78 graded passages with Pinyin, audio & quizzes
Phrases by situation, with pinyin & audio
Learn words through real-life situations
Stroke order for every character
The building blocks of Chinese characters
Split hanzi into parts, remember by story
Meaning: So-called / The reason why... is because / Those who...
所谓"知己",就是真正了解你的朋友。
Suǒwèi 'zhījǐ', jiùshì zhēnzhèng liǎojiě nǐ de péngyou.
What is called a "bosom friend" is a friend who truly understands you.
我之所以坚持,是因为我相信梦想。
Wǒ zhī suǒyǐ jiānchí, shì yīnwèi wǒ xiāngxìn mèngxiǎng.
The reason why I persevere is because I believe in my dream.
凡参加比赛者均可获得纪念品。
Fán cānjiā bǐsài zhě jūn kě huòdé jìniànpǐn.
All those who participate in the competition may receive a souvenir.
•所谓 can be either neutral (defining a concept, often with quotation marks) or ironic; meanwhile, 之所以 in the first clause must be paired with 是因为 or 是由于 in the second clause to state the cause.
⚠️ Common Mistakes:
•Missing the ironic nuance of 所谓(的) — context is needed to tell neutral definition from sarcasm.
•Leaving 之所以...是因为... incomplete (e.g., saying "我之所以来" without the "是因为..." reason clause).
•Using V+者 phrases (like 参加比赛者) in casual daily speech — it belongs to formal/written registers.
•Overusing 所谓 before ordinary, self-explanatory nouns where no definition or irony is intended.
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所谓"近朱者赤,近墨者黑",环境影响很大。
Suǒwèi 'jìn zhū zhě chì, jìn mò zhě hēi', huánjìng yǐngxiǎng hěn dà.
As the saying goes, "Near vermilion one gets stained red; near ink one gets stained black"—the environment has a huge influence.