We’re in Our 40s and Still Don’t Know What We Want 丨Chinese Podcast #205

YouTube · Dashu Mandarin · Learner content · 2026/06/12
2026/06/12
Speech duration
57min 28s
Unique characters · 256 once
941
Word count
11,160
Average sentence length
8.3
Length
1:02:16
Unique words · 609 once
1,308
Syllables per minute
288
Script
Simplified 简
Sentences
1,980
Difficulty
Advanceddifficulty

Difficulty is estimated from vocabulary: knowing common words through Level 66 covers about 95% of the words in this content — roughly 1 unfamiliar word in 20, the coverage research links to comfortable listening. Level 66 sits in the Advanced range.

How difficulty works
Advanced · 66

Difficulty is estimated from vocabulary: knowing common words through Level 66 covers about 95% of the words in this content — roughly 1 unfamiliar word in 20, the coverage research links to comfortable listening. Level 66 sits in the Advanced range.

TAGSLearner contentVlogLanguage lesson

Vocab coverage

The Level you need to know each share of this video’s words. The dark 95% step is its difficulty.

HSK 3.0 coverage

Which HSK 3.0 list each of this video’s words comes from.

  • HSK 1 51%
  • HSK 2 13%
  • HSK 3 10%
  • HSK 4 10%
  • HSK 5 4%
  • HSK 6 2%
  • HSK 7–9 2%
  • Not on HSK 10%

Cumulative: HSK 1–4 covers 83% of the words, HSK 1–6 covers 89%, HSK 1–9 covers 90%.

Words to learn first

Pick a level to see the words a learner there needs to understand 95% of this video’s words.

Starting from zero (Beginner), learn 739 words to reach 95% of this video’s words.

The 20 most-used of these 739 words.

WordPinyinMeaning (CC-CEDICT)In videoLevel
我wǒI; me; my652Lv 1
的deof; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to form a nominal expression, as in 皮革的[pi2 ge2 de5] "one made of leather" or 跑堂兒的|跑堂儿的[pao3 tang2 r5 de5] "a waiter (literally, one who runs back and forth in a restaurant)" or 新的[xin1 de5] "new one"); also pr. [di4] or [di5] in poetry and songs; really and truly; a taxi; a cab (abbr. for 的士[di1 shi4]); (bound form) bull's-eye; target601Lv 1
是shìto be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4]309Lv 1
你nǐyou (informal, as opposed to courteous 您[nin2]); you (Note: In Taiwan, 妳 is used to address females, but in mainland China, it is not commonly used. Instead, 你 is used to address both males and females.)308Lv 1
就是jiù shìexactly; precisely; only; simply; just; (used correlatively with 也[ye3]) even; even if291Lv 2
这个zhè gè(pronoun) this; (adjective) this185Lv 1
不bùno; not so; (bound form) not; un-183Lv 1
就jiù(after a suppositional clause) in that case; then; (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after; (same as 就是[jiu4 shi4]) merely; nothing else but; simply; just; precisely; exactly; only; as little as; as much as; as many as; to approach; to move towards; to undertake; to engage in; (often followed by 著|着[zhe5]) taking advantage of; (of food) to go with; with regard to; concerning; (pattern: 就[jiu4] ... 也[ye3] ...) even if ... still ...; (pattern: 不[bu4] ... 就[jiu4] ...) if not ... then must be ...169Lv 1
啊ainterjection of surprise; Ah!; Oh!; interjection expressing doubt or requiring answer; Eh?; what?; interjection of surprise or doubt; Eh?; My!; what's up?; interjection or grunt of agreement; uhm; Ah, OK; expression of recognition; Oh, it's you!; modal particle ending sentence, showing affirmation, approval, or consent158Lv 1
觉得jué deto think that ...; to feel that ...; to feel (uncomfortable etc)158Lv 1

Is this video right for my Chinese?

A 62-minute video from Dashu Mandarin with 57 minutes of speech at 288 syllables per minute. It's 11,160 words long, using 1,308 different words. Difficulty: Advanced, Level 66 — it suits Advanced learners: knowing the common words through Level 66 covers about 95% of its words, roughly 1 unfamiliar word in 20. Words to learn first include 我, 的, 是.