So-called / what is called (所谓)

Structure 所谓 + term（definition / comment）

所谓 (suǒwèi) introduces a term either to define it or, very often, to quote it with distance or skepticism: "what is called…", "the so-called…". In its defining use it opens the explanation of a concept (所谓自由，并非为所欲为 = "what we call freedom is not doing whatever one pleases"). In its ironic use, with 的 (所谓的…), it puts mental quotation marks around the term and hints it doesn't deserve the name: 所谓的专家 = "the so-called experts". It belongs to the essay, the press and educated argument.

Examples

所suǒ谓wèi自zì由yóu，并bìng非fēi为wéi所suǒ欲yù为wéi。
What we call freedom is not doing whatever one pleases.
所suǒ谓wèi的de专zhuān家jiā未wèi必bì可kě靠kào。
The so-called experts are not necessarily reliable.
所suǒ谓wèi成chéng功gōng，因yīn人rén而ér异yì。
What is meant by success varies from person to person.
他tā口kǒu中zhōng所suǒ谓wèi的de朋péng友yǒu，其qí实shí只zhǐ是shì利lì益yì伙huǒ伴bàn。
The people he calls friends are in fact merely partners of convenience.

Levels are indicative: they follow the standard Chinese Grammar Wiki (AllSet Learning) progression, not an official HSK 3.0 mapping. We never assign levels by eye.

This point and the other 370, with audio on every example, inside Wanyu.