What does "你舒服吗" mean in a relationship context?

Question

I was practicing speaking Chinese with a native-speaking learning partner and used the phrase “你舒服吗” while referring to whether one is stressed out or relaxed.

The partner told me that it's unusual to use this phrase because it's often used in a sexual or relationship context. I was trying to figure out what this phrase means in this context, but I could not find an equivalent expression in English. I'm also guessing there is a cultural difference which I don't understand.

What does the expression "你舒服吗" mean in a relationship context?

Answer 1

As I understand, aside from it's normal usage, 舒服 = "comfortable" is a euphemism for "sexually pleasurable" (or "sexually comfortable") or "comfortable with having sex". It might also be used as an indirect question asking for consent.

If you go to ZhiSex.com and search for 舒服, you'll find a lot of examples. Here's some below:

Examples (warning: explicit)

我怎么做他才最舒服。各位男士，告诉我好吗？你最希望你老婆做什么？
How do I make him "comfortable". All men, tell me, okay? What do you most want your wife to do?
_{Ask.Sina.com.cn}

对女生来说，做爱会比自慰更舒服吗？
From a woman's perspective, [is] making love more "comfortable" than masturbating?
_{Zhi Sex}

做爱时故意把阴道夹紧，老公会觉得舒服吗？
During love making, [if I] deliberately clamp my vagina, will [my] husband feel "comfortable"?
_{Baobao Zhidao}

Answer 2

歪了歪了…… I can see why 你舒服吗 will be easily interpreted as sexually comfortable.

Because without any context, we will not use 舒服 to describe relaxation of mind. And extremely structurally simple sentences are often uttered in sexual intercourse...(Think about it.)

Avoiding using words that have ambiguous meanings like 舒服, however, is an option.

The best choice is applying both: longer, specific sentence & proper words.

E.g.

我快要到了（I am about to arrive.）√

要来了（I'm coming...）x

你感到放松吗（Are you feeling relaxed?）√

你舒服吗？（emmm...）x

这椅子坐起来很安适呀（The armchair feels very comfortable to sit on）√

好舒服呀（Ah~Good~Yeah~）x

Answer 3

你舒服吗

In ordinary, everyday parlance, it simply ask,"are you comfortable?" in a physical sense.

There are, however, many nuances to this apparently innocuous question, depending as always on the context and the circumstances when it is used.

Just like in English you have "that feels good" which can have multifarious meanings and innuendoes depending on the context and the circumstances when it is used.

Yes, it is also culture-centric as 舒服 could also euphemistically mean "sexually satisfied"

Answer 4

It just sounds weird. Indeed 舒服 is usually used for physical comfort. As a native speaker, the most common usage I know is for checking someone being sick or not (不舒服 mostly means sick, in all possible contexts). In other contexts it can ask about posture and so on, but if you ask it outright without any physical context, of course it can sound pretty sexual.

Answer 5

I think the problem is the way you use it. 你舒服吗 normally isn't used for greeting, while 你不舒服吗 is. 你舒服吗 or 你不舒服吗 is usually used when you see someone is in a uncomfortable position. But you are not entirely sure, so you would ask 你舒服吗. It's like saying, By doing so, do you feel comfortable? or Keeping this position, do you feel comfortable?, which would be easily related to the sexual context. However, this is unnecessary and it can also be valid in other contexts. E.g. When you see your child's in a unnatural position while he's writing, you might say: 你舒服吗？(Are you comfortable?).

Sex is such an intriguing topic in our daily life that one could easily relate 你舒服吗 to it if he doesn't know the exact context.

In your question, you also seem to be interested what we could say when "referring to whether one is stressed out or relaxed". It could be (你)还好吧?(Are you ok?)，(你)(感觉)怎么样?(How do you feel?), (工作)压力大吗？(stressd out (with your work)?), etc.

Hope this could help.

Answer 6

The problem that such an innocuous term could have sexual connotation stems from the ingrained cultural inhibition of the Chinese people, (using this term loosely), towards anything sexual thus leading to the conscious exclusion of unacceptable thoughts or desires.

To overcome this, euphemisms provided a "comfortable" way out to express sexual acts, thoughts, desires, thereby substituting institutionalized "societal shame" with apparent outward moral deportment, for both the male and female. Hence the "inscrutable China man" image?

So, sexual satisfaction became 舒服, sexual intercourse became 春风一度, (Passing Spring Breeze), orgasm became 高潮, (high tide), penis became 阴茎, (shady stem), and last but not least vagina became 阴道, (shady way)

A non-Chinese speaker reading the above would be thrown into incredulous confusion when a dictionary gives the ordinary meaning of each individual word only, LOL, LOL.

Having said that, I believe every language of every nation has such euphemisms.

Answer 7

The expression "你舒服吗" can be a source of confusion, largely due to potential ambiguities with grammar and context. More common phrases used in daily conversation might be "你有没有不舒服?" (Do you feel unwell?), "你还好吗" (Are you okay?), or "这(坐起来，用起来 etc)舒服吗" (Is this comfortable when you sit in or use it?).

Note: "你舒服吗" retains relevance in advanced Chinese contexts, capable of conveying multiple meanings from provocation to a sexual innuendo or intimate actions.

1. In situations where someone is in trouble, "你舒服吗" can be perceived as an ironic way to rejoice in someone's discomfort.
2. The phrase could be empathetically used as a rhetorical question to put the listener in someone else's shoes. A similar English equivalent might be 'How would you feel if you were in that situation?'
3. During sexual activity, "你舒服吗" can be used to ask about sexual pleasure or comfort. In the context of English, it can translate to "Are you enjoying this?" or "Does this feel good to you?"
4. Among close friends, one might ask "你舒服吗" to check in on them during a back rub or massage. This scenario must be used cautiously to avoid potential homoerotic overtones.