This simple Chinese character has no proper English translation

If you look in a Chinese-English dictionary, you cannot find a definition of the character 士 and it's always attached to something else... But 士 itself has a deep meaning and it's something worthy for us to learn about.
I'm going to look into Chinese characters and phrases that are difficult to translate in English. Let me know if you want me to dig into any particular one.
Stalk me 👀:
💥Carmen's IG: @harrocarmen
💥Carmen's cooking channel: bit.ly/KOCYT
#ChineseCharacters #LearnChinese #ChineseHistory
This simple Chinese character has no proper English translation

[@NTDOffTheGreatWall]

Let me know what character / phrase you want me to explain 👇 💥 LIKE & SUBSCRIBE!💥

[@nofeetbirdnofeetbird6470]

I saw taxis had signs including that letter in Hongkong or macau. Any relation? By the way so glad to find this channel is running again.

[@NTDOffTheGreatWall]

@@nofeetbirdnofeetbird6470 I think it's more of a phonetic thing than a meaning thing. Both bus and taxi sound like what they are in Chinese.

[@dreamxpaili]

緣份, 曖昧, 奈何/無奈, 孝順 😄

[@mattybrunolucaszeneresalas9072]

Neoi and Naam sound like they start with an L 😵‍💫

[@amb1245]

Carmen, you’re the Si6.

[@lordkent8143]

A great way to remember 士 is that it looks like a traditional scholarly cap/head gear that Chinese men wore.

[@NTDOffTheGreatWall]

i love this! now that's all i see

[@user-bf8bt2wf7d]

it looks to me like a fighter jet from Top Gun xD

[@neildolinger6820]

0:41 "When you look at the character '士', what does it look like?" After 30+ years of learning Chinese it still looks like the English '±' plus/minus symbol or like '土' tu.

[@RoboTima]

I think it’s cool that so many languages in the whole are so different and there are certain words, phrases, and grammars that can't be translated! 😃

[@NTDOffTheGreatWall]

yeah! all those nuances and the deep historical ties are fascinating

[@kohakuaiko]

We were taught that same character in Japanese meant "warrior". So much meaning gets lost in the ocean.

[@elmohead]

Japanese warriors are samurai, who were very strict with their loyalty and stuff. Meaning is not lost.

[@ochiaichannel1189]

I'm glad to see you guys were back a few months ago! I'm learning Cantonese, and your videos really help me!

[@dominichill1492]

Thank you for educating me on some Chinese characters. I love this channel since 2013 till now. You are the best Carmen.

[@NTDOffTheGreatWall]

thanks for sticking around!

[@heathermalone9091]

Oh please explain them all! You are so good at this and make it so fun and engaging. Keep up the great work!

[@MakiC]

Are you going to do a video on Cantonese end particles? I think they're a really interesting part of Cantonese that adds a lot of meaning into a sentence, by using just a tiny word at the end.

[@dreamxpaili]

oooh yes!!! i have such a hard time explaining to non-canto speakers how to use different ending words!

[@takkiemon]

I always have a hard time explaining 'la'

[@brainywarrior7396]

Please keep going with these. (Good to see your Channel active again, by the way.)

[@1993917]

Carmen has always been my fav in this channel

[@rebeckyc1401]

Very happy you’re back making great informative videos Carman. 多謝！

[@angelafernandachristenseng9884]

What a lovely video. Thank you for your kindness in sharing your knowledge and culture. It’s fascinating and inspiring. 🙏🏻

[@gabriellatsinogloy9665]

Great dive into the character!

[@red-hat-mike]

I am SOOOOOoooo happy Carmen is back .... finally this Channel has meaning again.

[@RedDragons23]

Thank you for the great explanation and for having both Mandarin and Cantonese!

[@caimaccoinnich9594]

I'm so happy Carmen is back.

[@Rich1Rodriguez]

Nice! Great explanation of a simple word with much meaning

[@LexxLazerman]

I've heard of the Three Kingdomes many times but this is the first time I really understood its origins. Thanks!

[@temporaryyname8368]

I miss the food videos! Bring them back!

[@darkguy555]

I love that your videos address canto!

[@user-bf8bt2wf7d]

So Master in Canto is basically pronounced like "sexy" ?? Imagine a bunch of chicks coming up to me in a bar "Hey master ;-') " LMAO

[@ttsese]

食屎 in canto also sounds like sexy :D

[@DogDog173]

informative video! love it.

[@elliottmaldonado8301]

Wow!!! This content is amazing!!!

[@meccalovett4616]

This is so fascinating. In Japanese it’s simply translated as “samurai” or “gentlemen” and has a warrior or professional connotation

[@NickyDIY101]

I like the way you compare between 2 languages.

[@irwenw]

士 or 仕 (a variant) is also a piece in Chinese Chess (Xiangqi). The piece itself has been translated to "advisor" and "assistant", but I think "guard" is best.

[@paulinewqi]

Hmmm....it's my children's middle name....given by our ancestors...

[@minizt]

great lesson!

[@mooshthebread]

This is very interesting 😃 very impressive explanation

[@daegudiva]

Woo Hoo! Well done Carmen, very interesting.

[@Excalibur01]

It's hard to do direct translation between Chinese to English. You got regional dialects, etc

[@dragontalontsiawd]

Mannnnnnnnn lol says the one that is fluently speaking Mandarin and Cantonese... All I got is Engrishyy and Spanish bro...

[@grilledflatbread4692]

so 1 to 10 is like Amazon being A to Z...

[@kiponkipon3234]

Can you, please, film a video about Cantonese seafood vocabulary?

[@Sthemingway]

This is so cool. I never bothered to look it up. It's also one of the pieces in Chinese chess.

[@tedcrowley6080]

The first definition of shi (士) that I learned was "knight". Different culture, different history, but some similarity. Isn't that true of countless words in a language from a different culture? But this video's explanation of Chinese history was very interesting -- more interesting than reading wikipedia.

[@GaminRage]

3:04 I only know of three kingdoms from the Romance series video games and Dynasty Warriors games. Is this the right channel to ask about a comparison?!? 🧐 🤜🏻🤛🏻

[@NTDOffTheGreatWall]

hahaha... that would mean I would need to play the games..... something to look into 🤔

[@_whats3rname]

Hahaha! Same same!

[@BobTheHatKing]

@@NTDOffTheGreatWall an excuse* to play the game 😉😉

[@_whats3rname]

Very informative! Ah, so now I know why in Chinese, Sailor Moon is 美少女戦士! Looking forward to the words that don't have an English translation video! Keep it up!

[@NTDOffTheGreatWall]

Yes! Sailor moon are 'pretty young female fighters'

[@overflowchung7347]

thanks for this interesting story and the the same time can learn cantonese and mandarin。🙂

[@andro7862]

Perhaps the word "esquire" fits?

[@matthewmann8969]

The head sweater

[@sophialove100]

Thank you so much. Could you direct me to where I can find writings of Xunzi where he says the part about going against or with the king? I am writing book and would like to have a citation. This video was very helpful. thank you!

[@sophialove100]

similar question for Confucius' view of shi? Wondering where I could read a translation to cite. thanks!

[@mrluke1967]

Good...keep going this...(Just like a school lesson.)

[@ShenShen88]

I wonder if you'll tackle 缘分。 Usually translated as fate or destiny.... but not really that either.

[@drskelebone]

The unexpected old Funhaus video as the "smash the like button" gif. *_*

[@AzNightmare]

*Hey, you're back?*

[@ttsese]

also the highly regarded buses and taxis :D

[@kylosun]

Where is the british guy that used to be in your videos?

[@Laurence0227]

In Taiwanese Mandarin we say 先生、小姐 more often,

[@witch798]

I think whoever wrote the definition for " 士 " had one fall off the wall and struck them in the head .. I would not dare ... I maybe next

[@uuuu281]

I wish you could explain the character 鑫 森 垚 淼 炎 五行。

[@aayushs.taehyung4631]

In Japanese, 士 means Samurai. ☺️

[@WildBillCox13]

Liked and shared.

[@NTDOffTheGreatWall]

appreciate it!

[@mrbenwong86]

I will translate it as a person, such as 無名士, but the word is never (or rarely) use independently, always attached to something.

[@BobTheHatKing]

Basically the only time it’s used independently is in chess

[@dattebenforcer]

So the "plus or minus" sign means nothing in Chinese?

[@NTDOffTheGreatWall]

LOL I didn’t see it as plus or minus. Can’t unsee

[@jokyng]

I always think of the Chinese Chess piece when I see this word.

[@QuizmasterLaw]

Master, but in the broader sense, thus an academic master as well as a master warrior; well, that's it's original meaning, I don't believe it meant master in the sense of owner of slaves, that i guess would be zhu ren?; or am i mistaken? any way in modernity it means master like master locksmith, master sergeant; i don't think shi 士 has anything to do with 10 十字 or dirt 土

[@uuuu281]

Salute to our youth.

[@doanhoangphat3909]

As I am Vietnamese, I find Chinese really comfortable to transliterate the characters because Chinese culture is somehow identical to Vietnamese one, but sometimes I sometimes scratches my head to figure out the principles of characters 士: soliders, but 土 is the ground, turf, soil.... Please help me to define them lol. BTW the word 士 is code switched easily between Vietnamese and Cantonese as many Guangdong people settled in Saigon many years ago. I can give you example Chiến sĩ 戰士 Dũng sĩ 勇士

[@bintangtimor4969]

Thanks, please setting substitle to indonesian language

[@dragontalontsiawd]

Sleeping dogs aka "dak-laaaaaaaaa" cell phone man sent me here.... I have no idea what that means, something from Hong Kong and no one knows what he's saying... That's literally what the subtitles say

[@MR_W0NG]

非常好的短片，可以用來教導移民到外國小朋友學正體中文字，謝謝你。

[@miyagiofficial01]

Please do the character 是

[@JrKinabalu]

That is hard

[@zenondolnyckyj4325]

Minister Yuqian from the Ming dynasty was wrongly executed. Just before his execution who wrote a poem/ letter. Can you do a show about Yuqian and this poem?

[@user-bf8bt2wf7d]

M'sai hoch hey xD lol

[@depufull]

2:15 hmmmm

[@nctrenlelove9518]

I learned Chinese language

[@Neyobe]

士

[@gpc3260]

Why is it not gua mu xiang kan?

[@NTDOffTheGreatWall]

It works too! I’m san guo lv meng said Xiang Dai so to not confuse people I just stuck with what he said. Ppl nowadays would probably use Kan.

[@duncanmit5307]

💜💜💜💜👍👍👍👍

[@sergeyosipov4504]

very difficult to follow in both Mandarin and Cantonese, esp at such speed.

[@mynamemyname156]

Hi

[@ChoiYuhiYuqii]

Am heree

[@NTDOffTheGreatWall]

hiiiii

[@ChoiYuhiYuqii]

Omg haii

[@blantandarpkxdellie2051]

My :china / spain You: ..........................................................

[@ronb.8920]

... but Zhuge Liang had to be the smartest in the 3 Kingdoms, everybody was always asking his advice.

[@NTDOffTheGreatWall]

hahaha probably... but he wasn't part of that story.

[@ronb.8920]

Yeah but u said Shi was a special group who valued morality, played by the rules and completed their mission. I'd say he hits that mark; at least he gets my vote. haha.

[@ccp_fact_checker]

Wow, this is interesting and it should be interesting how the language may be corrupted in these days since the 1900s+ Thank you for sharing do people still respect the Emperor or morality in government circles in China?

[@koya1019]

Ok what about 巴士

[@426mak]

I think the main reason these kind of words are so difficult to translate is because most Chinese titles are gender neutral while most English titles are gender specific.

[@NTDOffTheGreatWall]

I don’t think gender is at play here

[@midasmirto7265]

shi is what i got

[@karaoke723]

0:46 It can be either 巴士 🚃 as bus or 的士🚕 as taxi.

[@NTDOffTheGreatWall]

I think those are more phonetic sounds for bus and taxi so the meaning doesn’t apply in this case.

[@Jobe-13]

This is an example as to why Mandarin is the hardest language to learn.

[@NTDOffTheGreatWall]

we can do it!!

[@Jobe-13]

@@NTDOffTheGreatWall Patience is a virtue

[@daegudiva]

This information is so thought provoking that I unconsciously stroke my long make believe beard 😊

[@NTDOffTheGreatWall]

I’m glad you got the joke!!

[@user-oz7lr4bg9x]

you looks like non-mandarin native speaker because you say ㄔ/ʃ/ in ㄕ/ɹ̠̊˔/ word, and say ㄨ/u/ in ㄩ/y/ word.

[@YummYakitori]

It's just a typical southern Chinese accent. By that theory all southern Chinese can be considered non-Mandarin native speakers. Even though I'm still considerably more fluent in Mandarin than in my native dialect

[@user-oz7lr4bg9x]

@@YummYakitori nope, she is really not native speaker, taiwanese didn't speak like this, she have many hypercorrection in mandarin phoneme. she say ch in sh word and her ch sounds looks like english, of course she dont have sh sound, this make clear she are non native speaker. another example, she say lu bu, not lv bu. she dont have /y/ vowel, because cantonese dont have it.

[@xXheartszXx]

My dumb ass thought this was 土 🤦🏻‍♀️

[@lolfk5013]

i cant believe you forget the 的士 SMH😤

[@BobTheHatKing]

2:15 SEKSY

[@brandonfoong4269]

Early!

[@NTDOffTheGreatWall]

hahaha... is it?

[@jipsvlogandgaming380]

First

[@NTDOffTheGreatWall]

wow you're fast!

[@austinlam2498]

you still pronounce it wrong, its neoi5 not leoi5 and naam4 not laam4. Gotta work on those lazy tone if you are going to teach people.

[@austinlam2498]

@Albert YK Chen could be, but she dont look like it

[@analysis1018]

Carmen was born in Macau(She moved to Australia). I’m not sure if Macanese Cantonese has the lazy voice that is commonly used in Hong Kong Cantonese.

[@austinlam2498]

@@analysis1018 true that. I guess it just depend on where she learns it from.

[@paiwanhan]

Your folk etymology for the character 士 is completely false and misleading. 士 was written in earlier scripts as a tool similar to an axe, and the creation of the character seems to be associated with 士's derived meaning of a soldier. However, the original meaning of the word probably had to do with service. Meanings like soldier, minister, scholar all derived from the meaning to serve. It then became an honorific, reffering to anyone politely, as in 女士 and 男士. To differentiate these new loaded meanings, characters such as 仕 and 侍 were created to exclusive mean scholar, minister or service.

[@OsakaJoe01]

From “A Guide to Remembering Chinese Characters” by Kenneth G. Henshall: “Very old forms such as 丄 show a symbol indicating ‘being erect,’ a reference to the erect *male organ*. The later cross-stroke is seen by some scholars as an aesthetic embellishment to give balance to the character, by others as a stylized indication of the glans. The erect male organ symbolizes *masculinity*, and hence *man*. Samurai/warrior is felt by some scholars to be a borrowed meaning from serving man, 仕, but this is something of a circular argument and unconvincing. It is more likely that the warrior was seen as the epitome of masculinity. Scholar is an associated meaning.” Just sayin’... Also: en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/士

[@nctrenlelove9518]

I learned Chinese language