Watch Chinese dramas, Learn Chinese

Do you like Chinese TV dramas? I believe watching TV is a good way to practice Chinese, because not only is it fun, but you can also learn a lot about the culture.
In this blog, I give my recommendation for a Chinese TV drama high in popularity right now.

The drama I want to recommend is called “ 欢huān乐lè颂sòng (Ode to Joy)”, and is the most popular drama in China at the moment. A lot of foreigners have asked me what the show is about, so let’s learn more about the show and take a look at some of the dialogue!

Introduction

The story in “Ode to Joy” revolves around five women who live in Shanghai in an apartment complex called “Ode to Joy”. The series is a realistic depiction of modern life in China, and shows the lives of these five women as they struggle with love and work as independent modern women.

Character Profiles

• 安Ān迪dí (An Di) is a successful business woman who has returned to China to find her younger brother after studying in New York
• 曲Qǔ筱xiǎo绡xiāo (Qu Xiao Xiao) comes from a rich family. She is only 25 but already owns her own small business.
• 樊Fán胜shèng美měi (Fang Sheng Mei) grew up in poverty but has shed her “Princess of the Streets” background to work for a multinational company.
• 邱Qiū莹yíng莹yíng (Qiu Ying Ying) is a 20-year-old small-town girl who is trying to make it in the big city.
• 关Guān雎jū尔ěr (Guan Ju Er) is a 20-year-old from a highly educated family, but she must discover what she wants out of life when she enters the workforce for the first time.

Reasons for Recommendation

I highly recommend this drama as a resource for learning Chinese. It is a modern drama with everyday language, helping you practice authentic Chinese which you won’t find in textbooks. It also depicts real life in the modern Chinese society, helping you understand Chinese life and culture.
You can find versions with both English and Chinese subtitles online, making it suitable to watch for learners of different levels.

Let’s watch the first episode!

How to address someone in Chinese

Let’s take a look at the dialogue which appears at 02:27~03:37 in the video above. The three girls 樊Fán胜shèng美měi (F), 邱Qiū莹yíng莹yíng (Q) and 关Guān雎jū尔ěr (G) are talking about their new next door neighbor. The dialogue has three different ways of calling someone by their name. Can you tell what they are?

Surname + 姐jiě

In the dialogue, 邱Qiū莹yíng莹yíng (Q) and 关Guān雎jū尔ěr (G) use 樊Fán姐jiě to address 樊Fán胜shèng美měi (F).
姐jiě is term of endearment meaning older sister, and we often hear Chinese use “surname + 姐jiě” to address a female older than them. The male counterpart is “surname + 哥gē”.

Sister Wang

wáng jiě 王姐

Brother Zhang

zhāng gē 张哥

小xiǎo + surname

On the fifth line of the dialogue, 关Guān雎jū尔ěr (G) says “我听小郑说”, “ 小xiǎo + surname” is the way to address someone who is younger than you, and can be used for both females and males.

Sometimes we also see the same structure using 老lǎo instead of 小xiǎo.
“ 老lǎo + surname” is often used to address a male acquaintance (usually of similar age). Be careful though, as you should not use it towards a person who is much older than you, as in that case it would be impolite. In that case, you can instead use 姐jiě or 哥gē which we studied above.

Mr/Miss Wang

xiǎo wáng 小王

Mr Zhang

lǎo zhāng 老张

美měi眉méi

In the last part of the dialogue, 樊Fán胜shèng美měi (F) says “Don’t call me Fan-jie”. As we just learned, 姐jiě is used to address someone who older than yourself, and 樊Fán胜shèng美měi (F) doesn’t like to be reminded of her age. Instead, 邱Qiū莹yíng莹yíng (Q) and 关Guān雎jū尔ěr (G) refer to her as 小xiǎo美měi美měi眉méi.

小xiǎo美měi is the same basic structure as “ 小xiǎo + surname”, but since they are close friends they don’t use the surname 樊Fán, but use a character from her given name 美měi instead.

美měi眉méi is an internet buzzword meaning pretty girl. 美měi眉méi’s pronunciation is similar to “ 妹mèi妹mei” (little sister), and the literal meaning of 美měi眉méi is beautiful eyebrow. The Chinese think the eyebrow shows a girl’s beauty, so “beautiful eyebrow” lets people imagine a beauty girl. You may also come across the shortened version of 美měi眉méi: MM.

Those are our three ways of addressing someone. Let’s learn some keywords from the dialogue.

Did you enjoy “Ode to Joy”?

This is the accompanying blog post for our advanced course Watch Movies and Learn Chinese and advanced lesson “Watch Chinese Dramas, Learn Chinese“.