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Introduction

A word that means you want two people to be in a relationship. Learn it here.

Transcript

Feifei
Hello and welcome to The English We Speak, where we explain phrases used by fluent English speakers so that you can use them as well. I'm Feifei, and I'm joined by Beth.

Beth
Hi Feifei, how are you?

Feifei
I'm very well, thank you! I've actually got a question for you, Beth. Have you been watching that new TV drama everyone's talking about?

Beth
Oh yes, I love it. There are two characters, Becky and Max, and I really want them to get together. I ship them so much.

Feifei
'Ship'. Such a great word, isn't it? And it's what we're looking at in this programme. In the world of fandoms, 'to ship' means you want two people, usually fictional characters, to be in a relationship. Of course, 'ship' is short for the word 'relationship'.

Beth
Exactly. It's a popular word among fans of TV shows, movies and books. I've seen lots of people on social media talking about how they ship characters, meaning they want the characters to end up together.

Feifei
Yes, and after the verb 'ship' we add people's names. For example, when I was reading Pride and Prejudice, I really shipped Mr Darcy and Elizabeth, and they got together in the end – I was so happy!

Beth
Yeah, so nice! But 'ship' is not just used for fictional couples. You can even use it playfully to talk about real people. So, I have two friends who always hang out and they're both single and I hope they get together. I really ship them.

Feifei
Let's hear some more examples of the word 'ship'.

Examples
So, there's these two people I see on my bus every day, and they don't know each other, but I ship them. They're made for each other.

I watch the breakfast news every morning. There's two presenters on there. I don't think there's anything going on, but they're so cute together. I totally ship them.

So, I've just read this book, and the two main characters got together at the end, but I shipped them from the beginning. I knew they were going to get together.

Beth
So, to ship means you support the idea of two people being in a romantic relationship, and it's very common in communities online.

Feifei
And fans even create 'ship names' by combining character names. For example, Becky and Max, and their ship name could be…Bax!

Beth
So, it's a way for fans to be enthusiastic and creative together.

Feifei
Indeed. And that's all from us. We'll be back next time with another useful English phrase. Bye-bye.

Beth
Bye!

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