Those daily use English words don't have an equivalent in Mandarin Chinese! - Chinese Vocabulary

[@marcususa]

1:40 - "discern" the truth / right from wrong 1:50 - "deliberation" 3:11 - "to be critcal" of someone or something 3:30 - "Well, don't look at me!!" 10:10 - "condolence"

[@retto1155]

I love the way you say things slowly and carefully, and how easy it is to tell the tones. When I listen to you, it's a lot easier to understand the words written onscreen. Sometimes, when I feel like I'm not doing very well and my Chinese isn't getting any better, watching your videos always makes me understand things again~ Thank you so much!

[@TheGretaoto]

I feel the same! 谢谢你，老师！

[@davidbrewer9030]

One word that is difficult to directly translate is "peace" in its many shades of meaning. There is the peace that is the lack of war or fighting, there is the peace of being content with your life, there is the peace that is imposed from outside = pacified etc. The Chinese name of Vietnam was Annam = the peaceful south, but the meaning was the pacified south.

[@greywaren6034]

Yep like ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘I apologize’ have very similar meanings except for if you are at a funeral...’Duìbùqǐ’ means I apologize, not I’m sorry...this helped me a lot because I didn’t know ‘Duìbùqǐ’ was only for apologizing

[@allspazecareofficial969]

I love the way you teach very much

[@thisismycoolnickname]

You're absolutely right. People need to understand that translation can be a tricky process, it's not just a one-to-one correspondence. So sometimes you have to make a whole sentence just to translate one word accurately, or not bother and just replace it with something simpler.

[@jgtbym601]

THIS video is my favorite! I laughed so often. The skit you made about the crushed dog - oh, sorry - was classic! And I learned so much. I repeated you till I could recall and say the phrases without looking. Thanks always for making learning Chinese so fun! From Tokyo.

[@icecp4279]

Thanks! I also wanted to know how to express "confused" but never knew. Now I know why. One other word I noticed Chinese don't use a lot (compared to English) is "about".

[@brett4756]

Really good! 说 老师， your understanding of the nuances of English and Chinese and your ability to go back and forth illuminating the same topics in English and Chinese is truly impressive (真 厉害的）！ ❤

[@Panneapple]

The "sorry" part reminded me of someone I've seen online, who said "'I'm sorry' and 'I apologize' can be used interchangeably in many situations. EXCEPT if you are at a funeral, then you really shouldn't replace 'I'm sorry' with 'I apologize' (unless you are trying to imply that you are responsible for the person's loss)".

[@andrewkuiper9379]

"Cheesy." As in a cheesy movie. I gave myself fits trying to explain this one to Chinese friends.

[@liqiyao2901]

Hi. I'm native Chinese and Mandarin tutor. Cheesy has different expressions in Mandarin. if you are describing a "chessy joke" it's "冷笑话"。 If you say "a chessy movie", it's more like "庸俗"、“俗气的电影”

[@roselylez]

土味

[@unclevictoroski1]

Here's one in Chinese that is hard to translate into English: 随便 (sui2bian4). We have equivalent English translations for its various uses, but the actual word does not have an exact English translation. Great lesson. Thanks!

[@jordanwutkee2548]

I love how every one of these videos helps me learn something, but also makes me laugh. The little example stories you do are hilarious!

[@Alex-de-Aozhou-shenghuo]

Very good Too many Chinese channels on youtube either continually retread the basics, or teach rarely used slang, but your channel helps people who've studied Chinese sound more natural

[@stephenkeen5737]

Agreed

[@kasurinjung]

When I learned English, my teacher said: English isn't created to be translated into another language. So you have to think like an English speaker. If what you want to explain doesn't have a word in English, it's better to use what you know and explain your idea. So I take the same mindset in learning Chinese. I'm trying to think everything in Chinese instead of thinking in my mother tongue language and translating it. This is also the reason why I like to look up meanings of words in that word's language, it helps in thinking and fluently speaking

[@benliu9956]

2: impressive can be 震撼的,印象深刻的 3: crush, I believe if you look for some Chinese slangs you can find a word with similar meaning

[@bartholomeosphinx4382]

6:24 'crush' in the context of "I have a crush on this amazing Chinese teacher", is actually slang, hence may be translated into slang as well.

[@ArizueRin]

The examples are so funny 🤣, and it does make the meanings more clear, i love your videos!

[@matthewpurpura]

your acting always kills me hahaha, thank you for the laughs!

[@ponlatepp.4056]

The knowledge of cross-culture and different meaning of language among each country is very useful and interesting.

[@maigiangha4016]

I have looked for the way to say impressive for so long, and today you post this 我很高兴， 真的谢谢你了

[@ShuoshuoChinese]

😃很开心我可以帮你！

[@claratsai612]

@@ShuoshuoChinese 有一个视频解释为什么 “谢谢你了” 和 “很喜欢...Shuo老师太厉害了” 需要说 “了” 吗？

[@tronix4732]

4:55 笑死我了 不不不不不不 😂

[@ronross9752]

Another great video, I am also learning Dutch right now and there are so many words that can not be directly translated into English. So what did I manage to learn from your video today....你太厉害了

[@isabo3556]

In Dutch: Ik heb een extension in mijn browser die Chinees vertaalt naar Engels en het zegt dat de betekenis van de woorden 厉害 is: tremendous, awesome, violent, difficult to deal with, serious, radical, difficult to endure, terrible, serious. Veel betekenissen. Het blijft raden. Now in English. I have an extension in my browser which translates Chinese to English and it says that the meaning of the words 厉害 is: tremendous, awesome, violent, difficult to deal with, serious, radical, difficult to endure, terrible, serious. A lot of different meanings. It's always guessing. Same with Dutch-English.

[@ronross9752]

@@isabo3556 Ja, ik leer Nederlands. Er zijn zoveel spreekwoorden. Zoals "Nu komt de aap uit de mouw" In English:-The monkey is coming out the sleeve🤣 I like to hear the idioms in different languages. Yesterday I heard a new Chinese one that I came across 我的耳朵怀孕了 😊 ..Weet je wat het betekent?

[@isabo3556]

@@ronross9752 Letterlijk betekent het "mijn oor (van een beker) is zwanger"? Maar in het nederlands is het niets. Zeg het maar.

[@ronross9752]

@@isabo3556 Je hebt het letterlijk goed begrepen. Mijn oren zijn zwanger. Chinezen zeggen het als ze het geluid van iemand die zingt leuk vinden. Of ze houden van het geluid van hun stem. Grappig ja😊

[@isabo3556]

@@ronross9752 Inderdaad. Weer wat geleerd. Je Nederlands is erg goed. Hoe lang heb je er over gedaan?

[@javastripper7375]

In brazilian portuguese we also use xihuan instead of crush, but we started to use crush also

[@ShuoshuoChinese]

Great to know that!

[@Etelvinicius]

Já fez o HSK?

[@acceleratingthesupernatural]

On a side note can we know how you keep your hair so beautiful 😔

[@ShuoshuoChinese]

My secret: hide the bad quality hair ;)

[@ancaihong]

@@ShuoshuoChinese 😂😂😂

[@franzpeters3824]

She does not wash her hair for months.😂

[@TheGretaoto]

ShuoshuoChinese说说中文 😂😂😂😂😂

[@deeb.9250]

Her hair is straight no maintenance needed just washing... My straight hair cousins don't even comb.

[@musxcxxaddxct]

加油 and 辛苦了 I feel like no English word fits these words 😅 so I end up accidentally using them when speaking English 😅

[@nicholasbabaya8865]

This is so useful! 我學習中文很多年了但是還不太知道 "impressive" 或者 "I'm sorry (for your loss)"如何說。原來如此吧 XD 謝謝！

[@marcpatterson2218]

Or the phrase 你算老幾 as this is quite unique to Chinese society possibly hard to directly translate without explaining other relevant information

[@zhubajie6940]

Thanks for the help! Language is such a subtle thing (no matter what language).

[@danielkei7126]

Love your videos ❤️ ...很喜欢...Shuo老师太厉害了😌

[@kinga9148]

I like how you act out the situations it's so funny xD

[@samsaolonggiada2838]

Love your acts in different scenarios. Wo gen wo den nu peng you fengshou le😭😭😭😭😭😭

[@BigJ11617]

As an experienced teacher, I can confidently say that you are an excellent Chinese teacher, Shuo! You speak clearly and slowly, your examples are brilliant and your lessons are clever and well thought-out. Don't let any insensitive and disrespectful "student" ever doubt you, OK? I can see that your knowledge is deep and that you are very proficient! Oh... and your hair is just fine... it ALWAYS looks great!😊 Shuoshuo Chinese rocks!

[@ShuoshuoChinese]

Thanks! Those students who are “questioning “ me are my friends:) They are just kidding😂😂😂

[@BigJ11617]

@@ShuoshuoChinese I really like your sense of humour, too, Shuo! I also saw your video on why you moved to Thailand... good on you for having the courage to get a life and break away from the incredibly-oppressive culture!! I know both Thailand and China well and you made a good choice! I wish you a very happy life, Shuo!😀

[@Garbaz]

That four-marker-line-moustache character is hilarious every time :D

[@grac0.082]

i love your skits so much!!! as an american learning chinese the situations really help me understand, thank you!

[@liqiyao2901]

你的视频做的真好哈哈！我很爱看！我也是中文老师，从你的视频中得到很多灵感！谢谢！加油

[@squeakyshemp]

順便 is such a handy phrase but English doesn’t have an equally efficient equivalent.

[@hsiaotienchiang8994]

By the way？

[@martinphipps2]

At your convenience

[@squeakyshemp]

Hsiaot'ien Chiang yes, sort of like “on the way.” 回家時順便幫我買一份炸雞 Get me some fried chicken on your way home

[@Jackson-mi3dr]

Is it like a respectful or polite way to ask for something? Like “could you please ship the package at your convenience?”

[@toyslea571]

”我在回家的路上顺便吃顿饭“ i'm gonna have a meal on my way to home.

[@joshuabryan9285]

My favorite Chinese word with no English translation is 事儿多, it means someone has either too many stupid things to do, or too many weird problems. Some emotions in Chinese are terribly difficult, like sad: 难过，不开心，伤心，悲桑 all are mean sad but only in the right context with the most universal just meaning "not happy" which can also mean angry. Another problem is there is no concept of stress, like I'm stressed, it always shows up as 我的压力很大, which means I have a lot of pressure. There's also the problems with 让 and 让开 not really having straight English equivalents, and when translated in have to be more defined. An interesting one is the concept of "in the way" doesn't exist in Chinese, it always has to be defined with a specific place or action.

[@364679493]

can translate to like 'drama queen'. or someone who has dramas all the time

[@ChathuraJayasundaraIMD]

hello mam. I 'm a new subscriber. I've done hsk4 and I find your videos extremely interesting and useful for me to refresh my language skills. can you please consider making more videos like the one you made on "Why I left china and won't go back". these type of videos are really interesting and very helpful for me to learn Chinese. thank you so much you are a wonderful person!

[@nzmike555]

Regarding words that cannot be translated, certain philosophical/religious terms in Chinese don't seem to have an English equivalent, or require more explanation. For example, 無為 literally translates to 'no action' or 'inaction' but needs to be explained more as it's kind of like 'going with the flow' or 'letting nature take its course'. Also, many Buddhist terms are translations of Sanskrit words that also have no English equivalent. For example, the word 法 when used in a Buddhist context means "Dharma", which is itself a Sanskrit word that means 'the teachings of the Buddha', but is still distinct enough that Buddhist teachers simply use the Sanskrit word. The same is true for many of the names of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, whose Chinese names are 'translated' into English by giving the Sanskrit name (e.g. 地藏 = Kshitigarbha, 文殊 = Manjushri). Those names mean "Earth Store" and "Gentle Glory" in Sanskrit respectively, but those terms are not commonly used in English.

[@isabo3556]

You make very useful videos. Thank you.

[@alandeutsch9987]

I loved when you played the boss girl character

[@marcpatterson2218]

I guess for 'to judge' dependant on context one could use 批評 as it conforms more or less to the English equivalent when we say 'to judge' in that we usually mean to criticize

[@ABcdefgI143]

we all know the king is "presentation" and the queen is "project", followed by their three sons aka the princes "genre", "lecture", and "tutorials"

[@ronl7131]

....languages and communication, so interesting.....🙂

[@GregBackwards]

I want to add something about the word "crush". I think the article you read is mostly correct. It is a short and intense feeling for someone. "Crush" is very one-sided, though. If I have a crush on a girl, that means I like her a lot, but she doesn't have the same feelings for me. When I find out she doesn't share my feelings, I am "crushed" because my feelings aren't returned. This also means that the word "crush" is more retrospective. You don't really know 100% you have a crush until you know how the other person feels. Of course, if you have a lot of crushes, then you start to learn what they look like and can tell before you know the other person's feelings.

[@ShuoshuoChinese]

That’s very interesting! Thank you!

[@kel8026]

你的性格很好，给的感觉很阳光，课的内容很有意思，很棒！

[@ShuoshuoChinese]

谢谢你！

[@stephenkeen5737]

Very useful content today. Thanks

[@Antares2]

My biggest difficulty is that most chinese learning resources are based on english. English is not my first language, so I have to translate it twice, which makes finding the exact meaning of expressions even more difficult.

[@SR-kh6yq]

Can I also use 了不起 for "impressive"? Is it commonly used?

[@TurkeyDart]

Excellent teacher

[@ciararoyds4213]

please do more of these videos

[@turtledoggo1]

Thank you so much! Your teaching helps me so much

[@MichaelNicastro]

Thank you for another great video! This describes some nuances.

[@jovandudley4151]

Thank you for time 😊

[@mr88cet]

Interesting that 画 can have a meaning akin to “and” in “指手画脚”. I would never have guessed! I tend to think of 了不起 as the most-direct equivalent of “impressive.” Regarding “confuse,” 混淆 is along the lines of “confusing” one thing for another.

[@ShuoshuoChinese]

了不起 is a great translation! I should have mentioned that too.:)

[@weiwenzhang9885]

画 doesn't really exactly mean 'and' here. As in Chinese, we have a lot of 成语 (like fixed phrases or idioms). In the case of 指手画脚, both 指(point) and 画(doesn't mean draw here, kind of means 比划 or gesturing) are verbs while 手 and 脚 are both the object of the verbs. If you see more 成语, you'll find this pattern very often with the verbs on the first and third positions while nouns on the second and fourth. Hope this can help your understanding

[@weiwenzhang9885]

@@chenkiwi0211hmmm不太一样噢 “指手画脚”现在基本只指说对其他人说三道四，judging or criticizng别人；“比手画脚”就只是字面上的意思，手脚一直在做动作

[@weiwenzhang9885]

@@chenkiwi0211 哈哈哈没关系～

[@dr.ijazkashmiri4281]

暗恋 for crush. One Chinese teacher told us. Teacher, what is your opinion?

[@lkhagva-ochiroogii7025]

您的课，更对我好了。

[@simatian2019]

You and Zero to Hero are the best!

[@eternalsecretforgettingfor8525]

Sorry 9:27 Impressive 3:42 Judge 01:20 Confused 7:43 Crush 6:06

[@jm13409]

Great Videos ! Thank you !

[@Egalitarianism-qx8mf]

I love your content, but I'd prefer it if you did some videos that are entirely in Chinese. I lived in Qingdao for 9 years, so I got pretty good at Chinese. But, because I'm living in Australia now I don't get to practice. I like the language immersion approach, but your English explanation is really good!

[@AshinAsia]

I like the acts, I'd not seen before, and the new text (well new to me) is brilliant. Great work. Learn and laugh is always good! Great work :)

[@lucy-ferprofiler5379]

you are so funny !!! love your videos !!!!

[@kyles3581]

love these videos. entertaining lol, 4:53 and actually useful Chinese dialog.

[@Jcorry123]

I always struggle to translate concepts like sarcasm, irony and euphemistic into Chinese. For the latter, the best I've been able to find is 委婉的 but I think it doesn't quite seem to have the same sense.

[@lidai3316]

I think sarcasm, irony, and euphemistic can be translated to 反讽，讽刺，and 委婉的, respectively. But yeah, I agree that 委婉的 is not exactly the same as euphemistic.

[@Jcorry123]

@@lidai3316 thanks!

[@jalanjalanaja2972]

I love your channel. Thank uou for this lessons

[@ΜυρσινηΤζελλου]

fun fact, about the "I have a crush" expression. In Greece we say (litteral translation) "I bit the sheet metal" or "I stepped on it with him/her" . They both have a cultural background that faded and the expressions lost their meaning. I know the origin of the "I stepped on it" but it's tooooo long. 😜 It's really very interesting and educative to see how people from different countries express themselves. I really believe that you can never translate emotion related words accurately because people experience emotions differently in different countries.

[@salvadorsanchez5057]

hi. in japanese theres an expression 残念, that means something along the lines of "thats too bad" or "thats a shame". Is there a similar expression in chinese?

[@linashelly1852]

Hi teach, So how many words in HSK 1? Can you please do a lesson on the HSK 1 and 2 . Thank you

[@白兰-w5b]

老师好, 你太棒了 👍 很喜欢你的方法。 有一个问题关于 confused 可不可以用 “糊涂” 了? 感谢

[@whatnextkai1294]

I think comedy and language learning works quite well together.

[@CharlieDouglas]

Great video! I like the little skits you do

[@sean5039]

1:08 You can tell she's had ENOUGH of the bullshit. PERIOD. 💅🏻

[@andrewzhu8753]

Thank you for making these awesome videos! Keep up the great work!

[@prachigupta9579]

老师为了用 confused 我们可以用“糊涂” 吗？ 例子- 本来这个语法我糊涂了。

[@nchls5730]

Thanks so much!

[@Anna-zw3to]

Great content! For the last one, sorry, I would love to have some more example. For example, if someone is ill/feeling bad or if someone lost their job. I really don't know what to respond in chinese if someone tells me something bad has happened, only saying "我明白" or "好的" makes me feel rude.

[@ShuoshuoChinese]

We actually don’t have a fixed pattern to respond to that (except for 节哀顺变）It really depends on different situations and how close you and the other person are. If someone bad happens to my close friend, I may ask them more details like how did it happen or when did it happen. If they are not that close to me, I may say something like “一切都会过去的”(everything will pass) “我知道这一定很难，但是你会没事的”（I know it is hard, but you will be fine)

[@Anna-zw3to]

@@ShuoshuoChinese 谢谢你的回答!

[@dwongst]

One that I like to use in that situation, that’s less formal that 节哀顺变 is “不要太伤心哦“ or ”别难过”

[@Anna-zw3to]

@@dwongst 谢谢你!

[@dwongst]

Anna Kollberg 客气了😊

[@demonschnauzer1555]

I wish we had a phrase in English equivalent to 加油! I feel like it captures the encouragement I want to give my friends better than English phrases like "good luck" or "you got this!"

[@sjsupa]

Go for it！

[@Roibeaird]

"Go on my son", It's a football thing but it is what I think when I say it.

[@midinette]

Great video as usual! I can't understand how student dare to question you 🤔 we can see from you video that you are really careful and devoted in teaching Chinese! At least I learned a lot in this video! Thanks!

[@ShuoshuoChinese]

They are just kidding😂They are very close to me so they are teasing me. Thanks for your sweet words though!

[@haydenli2915]

Nice channel. Guess judge can be translated as 打量? If that make sense? Would love to see more of your video comparing the English and Chinese equivalent, for example the word 加油/努力

[@haydenli2915]

@@chenkiwi0211 When someone says "I am judging you", it definitely doesn't mean 判斷

[@haydenli2915]

@@chenkiwi0211 Agree...but in this video she's talking about the scenario when "someone is judging you" :)

[@faithwithfruits]

I think "crush" can be translated as 暗恋

[@sjsupa]

@@chenkiwi0211 暗戀can also be a noun = 暗戀的人。穿红衣服的女孩是我的暗戀 = The girl in red is my crush = 红衣服的是我女神（Web chat）。

[@sjsupa]

@@chenkiwi0211 “暗戀對象”是肯定不会错的。但你们都不讲“阿姣是我的初恋”？

[@sjsupa]

@@chenkiwi0211 也对，都是说我暗恋阿娇。

[@veedee8939]

One thing I always struggled with translating into Chinese is the phrase “make sense”, like “does this make sense?”

[@Knoimmas]

I say 有道理

[@gustavolomba9763]

Thanks for the video

[@popoolos478]

so funny hahahah THANK YOU!!

[@connrtist]

撒娇 has no English equivalent. I did not understand it for a long time. Also, you’re an amazing teacher. I love your channel!

[@ShuoshuoChinese]

I mentioned this in my “dating” video too!

[@connrtist]

@@ShuoshuoChinese I’ve been thinking and I’ve thought of another word. I cannot translate the word “frustrated.” Whenever I try to tell my Chinese friends that I am frustrated, they misunderstand me and think I am depressed or mad.

[@ShuoshuoChinese]

Connor Martin 我一般会说“我觉得很受挫”或者“我觉得很有挫败感”

[@acapzofficial6323]

Hye , can u tell me difference (miankong) and (Lian) ...are miankong considered as body part too?

[@hepsima]

If you could, could you translate some lyrics from Higher Brothers. For an example in the song "Do it like me", the member Psy.P pronounces Méi yôu rén in a weird way. Thx :P

[@samsaolonggiada2838]

Thank you, Xiong laoshi.

[@njjj2688]

For "when the girl is just an acquaintance" Iʻd say smth like “哎呀你好吗？你要一个拥抱吗？” (sorry ik my mandarin isnʻt great)

[@celia3816]

I also don’t think you can directly translate “They” if you want to use they or them for a group of people that are different genders then it has to be 他 the male version

[@nybble81]

I wonder about being confused by someone's words - like, someone's telling you something and you can see that they're clearly contradicting themselves, and you're like: Wait, wait, you've lost me here. - "I'm confused, haven't you just said that ..." it's not the same as being uncertain about whether the correct grammar choice is A or B, but it's not the same as being confused about your whole life either?

[@khanhduluong4355]

You are doing very well, keep doing and make more good videos, thanks for everything you did. :))

[@doogiegonegood]

Fun video! Thank you! :)

[@heradelossantos5092]

I remember seeing 弄 being used in a sentence 比如 我的盘子弄坏了... After seeing this video, it made me realize 我弄不清楚。what's the difference between 搞 and 弄？looking forward for more videos! 100% thumbs up!!!

[@ReportsOnChina]

It's more or less the same, but I reckon people use 搞 more often for positive things... like 中国疫情下都搞得蛮好的。

[@sjsupa]

@@ReportsOnChina Both are neutral, but 搞 more often for negative things. 搞破坏，搞小动作。中国疫情下都搞得蛮好的=中国疫情下都弄得蛮好的。

[@ReportsOnChina]

sjsu pa Ohhhhh, my experience is opposite 😂😂 I only hear 弄 for neutral or bad things, and 搞 for positive and neutral things...

[@sjsupa]

@@ReportsOnChina Well, I gave a couple of negative 搞. Can you think of any negative 弄？

[@ReportsOnChina]

@@sjsupa The one I hear the most is 你弄坏了 弄得不好 等等

[@yeyasutokugawa7775]

It's funny, I always learned 判断 through the German word "beurteilen". I never used an English translation for that word, now I know why. But I have a question, can't I use 责怪，责备 for "to judge" ? I know it's more like "to blame". But I feel like it's close.

[@paulimmanuel2541]

老师，when you said 明白 you used the second then fourth tone. Why is this? 谢谢您。

[@john80944]

I'm translating a web fiction from English to Chinese for over a year now. I already gave up on constructing the sense of English context. They're just doesn't work the same way. And if you want to translate the 100% meaning, it's better with the way you did and find the most similar sentences in Chinese instead of translating directly.

[@Leon-xy3qr]

How to say 你辛苦了 in English?I have a hard time to express the equivalent meaning in English when im been asking to translate it to my other coworker from my Chinese supervisor.

[@TimBroganShaw]

你太棒了！Great video again Shuo!

[@ShuoshuoChinese]

谢谢！！