人情世故
rén qíng shì gù
the ways of the world; how people work
Character by character
人rén
human
human
情qíng
feelings
feelings
世shì
worldly
worldly
故gù
affairs
affairs
Example
他刚毕业，还不太懂人情世故。
He has only just graduated and does not yet understand how the world works.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
懂人情世故 is a compliment about social sense.
Learn this in Lesson 30 · HSK 5–6: 面子、关系与人情 (Face, connections and favours)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
Open the lesson →