所謂…是指/就是…grammar point · tier 1 · definition frame 所謂…是指/就是… (the so-called X means Y)
Names a term with 所謂, then spells out what that term means with 是指 or 就是: the so-called X is/refers to Y.
字源 FORM what the parts do
所謂 sets up the term being defined — 所 turns the saying into a thing, the so-called; 謂 is words (言) put to a thing, naming it. Then 是指 or 就是 lays out what the words point to — 指 is a hand (扌) putting out one finger to point right there; 就是 (就 arrives, 是 says it is so) settles it as amounting to exactly this. The term named sits after 所謂; its meaning sits after 是指/就是.
故事 STORY a scene to remember it by
A word is set on the table with a label saying named; a hand points past it to the thing it stands for, and that thing gets unfolded in full.
字源記憶法
框 · Frame
所謂 [term] 是指/就是 [its meaning]
觸 · Trigger
You name a term and want to lay out what it means, the so-called X is Y.
序 · The move
1open with 所謂 and the term to be definedis what follows 所謂 the word being defined, not its meaning?
2close the term with 是指 or 就是does 是指/就是 sit between the term and its explanation, not before the term?
3give the meaning the term points tois the second slot the definition of the first, the same idea unfolded, not a separate fact about it?
例 · Examples
1所謂the so-called, what is called公平fairness就是is exactly, means每個人everyone, each person都有一樣the same的機會opportunity, chance。
So-called fairness means everyone has the same opportunities.
界 · Boundary
（也）就是 (namely)
所謂…是指/就是… runs term first, definition second (所謂 X 就是 Y — what X means is Y). Bare 也就是 runs the full thing first, its label or equivalent second (Y，也就是 X — Y, namely X). The defining frame announces the term up front with 所謂; the namely frame trails an equivalent behind. Run them backwards and you swap which side is the term.
所謂…是指/就是… defines what a term means. 是…的 stresses one detail of a settled past event (when, where, how it happened). One unfolds a meaning; the other spotlights a fact.
putting the meaning after 所謂 instead of the term: 所謂每個人都有機會就是公平 → 所謂公平就是每個人都有機會
dropping the spine so the definition floats loose: 所謂公平，每個人都有一樣的機會 → 所謂公平就是每個人都有一樣的機會
using it to add a new fact rather than define: 所謂公平就是很難做到 → 公平很難做到 / 所謂公平就是每個人機會一樣
English 'so-called' carries a dismissive, scare-quote sneer; 所謂 here is neutral and definitional. Learners import the sarcasm, or render 'X means Y' as a bare 所謂 X without the 是指/就是 spine that English leaves implicit.