This simple Chinese character has no proper English translation

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  • čas přidán 1. 06. 2024
  • 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
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Komentáře • 138

  • @NTDOffTheGreatWall
    @NTDOffTheGreatWall  Před 3 lety +19

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

    • @nofeetbirdnofeetbird6470
      @nofeetbirdnofeetbird6470 Před 3 lety +1

      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
      @NTDOffTheGreatWall  Před 3 lety

      @@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
      @dreamxpaili Před 3 lety +3

      緣份, 曖昧, 奈何/無奈, 孝順 😄

    • @mattybrunolucaszeneresalas9072
      @mattybrunolucaszeneresalas9072 Před 3 lety +1

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

    • @amb1245
      @amb1245 Před 3 lety

      Carmen, you’re the Si6.

  • @lordkent8143
    @lordkent8143 Před 3 lety +45

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

  • @RoboTima
    @RoboTima Před 3 lety +17

    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
      @NTDOffTheGreatWall  Před 3 lety +4

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

  • @neildolinger6820
    @neildolinger6820 Před 2 lety +2

    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.

  • @kohakuaiko
    @kohakuaiko Před 3 lety +10

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

    • @elmohead
      @elmohead Před 2 lety

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

  • @MakiC
    @MakiC Před 3 lety +10

    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
      @dreamxpaili Před 3 lety +2

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

    • @takkiemon
      @takkiemon Před 2 lety

      I always have a hard time explaining 'la'

  • @ochiaichannel1189
    @ochiaichannel1189 Před 3 lety +5

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

  • @brainywarrior7396
    @brainywarrior7396 Před 3 lety +2

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

  • @1993917
    @1993917 Před 2 lety

    Carmen has always been my fav in this channel

  • @rebeckyc1401
    @rebeckyc1401 Před 3 lety

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

  • @heathermalone9091
    @heathermalone9091 Před 3 lety

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

  • @gabriellatsinogloy9665
    @gabriellatsinogloy9665 Před 3 lety +2

    Great dive into the character!

  • @dominichill1492
    @dominichill1492 Před 3 lety +3

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

  • @angelafernandachristenseng9884

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

  • @DogDog173
    @DogDog173 Před 3 lety +1

    informative video! love it.

  • @RedDragons23
    @RedDragons23 Před 2 lety

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

  • @Rich1Rodriguez
    @Rich1Rodriguez Před 3 lety

    Nice! Great explanation of a simple word with much meaning

  • @red-hat-mike
    @red-hat-mike Před 3 lety

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

  • @elliottmaldonado8301
    @elliottmaldonado8301 Před 3 lety

    Wow!!! This content is amazing!!!

  • @darkguy555
    @darkguy555 Před 2 lety

    I love that your videos address canto!

  • @caimaccoinnich9594
    @caimaccoinnich9594 Před 3 lety

    I'm so happy Carmen is back.

  • @temporaryyname8368
    @temporaryyname8368 Před 3 lety

    I miss the food videos! Bring them back!

  • @minizt
    @minizt Před 3 lety

    great lesson!

  • @daegudiva
    @daegudiva Před 3 lety

    Woo Hoo! Well done Carmen, very interesting.

  • @meccalovett4616
    @meccalovett4616 Před 3 lety +3

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

  • @mooshthebread
    @mooshthebread Před 3 lety +1

    This is very interesting 😃 very impressive explanation

  • @LexxLazerman
    @LexxLazerman Před 3 lety

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

  • @irwenw
    @irwenw Před 3 lety +2

    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
      @paulinewqi Před 3 lety

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

  • @grilledflatbread4692
    @grilledflatbread4692 Před 2 lety

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

  • @NickyDIY101
    @NickyDIY101 Před 2 lety

    I like the way you compare between 2 languages.

  • @GaminRage
    @GaminRage Před 3 lety +5

    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
      @NTDOffTheGreatWall  Před 3 lety +5

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

    • @_whats3rname
      @_whats3rname Před 3 lety +1

      Hahaha! Same same!

    • @BobTheHatKing
      @BobTheHatKing Před 3 lety

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

  • @mrluke1967
    @mrluke1967 Před rokem

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

  • @kiponkipon3234
    @kiponkipon3234 Před 2 lety

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

  • @user-bf8bt2wf7d
    @user-bf8bt2wf7d Před 3 lety +27

    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
      @ttsese Před 3 lety +3

      食屎 in canto also sounds like sexy :D

  • @Excalibur01
    @Excalibur01 Před 3 lety +5

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

    • @dragontalontsiawd
      @dragontalontsiawd Před 3 lety +2

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

  • @overflowchung7347
    @overflowchung7347 Před 3 lety

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

  • @_whats3rname
    @_whats3rname Před 3 lety

    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!

  • @andro7862
    @andro7862 Před 3 lety

    Perhaps the word "esquire" fits?

  • @AzNightmare
    @AzNightmare Před 3 lety

    *Hey, you're back?*

  • @Sthemingway
    @Sthemingway Před 3 lety +1

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

  • @matthewmann8969
    @matthewmann8969 Před 3 lety +1

    The head sweater

  • @tedcrowley6080
    @tedcrowley6080 Před 2 lety

    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.

  • @sophialove100
    @sophialove100 Před 2 lety +1

    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
      @sophialove100 Před 2 lety

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

  • @ShenShen88
    @ShenShen88 Před 3 lety +1

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

  • @WildBillCox13
    @WildBillCox13 Před 3 lety

    Liked and shared.

  • @ttsese
    @ttsese Před 3 lety

    also the highly regarded buses and taxis :D

  • @drskelebone
    @drskelebone Před 3 lety

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

  • @uuuu281
    @uuuu281 Před 3 lety

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

  • @Laurence0227
    @Laurence0227 Před 2 lety

    In Taiwanese Mandarin we say 先生、小姐 more often,

  • @kylosun
    @kylosun Před 2 lety

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

  • @uuuu281
    @uuuu281 Před 3 lety

    Salute to our youth.

  • @aayushs.taehyung4631
    @aayushs.taehyung4631 Před 2 lety +1

    In Japanese, 士 means Samurai. ☺️

  • @Neyobe
    @Neyobe Před 2 lety

  • @user-bf8bt2wf7d
    @user-bf8bt2wf7d Před 3 lety

    M'sai hoch hey xD lol

  • @MR_W0NG
    @MR_W0NG Před 3 lety

    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。

  • @duncanmit5307
    @duncanmit5307 Před 3 lety

    💜💜💜💜👍👍👍👍

  • @doanhoangphat3909
    @doanhoangphat3909 Před rokem

    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

  • @JrKinabalu
    @JrKinabalu Před 2 lety

    That is hard

  • @jokyng
    @jokyng Před 3 lety

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

  • @depufull
    @depufull Před 2 lety

    2:15 hmmmm

  • @miyagiofficial01
    @miyagiofficial01 Před 3 lety

    Please do the character 是

  • @dattebenforcer
    @dattebenforcer Před 3 lety +1

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

  • @bintangtimor4969
    @bintangtimor4969 Před 2 lety

    Thanks, please setting substitle to indonesian language

  • @KimYuhiYuqiCherri4You
    @KimYuhiYuqiCherri4You Před 3 lety +2

    Am heree

  • @mrbenwong86
    @mrbenwong86 Před 3 lety

    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
      @BobTheHatKing Před 3 lety +1

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

  • @witch798
    @witch798 Před 2 lety

    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

  • @mynamemyname156
    @mynamemyname156 Před 3 lety

    Hi

  • @dragontalontsiawd
    @dragontalontsiawd Před 3 lety +1

    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

  • @nctrenlelove9518
    @nctrenlelove9518 Před 3 lety

    I learned Chinese language

  • @gpc3260
    @gpc3260 Před 3 lety

    Why is it not gua mu xiang kan?

    • @NTDOffTheGreatWall
      @NTDOffTheGreatWall  Před 3 lety

      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.

  • @zenondolnyckyj4325
    @zenondolnyckyj4325 Před 3 lety

    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?

  • @QuizmasterLaw
    @QuizmasterLaw Před 3 lety

    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

  • @koya1019
    @koya1019 Před 2 lety

    Ok what about 巴士

  • @sergeyosipov4504
    @sergeyosipov4504 Před 3 měsíci

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

  • @ccp_fact_checker
    @ccp_fact_checker Před 3 lety +2

    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?

  • @blantandarpkxdellie2051

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

  • @midasmirto7265
    @midasmirto7265 Před 3 lety

    shi is what i got

  • @426mak
    @426mak Před 3 lety

    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.

  • @xXheartszXx
    @xXheartszXx Před 3 lety

    My dumb ass thought this was 土 🤦🏻‍♀️

  • @ronb.8920
    @ronb.8920 Před 3 lety

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

    • @NTDOffTheGreatWall
      @NTDOffTheGreatWall  Před 3 lety

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

    • @ronb.8920
      @ronb.8920 Před 3 lety

      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.

  • @BobTheHatKing
    @BobTheHatKing Před 3 lety

    2:15 SEKSY

  • @lolfk5013
    @lolfk5013 Před 2 lety

    i cant believe you forget the 的士 SMH😤

  • @Jobe-13
    @Jobe-13 Před 3 lety

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

  • @daegudiva
    @daegudiva Před 3 lety +1

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

  • @karaoke723
    @karaoke723 Před 3 lety

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

    • @NTDOffTheGreatWall
      @NTDOffTheGreatWall  Před 3 lety +2

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

  • @brandonfoong4269
    @brandonfoong4269 Před 3 lety +2

    Early!

  • @user-oz7lr4bg9x
    @user-oz7lr4bg9x Před 3 lety

    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
      @YummYakitori Před 3 lety +1

      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
      @user-oz7lr4bg9x Před 3 lety

      @@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.

  • @jipsvlogandgaming380
    @jipsvlogandgaming380 Před 3 lety +1

    First

  • @austinlam2498
    @austinlam2498 Před 3 lety

    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
      @austinlam2498 Před 3 lety

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

    • @analysis1018
      @analysis1018 Před 3 lety +1

      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
      @austinlam2498 Před 3 lety +1

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

  • @paiwanhan
    @paiwanhan Před 3 lety

    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
    @OsakaJoe01 Před 3 lety +6

    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
    @nctrenlelove9518 Před 3 lety

    I learned Chinese language