉得在这里有几个人像西方说话，而有几个人像中国人说话。我的朋友常常说她朋友的名字，即使我从来不知道她朋友是谁。对我来说这挺奇怪。😅

[@duozuo]

非常有意思！我是西班牙的，对我们关系也很重要，但是和中国人不一样。我们也不懂为什么美国人叫我们不需要知道的名字。比如说看视频的时候他们也说“为什么我会用我的什么什么东西”，但是我不在乎这是谁的！看起来对美国人所有物最重要的在世界上。😅

[@dochsieh]

My mother told me at an early age that I did not need to know the names of my distant relatives and it would be impolite to ask them. I have found that I have gotten by for decades without needing to know their names. It doesn't bother me that I don't know their names.

[@ostracostio64]

2:44 asmr section

[@nybble81]

Interesting, but how do you address your friend's parents in Chinese then? You can't just call them 爸爸妈妈, right? Also, I think you probably can't address your friend's parents using their first names in English, pretty sure you'd have to use their last name, otherwise it would sound rude. In Russian we address our friends by their first names (more often than not by shortened version of it), but if I were to address my friend's parents, I'd use formal way - full first name + patronym. I'd also use plural "you" and plural forms of verbs, kinda like in Spanish. edit: lol, seems to be common problem😂my father started telling a story about some man, and then he was like - what was his last name? - and he just stopped. both me & my mother told him - it doesn't matter, just go on! (cause obviously we don't know that man), but he just couldn't continue until he remembered the man's last name🤣🤣🤣

[@isaiasramosgarcia3457]

no se oye

[@michaelsimmonds4020]

This reminds me of stories about demons where if a person knows their true name they can hold power over them. I also feel like many Chinese friends who both have Chinese names only use their English names to communicate; it's like an alias so they can hide their true name.

[@PaulfrmTXtoCO]

Listening to the video(and reading subtitles), I can't help but wonder if this might be an effect of Mao's Communism. Being a "Commune", everyone would be considered a relative, Aunt, Uncle Brother, Sister etc.Why even strangers are greeted in China using such references.

[@johnsterling5425]

this made it only to learn new words and i barely know any chinese!

[@celiad6012]

When meeting a child for the first time in western cultures you will usually say “Hello, and what’s your name?”, giving the child a sense of importance and recognition of its individuality. The idea that it could be referred to as “first brother” etc., seems very odd to us, somehow denying its identity. Addressing one’s own spouse as “老婆” etc., instead of using their name or another term of endearment (darling, honey, sweetheart, etc.,) also seems odd to us.

[@aliay6427]

It's fascinating how collectivistic and individualistic societies- or perhaps it's just cultural differences-have formed meaning in just the words you call someone! 😊 I, for one, would feel calling one only by the name instead of a nickname/endearment is distant. I suppose maybe it's like, have we not passed that stage despite knowing each other for so long? Being able to call a certain someone my "sister" or "uncle" also feels very special, as not everyone would have the privilege to do so and instills an invisible connection by blood (or also sometimes not) ❤

[@akielsteewart8577]

7:44 在牙买加🇯🇲我并不可以对他们这么说。不知道我们算不算是西方但在这里不可以。要叫他们「Brian的妈妈」etc.

[@taipo101]

In UK we would call our friend's parents by their family names NOT their given names. So rude and familiar. I.e. Dave's mum is Mrs Smith. We might get away with "Hello! Dave's mum"

[@taipo101]

Great video too and I think it also works here in HK. My gf is known as Big Sister, Big Aunty etc.Hower within family they say Ah Win, or Ah Yo

[@m.bennett]

LOL It can even seem embarrassing or impolite not to remember some one's name, as if they aren't important enough to remember...

[@marinoke93]

我有一些中国朋友。但是我不认识他们真的姓名。我只认识他们西方名字。我觉得现在问他们的姓名会很尴尬。因为我们互相认识已经好多年了。怎么办？I still don't know some of my Chinese friends real names! I just only know their western name. And I feel too embarassed to ask them now because we've known each other for a few years.. How do I come out of this? Am I the only one?

[@laysha8806]

I can relate to this, I also have some friends that i still don't know their real names although we've been friends for years lol

[@IsmaelKenig]

Why no Pinyin 😢

[@veganariel541]

英文很奇怪。有时朋友不会介绍他们与其他人的关系。例如我的朋友说paul喜欢这个。我想法paul是谁

[@ShenShen88]

叫人这件事情真的不好学。有点像在食物方面的阴阳关系，什么是冷气热气的。