<p>Think of the term 絕世高手  (Master out of this world/ extraordinary master); 绝代美女 would mean (Beauty out of this generation). Which means you may only see beauty like this once in a generation. It is an exaggerated adjectival phrase, a more realistic version of this phrase would be 'top class' or 'extraordinary' </p>

<p><em>Exaggerated adjectival phrase is very common in Chinese, for example, 惊天 (shock heaven) is an exaggerated phrase for "shocking"; 万能 (ten thousand usage) is an exaggerated phrase for "multi-functions"</em></p>

<p>"太多绝代美女" means "there are so many extraordinary beauties "</p>

<p>As for your question, depend on the context, "什么叫" can mean "what calls" (with "what" as the subject) or " what is called" (with what as the object)</p>

<p>In this context : "什么叫绝代美女？",  she is asking "what is called extraordinary beauties?"</p>

<p>The difference:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>"什么叫绝代美女？" (what is called extraordinary beauties?) is asking what qualified someone as an extraordinary beauty (asking for your opinion, implies some doubt)</p></li>
<li><p>"什么是绝代美女？" (what is extraordinary beauties?) is asking what is the  definition of extraordinary beauties (asking for a definite definition)</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Since you claimed Ukraine have many 绝代美女, she was asking you to make clarification on this statement.</p>

<p>She knew what the term '绝代美女' means-- "an extraordinary beautiful woman; a rare beauty"</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-06T12:46:10.100Z
2017-10-06T12:54:48.717Z
2017-10-06T12:54:48.717Z
Tang Ho
<p>When you say “我叫Blaszard” to introduce yourself, you don’t mean to say “I call Blaszard,” but “I <em>am</em> Blaszard” or “I’m <em>called</em> Blaszard.”</p>

<p>The same goes for “什么叫绝代美女?”: “What <em>is</em> 绝代美女?” or “What <em>is called</em> 绝代美女?”</p>

<p>So, 什么叫 is a colloquial way of saying 什么是, <em>What is...</em> .</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-06T08:53:08.117Z
Thanks, but then why didn't she simply say 什么是? I found it is more natural... (at least for a novice language learner...)
Blaszard
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-06T08:56:13.043Z
@Blaszard Unfortunately (or rather: Fortunately), I cannot look into her head, so I do not know why she used that exact phrase. You could ask her :)
I’m not a native speaker, but I’ve heard “什么叫” a couple of times: enough to find it a natural yet colloquial expression.
Philipp
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-06T08:56:14.090Z
Also, did she ask it since 绝代美女 doesn't make sense in Chinese, or since she didn't get what I consider a person 绝代美女 for?
Blaszard
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-06T09:00:39.487Z
@Blaszard I can only guess: Maybe she didn’t know what you were trying to say. That’s because 绝代美女 means that a woman is so beautiful, in later generations there will be noone as beautiful as her. Yet you say there are too many of these exceptionally beautiful women in the Ukraine. Sounds like a contradiction to me.
edit: See https://zhidao.baidu.com/question/680716031419870772.html
Philipp
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-06T10:40:12.617Z
"什么叫" is very natural. @Blaszard
fefe
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-06T08:50:50.520Z
2017-10-06T08:50:50.520Z
Philipp
<p>There are many meanings of 意思, such as thought; mind, meaning, reason. Intention, meaning; will; look; taste; fun and so on.<br>
“意思”的意义有很多，如思想；心思，意义，道理。意图，用意；意志；神情；情趣；趣味等等。</p>

<p>什么 is a Chinese word, a question, a question of a noun, usually a question of a question<br>
“什么”是一个汉语词语，表示疑问，是对名词的提问用语，通常表示对事物的提问</p>

<p>Differentity, such as this</p>

<ul>
<li>that asked someone, something or something itself or nature.<br>
What information did you get from  </li>
<li>Ask about something or something
What are you telling me?</li>
<li>imaginary means that something is not sure<br>
Such as: smell what kind of flowers.  </li>
<li>Negative.<br>
What is he? You miss him!</li>
<li>that blame<br>
What do you laugh like?</li>
<li>indicates the possibility of asking the word or a series of words in front of it.<br>
Such as: is this reptile, amphibian, or something else?</li>
<li>expressed surprise or excitement.<br>
Such as: what, do not eat breakfast!</li>
<li>All things.<br>
Such as: no matter the earth - fertility of all mothers - what is produced.</li>
<li>used in the "also" before that within the scope of the said no exception.<br>
He is not afraid of anything.</li>
<li>used in the "all" before that within the scope of the said no exception.<br>
Such as: as long as serious study, what can learn. [1]</li>
<li>for the pronoun with: all, all, everything; for example: as long as you agreed, I give you anything. .... I'm not afraid of anything.</li>
</ul>

<p>不同情况不同意思，如这个</p>

<ul>
<li>表示询问某人、某物或某事的本身或性质。<br>
　　如：你从那里得到了什么消息？</li>
<li>表示询问某物或某事的情况<br>
　　如：告诉我你在找什么？</li>
<li>虚指，表示不肯定的事物<br>
　　如：闻到一种什么花香。</li>
<li>表示否定。<br>
　　如：他算什么？你竟挂念他！</li>
<li>表示责难。<br>
　　如：你笑什么?</li>
<li>表示询问在它前面的词或一系列的词中所未包括的可能性。<br>
　　如：这是爬行动物、两栖动物，还是别的什么东西？</li>
<li>表示惊讶或激动。<br>
　　如：什么，不吃早餐啦!</li>
<li>一切事物。<br>
　　如：无论大地——生育一切的母亲——出产什么。</li>
<li>用在“也”前，表示所说的范围之内无例外。<br>
　　如：他什么也不怕。</li>
<li>用在“都”前，表示所说的范围之内无例外。<br>
　　如：只要认真学，什么都能学会。[1]</li>
<li>作代词用：所有、全部、一切；例如：只要你答应了，我什么都给你。 ....我什么都不怕。</li>
</ul>

<p>Chinese translation, yes words to see Chinese, English is not very sorry</p>

<p>中文翻译的，可以的话看中文，英语不是很好抱歉</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-07T04:33:19.327Z
2017-10-08T05:53:57.537Z
2017-10-08T05:53:57.537Z
user18082
<p>Here is a comment by my friend, when I post it on my WeChat moment:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I: 乌克兰有太多绝代美女，你来吧！</p>
<p>My friend: 什么叫绝代美女？</p>
</blockquote>
<p>However, I don't understand what this means. Having google up a little, it seems 什么叫 has a sort of idioms, but I don't get what it means.</p>
<p>The literal translation is &quot;What calls 绝代美女?&quot; but it doesn't make sense. I copied and pasted 绝代美女 from my dictionary so I'm sure it is a valid Chinese word.</p>
<p>So what does 什么叫 mean and what does the entire sentence mean?</p>
<p>Note: I'm male and my friend is female. We are both 20s, if that is relevant.</p>

<word>
What does 什么叫 mean?
# What does 什么叫 mean?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-10-06)

Here is a comment by my friend, when I post it on my WeChat moment:

> I: 乌克兰有太多绝代美女，你来吧！
>
> My friend: 什么叫绝代美女？

However, I don't understand what this means. Having google up a little, it seems 什么叫 has a sort of idioms, but I don't get what it means.

The literal translation is "What calls 绝代美女?" but it doesn't make sense. I copied and pasted 绝代美女 from my dictionary so I'm sure it is a valid Chinese word.

So what does 什么叫 mean and what does the entire sentence mean?

Note: I'm male and my friend is female. We are both 20s, if that is relevant.

**Tags:** word


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## 3 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2017-10-06. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

Think of the term 絕世高手 (Master out of this world/ extraordinary master); 绝代美女 would mean (Beauty out of this generation). Which means you may only see beauty like this once in a generation. It is an exaggerated adjectival phrase, a more realistic version of this phrase would be 'top class' or 'extraordinary'

*Exaggerated adjectival phrase is very common in Chinese, for example, 惊天 (shock heaven) is an exaggerated phrase for "shocking"; 万能 (ten thousand usage) is an exaggerated phrase for "multi-functions"*

"太多绝代美女" means "there are so many extraordinary beauties "

As for your question, depend on the context, "什么叫" can mean "what calls" (with "what" as the subject) or " what is called" (with what as the object)

In this context : "什么叫绝代美女？", she is asking "what is called extraordinary beauties?"

The difference:

* "什么叫绝代美女？" (what is called extraordinary beauties?) is asking what qualified someone as an extraordinary beauty (asking for your opinion, implies some doubt)
* "什么是绝代美女？" (what is extraordinary beauties?) is asking what is the definition of extraordinary beauties (asking for a definite definition)

Since you claimed Ukraine have many 绝代美女, she was asking you to make clarification on this statement.

She knew what the term '绝代美女' means-- "an extraordinary beautiful woman; a rare beauty"


---

### Answer by username_2 on 2017-10-06. Score: 1

When you say “我叫Blaszard” to introduce yourself, you don’t mean to say “I call username_0,” but “I *am* username_0” or “I’m *called* username_0.”

The same goes for “什么叫绝代美女?”: “What *is* 绝代美女?” or “What *is called* 绝代美女?”

So, 什么叫 is a colloquial way of saying 什么是, *What is...* .

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thanks, but then why didn't she simply say 什么是? I found it is more natural... (at least for a novice language learner...)  
> **username_2**: @username_0 Unfortunately (or rather: Fortunately), I cannot look into her head, so I do not know why she used that exact phrase. You could ask her :) I’m not a native speaker, but I’ve heard “什么叫” a couple of times: enough to find it a natural yet colloquial expression.  
> **username_0**: Also, did she ask it since 绝代美女 doesn't make sense in Chinese, or since she didn't get what I consider a person 绝代美女 for?  
> **username_2**: @username_0 I can only guess: Maybe she didn’t know what you were trying to say. That’s because 绝代美女 means that a woman is so beautiful, in later generations there will be noone as beautiful as her. Yet you say there are too many of these exceptionally beautiful women in the Ukraine. Sounds like a contradiction to me. edit: See https://zhidao.baidu.com/question/680716031419870772.html  
> **username_3**: "什么叫" is very natural. @username_0  

---

### Answer by username_4 on 2017-10-07. Score: 0

There are many meanings of 意思, such as thought; mind, meaning, reason. Intention, meaning; will; look; taste; fun and so on.  
“意思”的意义有很多，如思想；心思，意义，道理。意图，用意；意志；神情；情趣；趣味等等。

什么 is a Chinese word, a question, a question of a noun, usually a question of a question  
“什么”是一个汉语词语，表示疑问，是对名词的提问用语，通常表示对事物的提问

Differentity, such as this

* that asked someone, something or something itself or nature.  
  What information did you get from
* Ask about something or something
  What are you telling me?
* imaginary means that something is not sure  
  Such as: smell what kind of flowers.
* Negative.  
  What is he? You miss him!
* that blame  
  What do you laugh like?
* indicates the possibility of asking the word or a series of words in front of it.  
  Such as: is this reptile, amphibian, or something else?
* expressed surprise or excitement.  
  Such as: what, do not eat breakfast!
* All things.  
  Such as: no matter the earth - fertility of all mothers - what is produced.
* used in the "also" before that within the scope of the said no exception.  
  He is not afraid of anything.
* used in the "all" before that within the scope of the said no exception.  
  Such as: as long as serious study, what can learn. [1]
* for the pronoun with: all, all, everything; for example: as long as you agreed, I give you anything. .... I'm not afraid of anything.

不同情况不同意思，如这个

* 表示询问某人、某物或某事的本身或性质。  
  　　如：你从那里得到了什么消息？
* 表示询问某物或某事的情况  
  　　如：告诉我你在找什么？
* 虚指，表示不肯定的事物  
  　　如：闻到一种什么花香。
* 表示否定。  
  　　如：他算什么？你竟挂念他！
* 表示责难。  
  　　如：你笑什么?
* 表示询问在它前面的词或一系列的词中所未包括的可能性。  
  　　如：这是爬行动物、两栖动物，还是别的什么东西？
* 表示惊讶或激动。  
  　　如：什么，不吃早餐啦!
* 一切事物。  
  　　如：无论大地——生育一切的母亲——出产什么。
* 用在“也”前，表示所说的范围之内无例外。  
  　　如：他什么也不怕。
* 用在“都”前，表示所说的范围之内无例外。  
  　　如：只要认真学，什么都能学会。[1]
* 作代词用：所有、全部、一切；例如：只要你答应了，我什么都给你。 ....我什么都不怕。

Chinese translation, yes words to see Chinese, English is not very sorry

中文翻译的，可以的话看中文，英语不是很好抱歉


---

