China is my second home, a home full of adventures and new experiences. Every city and village I visit tell a new story. Every mountain has a new route to explore. Every food stall is a delicious feast. One of the Chinese verbs I use quite often to describe my Chinese experiences is熟悉 (shúxī). It means “to know well” or “to be familiar with something or someone”. It’s a useful verb that fits almost every situation, and can be used positively or negatively.

The Chinese definition of 熟悉 is:

熟悉的意思是了解得清楚，清楚地知道。

Shúxī de yìsi shì liǎojiě de qīngchǔ, qīngchǔ di zhīdào.

The meaning of 熟悉 is “to understand clearly”, or “to clearly know”.

There are several ways to use 熟悉 in a sentence:

1) 熟悉can be used as a verb in a sentence composed of subject, verb and object. The sentence, which can be positive or negative, indicates that the subject understands clearly, or knows the object well. The object can be anything: a place, an item, a person, an idea, an ideology, etc.

为了阅读这本书必须熟悉欧洲的历史。

Wèile yuèdú zhè běn shū bìxū shúxī ōuzhōu de lìshǐ.

In order to read this book, one must be familiar with European history.

哦，这首歌我不太熟悉。

Ó, zhè shǒu gē wǒ bù tài shúxī.

Oh, I’m not familiar with this song.

那条登山的小路，除了他，谁也不熟悉。

Nà tiáo dēngshān de xiǎolù, chúle tā, shéi yě bù shúxī.

Only he knows this path to climb the mountain.

新来的老师和学生们逐渐熟悉了。

Xīn lái de lǎoshī hé xuéshēngmen zhújiàn shúxīle.

The new teacher and the students got to know each other gradually.

2) Another way to use 熟悉 in a sentence is to precede the verb with the preposition word 对(duì). In the pattern 对。。。熟悉, 对means “with”, or “the”. The pattern literally translated to: 对 (with) something or someone, the subject is (or is not) 熟悉 (familiar). Meaning: the subject of the sentence is familiar (or not) with something or someone.

我的孩子都对白雪公主的故事很熟悉。

Wǒ de háizi dōu duì báixuě gōngzhǔ de gùshì hěn shúxī.

All my kids know the story of Snow White pretty well.

新来的邻居对这里还不太熟悉。

Xīn lái de línjū duì zhèlǐ hái bù tài shúxī.

The new neighbors are still not quite familiar with the environment.

我对巴黎比对罗马熟悉。

Wǒ duì bālí bǐ duì luómǎ shúxī.

I know Paris better than Rome.

3) 熟悉is a verb, but when adding the particle 的 (de) after 熟悉, it becomes an attributive meaning “acquainted”, or “known”. The noun that follows 熟悉+的 is the noun that being described as known, or unknown.

天才的作家会描写那些自己不熟悉的情况。

Tiāncái de zuòjiā huì miáoxiě nàxiē zìjǐ bù shúxī de qíngkuàng.

A talented writer can describe situations that he is personally not familiar with.

如何与不太熟悉的男生聊天？

Rúhé yǔ bù tài shúxī de nánshēng liáotiān?

How to chat with an unfamiliar guy?

阔别多年，他终于返回个熟悉的地方。

Kuòbié duōnián, tā zhōngyú fǎnhuí gè shúxī dì dìfāng.

After many years of being away, he finally returned to a familiar place.

和不熟悉的人交往要留神。

Hé bù shúxī de rén jiāowǎng yào liúshén.

Be careful when talking to strangers.

Getting to know China and understanding the Chinese language is an exciting process. There are new words to learn, remote places to visit, and unique customs to observe. Hopefully learning the verb 熟悉 will help you 熟悉中国文化 (shúxī zhōngguó wénhuà = become familiar with the Chinese culture).

 

好好学习，天天向上

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