The Raw Truth: Why We Almost Quit Dashu Mandarin | Chinese Podcast #181

YouTube · Dashu Mandarin · Learner content · 2025/12/26
2025/12/26
Speech duration
1h 2min
Unique characters · 274 once
967
Word count
12,152
Average sentence length
9.0
Length
1:03:34
Unique words · 658 once
1,393
Syllables per minute
285
Script
Simplified 简
Sentences
1,970
Difficulty
Advanceddifficulty

Difficulty is estimated from vocabulary: knowing common words through Level 93 covers about 95% of the words in this content — roughly 1 unfamiliar word in 20, the coverage research links to comfortable listening. Level 93 sits in the Advanced range.

How difficulty works
Advanced · 93

Difficulty is estimated from vocabulary: knowing common words through Level 93 covers about 95% of the words in this content — roughly 1 unfamiliar word in 20, the coverage research links to comfortable listening. Level 93 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 11%
  • HSK 3 9%
  • HSK 4 8%
  • HSK 5 5%
  • HSK 6 2%
  • HSK 7–9 1%
  • Not on HSK 13%

Cumulative: HSK 1–4 covers 79% of the words, HSK 1–6 covers 86%, HSK 1–9 covers 87%.

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 777 words to reach 95% of this video’s words.

The 20 most-used of these 777 words.

WordPinyinMeaning (CC-CEDICT)In videoLevel
我wǒI; me; my698Lv 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; target597Lv 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]305Lv 1
了le(completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); to finish; (used with 得[de2] or 不[bu4] after a verb to express (im)possibility, as in 忘不了[wang4 bu5 liao3] "cannot forget"); (literary) (usually followed by a negative such as 無|无[wu2] or 不[bu4]) completely (not); entirely (not); (not) in the least; (of eyes) bright; clear-sighted; to understand clearly; to understand clearly (variant of 瞭|了[liao3]); unofficial variant of 瞭[liao4]251Lv 1
就是jiù shìexactly; precisely; only; simply; just; (used correlatively with 也[ye3]) even; even if247Lv 2
对duìright; correct; towards; at; for; concerning; regarding; to treat (sb a certain way); to face; to match together; to adjust; to fit; to suit; to answer; to reply; to add; to pour in (a fluid); to check; to compare; classifier: couple; pair; (bound form) opposite; facing; matching241Lv 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 ...184Lv 1
我们wǒ menwe; us; ourselves; our175Lv 1
这个zhè gè(pronoun) this; (adjective) this175Lv 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 consent156Lv 1

Is this video right for my Chinese?

A 64-minute video from Dashu Mandarin with 62 minutes of speech at 285 syllables per minute. It's 12,152 words long, using 1,393 different words. Difficulty: Advanced, Level 93 — it suits Advanced learners: knowing the common words through Level 93 covers about 95% of its words, roughly 1 unfamiliar word in 20. Words to learn first include 我, 的, 是.