HSK 4 5 Why Everyone Calls You Handsome in China China Trends Chinese Mandarin Podcast

Hello everyone welcome to Chinese Insider I'm Teacher Li Hello everyone I'm Mike Teacher Li what are we talking about today Today's topic is really interesting Mike having lived in China for a while do you find Chinese people warm-hearted Extremely warm and welcoming and I think Chinese people are especially honest Honest why do you say that Because this morning I went to buy a jianbing and the woman selling it called me "handsome guy " "handsome guy " Then I went to the convenience store to buy water and the clerk called me "handsome guy" too I felt my confidence skyrocket—Confidence Boost—everyone seems to think I'm really good-looking Uh Mike I hate to crush your dreams but I have to tell you a harsh truth The truth is you're saying I'm not handsome No you're handsome but in China calling someone a handsome guy or a beautiful person doesn't necessarily mean you're complimenting their looks What Not a compliment Then what is it It's just a general form of address like "Sir " "Ma'am " or "Buddy" in English Wait so you're saying that old lady called me "handsome guy" just because she didn't know my name Yeah in China if you don't know someone's name calling them "handsome guy" or "pretty girl" is the safest bet Good heavens so it's not flirting not making advances Absolutely not—even an eighty-year-old man or someone who's quite ordinary we can still call him a handsome guy Wow this is so disappointing—I'm heartbroken Don't be sad besides handsome guys and beautiful girls there's another term you might find confusing—teacher Teacher I know this—like you Li Teacher people working in schools That used to be true but now in China anyone can be a teacher Anyone Everyone Even me If you have some expertise in a particular field people will call you "teacher " out of respect For example For instance a barber—we'd call Tony Teacher Tony teacher Why Tony It's a me a joke because many barbers have English names like Tony Kevin Alan That's so funny—so if I go get a haircut should I call the guy cutting my hair "teacher" Yes if you call him a waiter or barber it might come across as a bit rude Understood for the sake of my hairstyle I have to call him teacher Good job Mike do you feel you've got it now I think I get it Rule number one: don't take handsome too seriously Rule number two: everyone with a skill is a teacher That sums it up perfectly Now let me test you Another test Challenge accepted This time we're heading to a very noisy place—the hair salon Hair Salon Listen to the following conversation I'll speak quickly and I'm giving you a task What task Listen to the conversation and answer a question: how many teachers are there in this dialogue and are they truly teachers at the school Ready 3 2 1 — Hey handsome welcome Getting a haircut Come on in come on in Handsome first time here Do you have a regular barber Barber No I'm not a student Oh I meant do you have a preferred barber you'd like to see I'm our technical director so what do you think Thank you Please make it shorter No problem Hey handsome your hair looks a bit dry—why not go for a protein treatment while you're here We've got a special offer today: sign up for a card get $500 off $1 000 and all future treatments are 50% off Um I just wanted a haircut Hey handsome treat yourself better—your current look really matters No no really I don’t need it Alright Mike did you finish the task a moment ago Wow the barber actually called me handsome—now I’m supposed to call the barber "teacher" Haha that's the standard experience at a Chinese barber shop So back to our question how many teachers are in the conversation—are they school teachers In the conversation there's only one teacher—the barber—but he's definitely not a school teacher Correct here "teacher" is a respectful title for someone with technical expertise Also you heard it yourself—they kept calling you handsome handsome even when my hair was a mess they still called me handsome Now you know it was just a polite formality I see I won't take it personally next time There's another term—the barber mentioned earlier—getting a card Oh yes spend a thousand get five hundred free This is the most common sales tactic used in Chinese barber shops If you don't understand or don 't want to buy just learn one phrase: Save me please You can say No thanks I'm in a hurry Audience friends if you found the pace a bit too fast you can find the complete PDF lecture for this episode in the comment section It contains all the new vocabulary and sentences on how to politely decline Teacher Li Finally today's interactive question In your country if you don't know a stranger's name how would you address them Tell us in the comments below in Chinese See you in the next episode Bye