The hidden Chinese philosophy in Chopsticks | Intermediate Chinese | Comprehensible Input

YouTube · BlaBla Chinese · Learner content · 2025/10/04

2025/10/04

Speech duration: 10min 23s
Unique characters · 59 once: 265
Word count: 1,513
Average sentence length: 8.5
Length: 12:02
Unique words · 74 once: 260
Syllables per minute: 213
Script: Simplified 简
Sentences: 261
Difficulty Advanceddifficulty Difficulty is estimated from vocabulary: knowing common words through Level 110 covers about 95% of the words in this content — roughly 1 unfamiliar word in 20, the coverage research links to comfortable listening. Level 110 sits in the Advanced range. How difficulty works: Advanced · 110

Difficulty is estimated from vocabulary: knowing common words through Level 110 covers about 95% of the words in this content — roughly 1 unfamiliar word in 20, the coverage research links to comfortable listening. Level 110 sits in the Advanced range.

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Vocab coverage

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

Lv 2

Lv 9

Lv 46

Lv 110

Lv 183

HSK 3.0 coverage

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

HSK 1 53%
HSK 2 9%
HSK 3 11%
HSK 4 6%
HSK 5 5%
HSK 6 3%
HSK 7–9 3%
Not on HSK 11%

Cumulative: HSK 1–4 covers 79% of the words, HSK 1–6 covers 87%, HSK 1–9 covers 89%.

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

The 20 most-used of these 186 words.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning (CC-CEDICT)	In video	Level
的	de	of; ~'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; target	124	Lv 1
是	shì	to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4]	61	Lv 1
这个	zhè gè	(pronoun) this; (adjective) this	47	Lv 1
呢	ne	particle indicating that a previously asked question is to be applied to the preceding word ("What about ...?", "And ...?"); particle for inquiring about location ("Where is ...?"); particle signaling a pause, to emphasize the preceding words and allow the listener time to take them on board ("ok?", "are you with me?"); (at the end of a declarative sentence) particle indicating continuation of a state or action; particle indicating strong affirmation; dense wool fabric (used for coats and jackets)	46	Lv 2
我	wǒ	I; me; my	42	Lv 1
你	nǐ	you (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.)	33	Lv 1
就是	jiù shì	exactly; precisely; only; simply; just; (used correlatively with 也[ye3]) even; even if	33	Lv 2
筷子	kuài zi	chopsticks; CL:對\|对[dui4],根[gen1],把[ba3],雙\|双[shuang1]	31	Lv 110
我们	wǒ men	we; us; ourselves; our	30	Lv 1
不	bù	no; not so; (bound form) not; un-	27	Lv 1
所以	suǒ yǐ	therefore; as a result; so; the reason why	23	Lv 2
说	shuō	to persuade; to speak; to talk; to say; to explain; to comment; to scold; to tell off; (bound form) theory; doctrine; variant of 說\|说[shuo1]	19	Lv 1
啊	a	interjection 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 consent	18	Lv 1
有	yǒu	to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional)	18	Lv 1
圆	yuán	circle; round; circular; spherical; (of the moon) full; unit of Chinese currency (yuan); tactful; to make consistent and whole (the narrative of a dream or a lie)	17	Lv 41
什么	shén me	what?; something; anything	15	Lv 1
呃	è	(exclamation); to hiccup	15	Lv 2
很	hěn	very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element)	15	Lv 1
一	yī	one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out numbers digit by digit	14	Lv 1
六	liù	six; 6; used in place names	14	Lv 9

Is this video right for my Chinese?

A 12-minute video from BlaBla Chinese with 10 minutes of speech at 213 syllables per minute. It's 1,513 words long, using 260 different words. Difficulty: Advanced, Level 110 — it suits Advanced learners: knowing the common words through Level 110 covers about 95% of its words, roughly 1 unfamiliar word in 20. Words to learn first include 的, 是, 这个.