Meryl Streep Speaks Mandarin? | Learn Ancient Chinese Poem with a Hollywood Actress

Hey you, Rita aka Fàn lǎoshī here! My favorite American actress spoke Chinese in The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last month (also see my thrilled comment under the video):
Plus it was from memory from 10 years ago. Brilliant! Amazing! What a wonderful chance for us to learn something from her! It's always fun watching videos of celebrities speaking Chinese, actors speaking Chinese, etc. So in this video, I got you:
0:00 Intro
0:57 Why her Mandarin Chinese impressed me
1:51 Meryl Streep on Chinese Learning
3:54 English version of Wang Wei’s “Lu Zhai”
5:19 Reciting the Poem in Chinese
7:50 Breaking down the poem word by word (with ZEN music)
Let me know what you think of the questions I mentioned in the video or what you have been struggling with in Chinese learning.
Your subscription, like and comment are HUGE support for original content like this video to be promoted to more Chinese learners by KZbin algorithm! It means the world to me. 谢谢！
Remember, with Fàn lǎoshī, Chinese makes perfect sense!
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My Chinese Tidbits (Vocab/Flash Cards/Pop Quiz/Listening Exercise) on Instagram: / funchineseclub
Personal Account: / rita_van
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#MerylStreep #StephenColbert #Learnchinese #ChineseTones #Mandarinchinese #ChinesePronunciation #HowtoLearnChinese #ChineseLearning #ChineseTeacher #languagelearningtips #HollywoodCelebrities #ChineseAnalysis #LearningTips #AprenderChino #AprenderMandarin

[@MikeGrahamDSM]

I *LOVE* this editing format. Introduction, History, Context, then Breakdown. I felt like like you were here in person teaching me!! Thank you 🙏🏿.

[@RitaChinese]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@L-mo]

I love listening to you read the Chinese poem, even though I don't understand a single word!

[@SimpleChineseYoutube]

Pretty impressive. Once again, these actors and public personalities have so much to do that it's hard to actually sit down and properly learn a language. Could her Chinese pronunciation be better? Absolutely! However, it's a very good start and, if it inspires other people to try learning Mandarin, I say great job!

[@RitaChinese]

Yeah totally! I'm thrilled to see someone has been inspired by my/her video and practiced reading this poem aloud on Instagram! That's the "positive energy" I expected to see hahah!

[@velkylev4217]

Reading pinyin from the screen is impressive ???

[@rstuio]

@@velkylev4217 Yes? Especially without awkward pauses?

[@ninjatina]

I like your etymology lessons with the tonal emphasis. Especially the old Chinese with modern chinese comparisons. I learn better with that knowledge of the character and putting it together with the word. Chinese is a language I haven't learned yet and your lessons are giving me a good base of knowledge so when I begin I will be more aware of tone, inflection, and what I should expect from my teacher. Thank you for making these videos.

[@breezeh1127]

Your comparisons with Chinese words/sounds/tonation were so helpful in this video!! The sheet and beach example were perfect for me to totally understand how changing the sounds and tones ...not the word..makes a huge difference!! Thank you!!

[@arty3185]

This is COOL!! THIS HELP ME A LOT!! I'm EXCITED to see the next video!!! I improve more everytime I see your videos!!!

[@RitaChinese]

Awww thank you, Arletta! Really appreciate it😄❤🙌

[@kyleelmaestro3462]

Really love your content. I hardly see any other Chinese teacher on youtube showing such energy and dynamics.

[@MarkusBlue]

THANK YOU FOR THIS VIDEO! I commented on one of "lao ma Chris"s videos to evaluate the Chinese of an english speaker and teach us through that! Then, few weeks later here it is on your channel!

[@RitaChinese]

Well, at the end of the day, I AM Chinese teacher😆😎 haha JK, Chris can def do it as well! Well!!

[@MarkusBlue]

Learn Chinese with Rita hahahah Ofcourse!!!

[@bryanbowtun4470]

Exellent!!! Im impressed too for the meryl strep performance with the chinese language!!! Awesome work rita thank you so much!!! Xiè xie!!!

[@RitaChinese]

She is brilliant, isn't she? And thank you for being so supportive, Bryan!! 继续加油🙌😄

[@bryanbowtun4470]

@@RitaChinese yes she is, so much!! And you too rita laoshi!! 加油！💪💪💪

[@velkylev4217]

Nothing impressive, she was clearly reading pinyin , you can see her reading it

[@wilowwells]

I really like what you’re doing with the current subject in your lower 3rd. Loving your content!

[@emasery]

老师，你说的太准确，在英文当中长的和短的原因的区别很重要，我跟我的学生说了百万次了！其实你说了之后自己开始说peach而不是说pitch哈哈哈哈。 小错也没关系，实际上我中文太烂了，你的课贡提供了很大的帮助！ 谢谢老师

[@AnnLippert1]

Huge Meryl fan. Love this!!

[@johnsparegrave5996]

Hi Rita, I'm a French English language teacher and I recently decided to learn Mandarin. Your videos are extremely useful. I am now able to sing the refrain of Cuo Le Ma at full speed lol. To be honest, you're a tremendous teacher!

[@RitaChinese]

Hey fellow language teacher John, I'm so happy to hear that!! Glad you find my videos helpful😄🙌 Good luck with your studies!

[@johnsparegrave5996]

@@RitaChinese thanks a lot

[@dnataliesmith2209]

老师。我很喜欢Chinese idioms. Could you help point out where I can find them? My favorite is "借花献佛".

[@Dhdjksjsnsnsnnsnsna]

re: 空山; even as a native speaker, "官方网站" is hard. i'd end up saying "guang1fang1wang3zhan4" when i speak too quickly. and for someone who memorised the poem like 10 years ago, she did well!

[@jeffreytsao5710]

“guan", not "guang".

[@richardybanez9052]

You Are A Brilliant Teacher And You Make To Learn Fun.Richard.

[@RitaChinese]

Thank you, Richard!

[@HotRod16]

@5.27 WOW. Meryl Streep's intonation and pronounciation is really Chinese style. She really dwell deep into things.

[@weikruse9869]

范老师不仅中文好英文也好呀👍🌹💖💐

[@RitaChinese]

哈哈谢谢！还有很大的进步空间😆💪

[@PaddingtonSoul]

OMG... In Spanish is mom is "mamá". I'm not sure if I want to know what the Chinese think of when hearing "mamá" in Spanish. xD :D

[@RitaChinese]

hahaha mamá is clearly “mǎ mà,” so ""horse curses" I guess😆😆

[@shirleyan3246]

@@RitaChinese @Learn Chinese with Rita which explained tone is actually existing in any languages. Is just depend on whether it will be standardized by certain system.

[@Dhdjksjsnsnsnnsnsna]

@@shirleyan3246 nope. lexical tone is not the same as intonation. you can mess w intonation and still sound intelligible. you'd just sound a bit weird but you're still saying the right words. with lexical tones however, you have no choice but to stick to the prescribed tone. if you don't, you've just said a word wrongly; or you don't speak the language. tldr: wrong because intonation is flexible; tones are fixed.

[@shirleyan3246]

@@Dhdjksjsnsnsnnsnsna that's what i talk about is to do with standardization. Mandarin is the standardized version of toning. But in the past , there is no such thing as standard tone since all the chinese in different region have different tone or accent. The so called mandarin version of standard toning is only right in relevant to other regional local toning or accent. The reason english intonation is flexible because it not been standardized yet. On their hand, some chinese dialect or regional accent have different tone compare with mandarins.

[@baudelairesc]

You did the Streep video!!! Yeah!!! 特别喜欢👏👏👏👏

[@RitaChinese]

谢谢！！必须的😄

[@dangclarence]

I'd love to see your reaction to the scene in Arrival where Amy Adams is talking to the general over the phone in Mandarin. That scene didn't bother me the first time I saw it, but after watching it with my mom (native Chinese speaker) and having her struggle to understand her, that scene cracks me up every time I watch it now

[@RitaChinese]

Haha that scene is always in my list actually! Cuz I was totally confused when I heard it! I’ll definitely make a video talking about it as well as other clips where Hollywood stars trying to speak Mandarin😁

[@jerronng6036]

Jia you ,u sounds great in chinese

[@jaredyu7407]

May I ask if it would be a bad idea to practice tones by reciting in the style of Chinese opera? You mentioned exaggerating the tones, and to me speaking tones is like singing. So this combination I feel would really do it. Plus I think the emotion of the sentence starts to flow outwards in such a context.

[@RitaChinese]

Hey Jared! By "Chinese opera" you mean traditional operas like Peking opera, or like stage plays or poems like the one in the video? I think any materials that can help you slow down, focus on the sounds, and practice the sentence flow will do😊

[@jaredyu7407]

@@RitaChinese I meant like Peking opera. Thanks for the tips!

[@RitaChinese]

Anytime! Tbh Peking opera might not be good learning materials, cuz the singing art actually used the pronunciation system of an ancient dialect that is even far from Beijing Mandarin, i.e. I found it hard to understand sometimes. Maybe you can check out some classic Chinese plays in modern Mandarin, like 曹Cáo禺Yǔ's 《雷雨》 or 老舍's 《茶馆》!

[@Awesomeboyscout]

Is peking opera something that can be heard on BJ radio stations?

[@RitaChinese]

@@Awesomeboyscout Yeah I believe there still are some Peking opera radio programs!

[@relaxwhc]

Fan lao shi means... Teacher Rice? 饭 is fun 😂

[@RitaChinese]

hahah it's actually Teacher Model😆 But some of my students did call me Fun Laoshi🙌

[@saxson911]

最后一句：护照请带上

[@Samo1228]

Hahaha!!! A good one my friend.

[@andyji9070]

🤗我看你俩油管视频的积极性比看课程小片的积极性更高，嘿嘿。

[@RitaChinese]

哈哈学习的积极性最重要！🙌😆

[@mariasoto1837]

They must be amazing singers though

[@mariasoto1837]

It's a musical language

[@rigosalazar4505]

你好啊!!!

[@RitaChinese]

你好啊里戈😄🙌 谢谢你来看我的新视频！

[@user-nx3vo7qy7e]

空山不见人，但闻人语响。返景入深林，复照青苔上。 原来是这一首😂前两句读挺好的，但我后两句没有听明白……

[@RitaChinese]

哈哈已经挺不错的了。当然如果按照正确的方法多练习，可以更好的😉

[@user-nx3vo7qy7e]

@@RitaChinese 嗯嗯是的已经挺好的了。【话说这首诗我就只记得前两句，后面的完全还给语文老师了😅】

[@RitaChinese]

@@user-nx3vo7qy7e 哈哈正好小复习下！

[@taolin6810]

Ich habe in der Schweiz🇨🇭 an der ETH-Zürich Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich Theoretische Physik studiert. Ich habe gehört, Meryl Streep hat das Vorfahren aus der Schweiz🇨🇭 und aus Schwäbischem Schwarzwald Deutschland🇩🇪

[@dougjstl1]

If I saw a mirror strip give it like a 5 or 10 minute lecture or something like that or sing a song you know I might believe it but those people they can memorize a song in a foreign language but they don't know the words if that makes any sense to you but that's really true these people are like

[@relaxwhc]

Boa tarde, mulher linda. 👍🌟

[@mariasoto1837]

Ok... I ain't learning Mandarin because it's so complex and I don't need to..seems ssooooo hard

[@questworldmatrix]

Start with food you can order in restaurants. Something you can actually use and recognize.

[@linjin9686]

通过你讲英文的口音，我知道你是北方人

[@relaxwhc]

我还是不知道 neutral tone 是搞什么鬼的，哈哈😄

[@RitaChinese]

哈哈北方方言里轻声比较多

[@bounlathhansackda7079]

xie xie . wo ai mandarin chinsai wo kan "to be with you " & ".legend of the phoenix" .drama.hen piaoliang chung koc dramas. wo jiao taben shuda mandarin.

[@jeffreytsao5710]

看視頻增進國文程度；小時候學唐詩都沒怎麽注意，現在都還給老師了

[@danielmeetze4709]

Hahahahaa!!! Omg so funny...

[@emilioalejandropozzoli9656]

TA Shi mk Ultra Lookout

[@jlcdrivewayramps7343]

Rita. You communicate very clear my and present very logically but you are like me, both of us appear very unrelaxed and rushed, almost panicky when talking in public.

[@1375826]

我只听出来“人语响”，第一遍真的一句都没听出来

[@yujunchen1001]

是马思睿的媳妇吗？很像啊

[@RitaChinese]

哈哈哪儿像啊？！😆

[@365sunnydays]

还真是诶

[@vanessasmith9646]

Chinese makes learning Japanese seem easy!

[@hello_acknowledge9731]

这美国女艺人念的是啥呢？哈哈完全听不懂

[@darian5428]

老妈的媳妇儿？

[@RitaChinese]

老妈的闺女😄

[@rosiepsong]

Why is it mind blowing? Millions of Chinese speak English.

[@questworldmatrix]

Yes, but it's miraculous for Americans to speak another language. I mean Spanish should be a common language there and we still people screaming at other people to speak English.

[@relaxwhc]

You have no chance to know the meaning of shi shi shi shi shi shi shi shi 🤣

[@RitaChinese]

Until you know characters haha

[@madeline569]

Zhe shi shi shi 😂😂😂

[@chiangchengkooi9791]

Even the Tang people do not speak mandarin. Hahaha

[@ehjo4904]

Yep, Mandarin is by far the language which has changed the worst from the Tang pronunciation !

[@a9udn9u]

Which ma means hooker? Sorry I really don't understand what Meryl said.

[@ShuyanStoryTeller]

I don't understand a word about what she said. But good try.

[@shienyinglai9039]

Poooo-eeeem. POW-uhm British Ed me misheard as P*rn. I am sorry

[@BuickDoc]

Clarify for me please... Did Meryl have to learn Chinese to join the CCP?

[@carpelinguae9097]

共产主义团结

[@josephjoebrown11]

If any celebrity that is already even remotely well liked says anything even remotely Chinese they will be lauded and fawned over.

[@elizabethbrower3191]

Just because she recited tang poetry doesn’t mean she speaks mandarin. Lol. Actors are mimics

[@chongchengchuah5075]

BAD PUTONGHUA。。。MASQUERADING

[@ehjo4904]

Mandarin is not the best chinese language to recite a Tang poem . Better with any southern language !

[@RaymondHng]

Cantonese?

[@ehjo4904]

@@RaymondHng Not only !

[@yl6743]

Why? Genuinely curious

[@SablePhantom]

@@yl6743 Because from linguistic researches done, it has been heavily implied that in Tang Dynasty, the official spoken dialect back then closely resembles the modern Southern dialects like Hakka, Cantonese, or Hokkien instead of Beijing/Mandarin. There are many poem when recite in Mandarin dialect, it does not rhyme (when by poem structure rule it should), but if you switch to reading in Southern dialects, it rhymes.

[@shihe8823]

Chinglish Accent........extremely thick!!!

[@xiaoyu3541]

Please do not pronounce the word " poem" as "porn".

[@quai7865]

😝😝