Learning Chinese through Stories

2.1.21B 故事解读《倾斜的伞》

10 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

倾斜，qīngxié, adj, tilted 踩，cǎi, verb, to step 积水，jī shuǐ, noun phrase, ponding 门口，ménkǒu, noun, doorway；entrance 招手...

2.2.49A《倾斜的伞》Story

10 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

3.2.4B 故事解读《姥姥》

08 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

2015-05-26 12:44 作者：张彦红来源：三联生活周刊 2015年第21期 姥姥对我，其实是特别重要的一个人。因为和二妹只相...

3.2.4A 故事《姥姥》

08 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

姥姥对我，其实是特别重要的一个人。因为和二妹只相差一岁半，所以在很小的时候，我就和姥姥姥爷舅舅一家人...

2.1.20B故事解读《珍珠项链》

07 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

旅游时，我给母亲挑了一串珍珠项链。母亲生日那天，她高兴地戴上了这串项链。我们先逛街，然后去一家酒店的...

2.1.20A故事《珍珠项链》

07 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

On the day when I was celebrating my mom's birthday with her at a restaurant, my mom's pear necklace almost got stole in the restroom. I was shocked ...

2.2.20B 故事解读《哪吒闹海》

11 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

哪吒 Né zhā Name, a hero fictional figure in Chinese mythology 闹 nào verb, to start a chaos 龙王 lóngwáng noun, dragon king 父子 fùzǐ ...

2.2.20A 故事《哪吒闹海》

11 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Nezha is a famous fictional figure in Chinese mythology stories. As a kid hero, he rewards the right and punishes the wrong. In this chapter, the sto...

2.2.19B 故事解读《卧薪尝胆》

05 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

卧 wò verb, to lie down 薪 xīn noun, fire woods 尝 cháng verb, to taste 胆 dǎn noun, gallbladder 长江 chángjiāng noun, the Yangtze River ...

2.2.19A 故事《卧薪尝胆》

05 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The King of Yue did not give up after losing to Wu in the war of Kuaiji. Instead, he restarted his life with his wife as the slaves for the King in W...

1.3.22B 故事解读《郑人买履》

04 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

郑 Zhèng noun, name of a country in Chunqiu era 履 lǚ noun, ancient Chinese word for "shoe(s)" 先 xiān adverb, firstly 量 liáng verb, to meas...

1.3.22A 故事《郑人买履》

04 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

This ancient dude who lived during Chunqiu era(BC 770-476) chose to run back home to fetch the number of his feet size in order to purchase a new pai...

2.2.18A 故事《盘古开天地》

07 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

About the origin of the world, there are different versions of stories under different religions and cultural backgrounds all around the world. This ...

3.2.3B 故事解读《童年危机》

28 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

在我外甥女钱多多看来，年方9岁的她，遭遇了人生第一场特大危机——妈妈生弟弟了，她濒临失宠。今非昔比，之...

3.2.3A 故事《童年危机》

28 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Crisis is approaching to a lot of Chinese kids who are the "only child" in their families, when Chinese government announced that it was going to rel...

2.2.17B 故事解读《给予树》

28 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

2.2.17A 故事《给予树》

28 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Mom was mad when she found her 8-year-old youngest daughter spent all of her Christmas money on cheap lollipops. She saved money for her five childre...

2.2.16B 故事解读《神笔马良》

16 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

2.2.16A 故事《神笔马良》

16 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Maliang was a poor boy who loved drawing. He had been practicing drawing a lot but could never afford a painting brush. Maliang's life was changed wh...

3.2.2 故事《无处不在》

16 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

One problem that a lot of Chinese parents have about family education is they do education talk too much. They try to make use of every teachable mom...

3.3.3B 故事解读《关于外公》

15 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

关于外公 2016-11-04 14:50 作者：糊糊大人来源：三联生活周刊 外公从不关心人，从不理会自己之外的世界。他活在那...

3.3.3A 故事《关于外公》

15 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

From the writer's perspective, her grandpa who had a mental disorder was crazy, callous and lived a mysterious but happy life. 关于外公 2016-11-0...

1.3.21B 故事解读《孔融让梨》

15 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

让 ràng, verb, to let others have... 梨 lí, noun, pear 东汉 dōnghàn, noun, the Eastern Han Dynasty 时期 shíqī, noun, era;time 文学家 w...

1.3.21A 故事《孔融让梨》

15 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This is a well-known anecdote story about a famous Chinese writer called Kongrong from the Eastern Han dynasty. Kongrong knew manners well since he w...

1.3.20B 故事解读《坐井观天》

09 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

井 jǐng，noun, a well 观guān, verb, to watch 青蛙qīngwā, noun, frog 落luò, verb, to land 沿(儿）yán'er, noun, brim 回答huídá, verb...

1.3.20A 故事《坐井观天》

09 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

There was a frog who lived inside a well for his whole life. He had always believed that the sky was as small as the wellhead, until one day when he ...

2.2.15 故事《田鼠找女婿》

09 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The dad was dedicated in finding the best husband for his grown-up filed mouse daughter. He wanted the most powerful creature in the world for his da...

2.1.19B 故事解读《怀素写字》

28 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

古时候 gǔ shíhòu, noun phrase, ancient times 和尚 héshàng, noun, monk 从小 cóngxiǎo, since one's childhood 喜爱 xǐ'ài, verb, to be ...

2.1.19A 故事《怀素写字》

28 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

How did monk Huaisu become a famous calligrapher? What are the most important rules to follow when practicing Chinese character writing? Check out th...

1.3.19B 故事解读《一次比一次有进步》

19 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

次 cì Noun, time(s) 一次，once 两次，twice 三次，three times 第一次，the 1st time 第二次，the 2nd time 第三次，the 3rd time 比...

1.3.19A 故事《一次比一次有进步》

19 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Practice makes perfect, you always do things better than before if you try one more time! That is also what swallow mom said to her swallow baby. Yí...

1.2.21 诗歌《四季》

19 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This is a short poem about four season. In the poem, each season is represented by a plant, animal or a symbol. Those plants, animals and symbols wil...

2.1.18 笑话《餐巾纸》

17 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

So a lot of public restrooms in China do not provide toilet paper. Have it ever happened to you that you just had a number 2 but could not find any t...

1.3.18B 故事解读《小猫钓鱼》

17 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Worksheet questions for this story can be found under the tab "练习题Worksheet" on http://www.learningchinesethroughstories.com 带 dài Verb, to ...

1.3.18A 故事《小猫钓鱼》

17 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This fable story is about whether one should multitask or not. Kitty went fishing with her mom and she failed to get any fish, even the small ones. H...

2.2.14B 故事解读《惊弓之鸟》

14 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Worksheet questions for this story can be found under the tab "练习题Worksheet" on http://www.learningchinesethroughstories.com 古时候 gǔ shí...

2.2.14A 故事《惊弓之鸟》

14 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

While hunting at suburb, Genglei, a well-known archer from Wei told the king that he could get a flying wild goose without using an arrow. The king d...

2.3.7B 故事解读《掌声》

11 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

文静 wénjìng Adj, quiet (describe girls only) 默默 mòmò Adv, silently 一角 yìjiǎo Noun, one corner 角落， corner 早早 zǎozǎo Adv, ...

2.3.7A 故事《掌声》

11 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

As a handicapped girl who suffered polio when she was little, Yingzi always came to school very early and left at last because she felt embarrassed t...

2.l.17 笑话《王子和公主》

11 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The prince was under a curse and he could only say one word every one year. Hence, he did not speak for 5 years so that he could tell a princess some...

2.1.16 笑话《老人丢车》

06 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Find the transcript of glossary under "Stories", "Joke stories" on http://www.learningchinesethroughstories.com An old man decided to put three locks...

2.1.15 笑话《家里闹鬼》

05 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

A drunken man found his house was haunted. But when he told his wife the terrifying story, his wife slapped him. Listen to this episode and find out ...

2.1.14B 故事解读《小蝌蚪找妈妈》

04 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

New words and grammatical structures in the story are being taught in this episode. A lot of repetitions are used so that our learners can get master...

2.1.14A 故事《小蝌蚪找妈妈》

04 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This is the story that all Chinese people grew up with. It aimed to teach kids the scientific knowledge about tadpoles' life cycles into frogs. The s...

2.2.13 笑话《农民和警察》

04 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

A farmer was driving his bullock cart to the city, while a cop stopped him for driving a cart without a car plate. The farmer got really angry. He di...

3.3.1B 解读《乡村孩子与奥运会》

29 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

We went through this commentary article with you with a focus on new words, sayings and cultural references. Transcript of this article can be found ...

3.3.1A《乡村孩子与奥运会》

29 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This is a commentary article that targets on advanced-high learners. While China gets on the top-3 gold medal list of the Olympic Games, many kids fr...

1.3.16 笑话《乌龟和蜗牛》

27 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Turtle got injured and his friend snail went to get him some medications. After a long wait for 2 hours, the turtle started to lose his patience and ...

1.2.20 笑话《妈妈和儿子》

27 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

It is time to go to bed and mom asked her son to go to check the light in the kitchen. The son came back to mom, bringing back a hilarious response. ...

1.3.15 笑话《爸爸和儿子》

26 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This is the first episode of our joke telling series. We want to thank our listeners for this great idea! Click on "like" or "I want more!" if you wa...

2.2.12B 故事解读《黄山奇石》

21 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

闻名中外 wénmíng zhōngwài Adj, world-famous; well-known to both locals and foreigners 风景区 fēngjǐng qū Noun, scenic area Or 景区 安...

2.2.12A 故事《黄山奇石》

21 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Have you been to the Yellow Mountain in China? If you haven't, you should put it on your bucket list. This story gives you a glimpse of the most famo...

2.3.6A 新闻《因病致贫的白血病儿家庭：父亲欲卖肾救女》

20 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This father decided to sell a kidney, so that he could have the money to save his little daughter from leukemia. 75% of the Chinese leukemia patients...

2.1.12B 故事解读《小伙伴》

19 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

小伙伴 xiǎo huǒbàn noun, companies (that one hang out with) 春游 chūnyóu Noun, spring outing 秋游，冬游 午餐 wǔcān Noun, lunch Or ...

2.1.12A 故事《小伙伴》

19 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

At this beautiful spring field trip day, Masha found she lost her backpack that had her lunch box in it. Three buddies had different reactions and Ma...

2.2.11B 新闻故事解读《男子持假信用卡买高档烟酒》

16 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

男子 nánzǐ Noun, male; guy; man Anonym 女子 天 tiān Noun, day 内 nèi Prep, within (a period of time); inside (a space) 一天内，within o...

2.2.11A 新闻故事《男子持假信用卡买高档烟酒》

16 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Spending 134,000 Yuan on expensive cigarettes and fine wine in just 6 days! This guy isn't insane cause he isn't swiping his own credit card. And he ...

1.3.14B 故事解读《小白兔和小灰兔》

14 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

山羊 shānyáng Noun, goat 收 shōu Verb, to harvest 收麦子，to harvest wheat 收玉米，to harvest corns 白菜 báicài Noun, napa cabbage ...

1.3.14A 故事《小白兔和小灰兔》

14 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

"Give a Man a Fish, and You Feed Him for a Day. Teach a Man To Fish, and You Feed Him for a Lifetime". Have you heard about this quote before? Well, ...

1.3.13B 故事解读《司马光》

14 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

古时候 gǔ shíhòu Noun phrase, ancient times 回 huí noun, time(s) 一回，one time/once 两回，twice 几回，a few times 跟 gēn Prep, (d...

1.3.13A 故事 《司马光》

14 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Simaguang is the writer of the greatest Chinese history masterpiece "Zizhi Tongjian". He was a famous historian, writer and politician in Song Dynast...

2.1.11B 故事解读《小壁虎借尾巴》

13 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

壁虎 bìhǔ Noun, gecko 尾巴 wěibā Noun, tail 角 jiǎo Noun, corner 墙角，corner of the wall 街角，corner of the street 蚊子 wénzi No...

2.1.11A 故事《小壁虎借尾巴》

13 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This is a scientific story about a little gecko trying to find out a solution after its tail was bitten by a snake. After an adventure of going to di...

1.3.12B 故事解读《胖乎乎的小手》

12 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

胖乎乎 pànghūhū Adj, chubby 全家 quánjiā Noun phrase, whole family 兰兰 lánlan Chinese nickname for girls. 兰 is a kind of a flower 下...

1.3.12A 故事《胖乎乎的小手》

12 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This is a modern story that happens in a Chinese family. Chinese girl Lanlan's painting of her own chubby hands got praised by all of her family memb...

2.1.10B 故事解读《要下雨了》

12 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

要 yào Auxiliary verb, means "soon will"; "is going to" 弯 wān Verb, to bend 腰 yāo Noun, waist 山坡 shānpō Noun, the slope of a hill 山顶...

2.1.10A 故事《要下雨了》

12 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This is a scientific story that teaches people to predict rain from observing animals' change in their behaviors. It is told through a rabbit's lens....

2.2.10B 新闻故事解读《重庆"月饼王"》

07 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

装 zhuāng Verb, to stuff; to fill 满 mǎn Adj, full 海鲜 hǎixiān Noun, seafood 馅 xiàn Noun, filling(s) In northern China, people say 馅儿...

2.2.10A 新闻故事《重庆"月饼王"》

07 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The Mid-Autumn's Day (Zhongqiu jie) is around the corner. As a traditional food for the festival, Chinese mooncakes are notorious for being overpacka...

2.1.8A 故事《小猴子下山》

07 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This is a fable story about a little monkey's adventure of going downhill. During the monkey's trip down the hill, he saw many things that interested...

2.1.8B 故事解读《小猴子下山》

06 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

下山 xiàshān Verb phrase, to go downhill 上山，to go uphill 块 kuài Measure word for "farming field", a square unit of a farming field 一块...

1.3.10B 故事解读《乌鸦喝水》

06 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

乌鸦 wūyā Noun, crow 口渴 kǒu kě Adj, (mouth is) thirsty or 渴 到处 dàochù Adv, everywhere 瓶子 píngzi Noun, bottle 可是 kěshì Co...

1.3.10A 故事《乌鸦喝水》

06 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This is a classic fable story about a thirsty crow trying to figure out how to get a drink from a water bottle that only has a little bit water insid...

2.2.9B 故事解读《掩耳盗铃》

02 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

从前 cóngqián Noun, long time ago 挂着 guàzhe Verb phrase, (something) is hanging on (somewhere) 门上挂着一个铃铛。 墙上挂着一幅...

2.2.9A 成语故事《掩耳盗铃》

02 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This Chengyu (Chinese idiom) story is about a thief who was stealing a bell with a hand covering his ear. He thought if he covered his ear, then the ...

2.2.8B 故事解读《自相矛盾》

02 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

古时候 gǔ shíhòu Noun phrase, ancient times 古代的时候 朝代 cháodài, noun,dynasty 矛 máo Noun, spear 长矛, long spear 盾 dùn Nou...

2.2.8A 成语故事《自相矛盾》

02 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This is an Chengyu (Chinese idiom) story about an ancient street vendor who was being inconsistent while advertising for his spear and shield. Spear ...

2.2.7B 故事解读《上海"70后"城管101次无偿献血救人》

01 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

上海 Shànghǎi Chinese metropolitan city, Shanghai 70后 70 hòu Noun phrase, people who were born during 1970-1979 80后，90后，00后，10后 ...

2.2.7A 新闻故事《上海"70"后城管101次无偿献血救人》

01 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Chinese Chengguan (urban management officers) usually have a very bad reputation. Check at today's news story about an awesome Chengguan doing good d...

3.3.2A故事《他的深圳故事》

31 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This is a real story about a Chinese man, one of the many who are working hard and trying to make more money for their family at Shenzhen. Shenzhen i...

3.1.1B《山东青岛：11岁"无腿少年"迎新学期》故事解读

30 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

山东 Shāndōng Place name, Shandong Province 青岛 Qīngdǎo Place name, Qingdao city 无 wú Verb, not to have, eaquals to 没有 无糖 táng，...

3.1.1A 故事《山东青岛：11岁"无腿少年"迎新学期》

30 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This is an authentic news cited from Tecent News. It is about an 11-year-old handicapped boy Gao Zhenyu, who just started his 6th grade school year. ...

3.3.2B(3)《他的深圳故事》故事解读（三）

16 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

谈 tán Verb, to talk about, to discuss 谈论，to talk about 谈到，to talk about the topic of… 未来 wèilái Noun, future 肯定 kěndìng ...

3.3.2B(2)《他的深圳故事》故事解读（二）

15 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

墙 qiáng Noun, wall 墙上， on the wall. 墙上挂着一支笛子。 一支笛子挂在墙上。 挂 guà Verb, to hang something on 脖子上挂...

3.3.2B(1)《他的深圳故事》故事解读（一）

14 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

深圳 Shēnzhèn Place name, a metropolitan city in Guangdong 市 shì Noun, city as an administrative division \ 北京市，上海市，纽约市…...

2.3.2B 过年的由来（"年"的故事）：故事解读

07 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

2.3.2A 过年的由来（"年"的故事）

07 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This story tells the origins of Chinese Lunar New year, which is called "Nian" in Chinese. 中国古时候，有一种叫＂年＂的怪兽，"年"的...

2.2.5B《骆驼和羊》故事解读

22 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

2.2.5A 故事《骆驼和羊》

22 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

A camel and a sheep started an argument about the advantage of heights. The camel argued being tall is good, while the sheep discussed being short go...

2.1.3B "雪孩子"解读

17 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

2.1.3A 故事"雪孩子"

17 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This is one of the most well-known Chinese class stories for children. The bunny built a snowman with her mom's help and while the mom went searching...

2.2.6B《小马过河》故事解读

06 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

《小马过河》故事解读 在一座小山旁边，"座"是一个量词，是山的量词。你可以说一座山，一座高山，一座大山，...

2.2.6A 故事《小马过河》

06 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Pony went to an errand by himself for the very first time at his mom's request. He was going to carry a bag of wheat to the other side of a river. Bu...

2.2.1B 守株待兔解读

19 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

2.2.1A 成语故事 守株待兔

19 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

This is a famous Chinese idiom (chengyu) story about an ancient Chinese peasant who stopped his farm work after tasting the pleasure of getting free ...

2.2.4B 故事解读《狼和小羊》

18 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

阳光 yángguāng Noun,sunshine 暖 nuǎn Adj, warm "adj+adj" , which is also named as "AA", is used in descriptions. It is commonly seen in written...

2.2.4A 故事《狼和小羊》

18 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

This is "The Wolf and the Lamb" story from the Aesop's Fable. When the wolf is determined to eat the lamb,his excuses does not need to be reasonable....

2.2.3B 故事解读《狼来了》

13 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

2.2.3A 狼来了 Story

13 May 2015

Contributed by Lukas

This story is called "the wolf is coming". It is about a boy who often lied eventually got a punishment. As kids, we listened to this story a lot and...