Hi, I'm Georgiana and I'm back with a new episode.
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Okay, let's start.
Today we're going to talk about two very common words in English, kind and nice.
Many students think they mean the same thing.
And yes, sometimes they are similar.
But there's a small difference.
A nice person is pleasant, polite, and friendly.
A kind person cares about others and tries to help.
So, nice is often about manners and kind is more about the heart.
For example, imagine someone smiles and says, Have a nice day.
That person is being nice.
But now, imagine someone sees that you're tired and says, Sit down, I'll help you.
That person is being kind.
A person can be nice without being very kind.
And of course, a person can be both nice and kind.
That's the best combination.
Let's look at more examples.
If someone says, please, thank you, and smiles, we can say, he's nice.
If someone helps an old woman carry her bags, we can say, he's kind.
If your coworker speaks politely to everyone, she's nice.
If your coworker notices that you're stressed and offers to help, she's kind.
So, remember, nice is often about being pleasant and polite.
Kind is about caring and helping.
Now, here's something interesting about the origin of these words.
The word kind is connected to ideas like family, nature, race, or being part of the same group.
It's related to the word kin, which means family or relatives.
So in a way, when you're kind, you treat another person almost like family.
You don't see them as a problem.
You see them as a human being.
But the word nice has a very surprising history.
A long time ago, nice did not mean pleasant or friendly.
It came from the Latin word meaning ignorant or not knowing.
Later in English, it had meanings like foolish or silly.
Then, over time, the meaning changed.
Today, when we say she's a nice person, it's a compliment.
English is interesting because words change.
A word that was negative in the past can become positive today.
Now, let's use these words naturally.
You can say She's really nice.
This means she's pleasant and friendly.
You can also say That was very kind of you.
This means the person did something thoughtful or helpful.
Another useful phrase.
For example.
This sounds deeper than just saying Both are correct, but kind feels more personal when someone really helps you.
Now here's another important example.
We normally say, It was nice to meet you.
This is a very common and natural phrase.
You can use it after meeting someone for the first time.
But we don't say, It was kind to meet you.
That sounds strange.
Why?
Because meeting someone is usually a pleasant social situation, so we use nice.
It was nice to meet you.
It was nice talking to you.
It was nice seeing you again.
But when someone does something helpful, thoughtful, or caring, kind is stronger.
That was very kind of you.
It was very kind of you to call me.
It was kind of you to help.
So, nice works well for polite and pleasant situations.
Kind works better when someone helps, cares, or shows compassion.
Okay, let's review a few useful words.
Kind means caring and helpful.
Nice means pleasant, friendly or polite.
Manners means polite behavior.
Thoughtful means showing that you care.
Sincere means honest and real.
Compassion means caring about someone else's problem or pain.
Kin means family or relatives.
Alright, let's continue with the mini-story.
After each question, answer out loud.
Then I'll give you the correct answer.
Ready?
Let's start.
Tom was a very nice man.
Was Tom a rude man?
No, Tom wasn't a rude man.
Tom was a very nice man.
What kind of man was Tom?
Tom was a very nice man.
Every morning, Tom smiled and said, Good morning to everyone in the office.
Did Tom smile every morning?
Yes, Tom smiled every morning.
What did Tom say?
Tom said good morning.
No.
Tom said it in the office.
Everyone thought Tom was nice.
Did everyone think Tom was rude?
No, no, not rude.
Everyone thought Tom was nice.
What did everyone think about Tom?
Everyone thought Tom was nice.
But one day, Tom saw his co-worker Lisa carrying five heavy boxes.
Who did Tom see?
Tom saw his co-worker Lisa.
What was Lisa carrying?
Lisa was carrying five heavy boxes.
Were the boxes heavy or light?
Heavy.
The boxes were heavy.
Tom smiled and said, Good luck!
Did Tom help Lisa?
No, Tom didn't help Lisa.
He only smiled and said good luck.
Was Tom nice?
Yes, Tom was nice.
He smiled and said something pleasant.
But was he kind?
No, Tom wasn't very kind.
He didn't help Lisa.
Then Ben arrived.
Who arrived?
Tom?
No, no.
Ben arrived.
Did Ben arrive or disappear?
Ben arrived.
He didn't disappear.
Ben didn't say much, but he took two boxes from Lisa.
Did Ben talk a lot?
No, Ben didn't talk a lot.
What did Ben do?
No, no.
Ben didn't dance.
He took two boxes from Lisa.
Was Ben kind?
Yes, Ben was kind because he helped Lisa.
Lisa smiled and said, Thank you Ben, that was very kind of you.
Did Lisa thank Ben?
Yes, Lisa thanked Ben.
What did Lisa say?
Lisa said, Thank you, Ben.
That was very kind of you.
Tom looked confused.
Who looked confused?
Ben?
No, no.
Tom looked confused.
Why was Tom confused?
Tom looked confused because he thought smiling was enough.
Then Lisa said, Who was nice?
Ben?
No, not Ben.
Tom was nice.
Who was kind?
Ben was kind.
The next day, Tom saw Lisa with more boxes.
When did Tom see Lisa again?
Tom saw Lisa again the next day.
What did Lisa have?
More bananas?
No, no.
Not more bananas.
Lisa had more boxes.
This time, Tom didn't just smile.
Did Tom only smile this time?
No, Tom didn't only smile this time.
What did Tom say?
Tom said, Let me help you.
Was that kind?
Yes, that was kind of Tom.
Lisa smiled and said, Now you're nice and kind.
What's the lesson?
The lesson is this.
Being nice is good, but being kind is deeper.
Well, we don't know, but we do know this.
Ben was kind, and Tom learned an important lesson.
That's the end of this mini-story.
Today you learned the difference between nice and kind.
A nice person is pleasant and polite.
A kind person cares and helps.
So, try to be nice.
But when you can, be kind too.
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Bye-bye.
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