Learning Chinese through Stories

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 wénxué jiā, noun, master of literature; writer 从小 cóngxiǎo, preposition phrase, from one's childhood 十分 shífēn, adverb, very 懂事 dǒngshì, adj, mature; have good manners 母亲 mǔqīn, noun, mother 端 duān, verb, to hold (a dish, a plate, a drink) 盘 pán, noun, plat...

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 was a little kid. One day, his mother brought in a plate of pears and his older brothers asked him to pick first. What Kongrong did shocked everyone in the room... 孔融是东汉时期的文学家。他从小就十分懂事。 孔融四岁那年，有一天，母亲端来一盘梨给孩子们...

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, to respond 里lǐ, noun, 1里 equals 500 metres 渴kě, adj, thirsty 点diǎn, noun, a little amount 说大话 shuō dàhuà, to brag; or 吹牛 不过búguò, adv, only 井口jǐngkǒu, noun phrase, wellhead 弄nòng, verb, to conduct an action 错cuò, adj, wrong 无边无际wúbiān wújì, chengyu,...

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 met a traveling bird who was taking a water break from her long journey. 青蛙坐在井里。小鸟飞来，落在井沿上。 　　青蛙问小鸟："你从哪儿来呀？" 　　小鸟回答说："我从天上来，飞了一百多里，口渴了，下来找点水喝。" 　　青蛙说："朋友，别说大话了！天不过井口...

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 daughter, so his research began. After talking to many others, he reached a surprising conclusion... 从前 ，在地底下 有一个村子 ，村子里住着一对儿田鼠夫妇 。夫妇俩 结婚 很多年，一直没有孩子，孤独 地生活着。没想到，到了晚年 ，它们竟然 生了一个女儿。这个...

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 fond of; to like 好学 hàoxué, adj, studious; fond of learning 上进 shàngjìn, adj, always want to do better 认真 rènzhēn, adj, careful; serious; diligent 总是 zǒng shì, adv, always 先 xiān, adv, firstly 清（楚）qīng (chǔ) , adj, clear 形状 xíngzhuàng, noun, shape 记住 j...

How did monk Huaisu become a famous calligrapher? What are the most important rules to follow when practicing Chinese character writing? Check out this story now. 古时候有个叫怀素的和尚。他从小就喜爱写字，是个好学上进的孩子。 怀素写字非常认真。他总是先看清字的形状，记住字的笔顺，再一笔一画照着写。这样，怀素的字进步很快。 　　传说当时纸贵，怀素就找来一块木板当纸用。他写呀写呀，日子一长，木板竟被写...

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 bǐ Comparison word 他比我高，he is taller than me. 第二次比第一次好，the 2nd time is better than the 1st time. 进步 jìnbù Noun, improvement; verb, to improve 菜园 càiyuán Noun, vegetable garden 冬瓜 dōngguā Noun, winter melon 躺 tǎng Verb, to lie down 地 dì Noun, ground; f...

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. Yícì bǐ yícì yǒu jìnbù 　　 Càiyuán lǐ ，dōngguā tǎng zài dì shàng ，qiézi guà zài zhī shàng 。 Wūyán xià ，yànzi māma duì xiǎo yànzǐ shuō ："nǐ dào càiyuán qù ，kànkan dōngguā hé qiézi yǒu shénme bù yíyàng ？"xiǎo yànzi qù le ，huílái shuō ："māma ，mām...

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 will introduce what season it is. 四季 sìjì Noun phrase, four seasons 草 cǎo Noun, grass 芽 yá Noun, bud 尖 jiān Adj, pointed; sharp at the tip 小鸟 xiǎo niǎo Noun, little bird(s) 春天 chūntiān Noun, spring 荷叶 hé yè Noun, lotus leaf 圆 yuán Adj, round...

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 toilet paper? Check out how this witted Chinese guy handled the emergency... Worksheet questions for this story can be found under the tab "练习题Worksheet" on http://www.learningchinesethroughstories.com 今天上厕所忘带纸了，好在我够机智，打电话说：喂...

Worksheet questions for this story can be found under the tab "练习题Worksheet" on http://www.learningchinesethroughstories.com 带 dài Verb, to take (along with oneself) 河边 hé biān Noun phrase, river bank; river side 蜻蜓 qīngtíng Noun, dragonfly 捉 zhuō Verb, to catch (animals) 空手 kōngshǒu empty hands; with hands empty 蝴蝶 húdié Noun, butterfly 气人 qì rén (this) makes me mad; a complaint to...

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. Her mom concluded that it was because she could not focus on one task at one time. Worksheet questions for this story can be found under the tab "练习题Worksheet" on http://www.learningchinesethroughstories.com 猫妈妈带着小猫在河边钓鱼。 　　一只蜻蜓飞...

Worksheet questions for this story can be found under the tab "练习题Worksheet" on http://www.learningchinesethroughstories.com 古时候 gǔ shíhòu Noun phrase, ancient times 有名 yǒumíng Adj, well-known 射箭 shèjiàn Verb, to shoot an arrow; noun, archery 能手 néngshǒu Noun, a person who is skilled at something 郊外 jiāowài Noun, suburb 打猎 dǎliè Verb, to hunt; noun, hunting 猎人，hunter 大雁 dàyàn...

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 did not believe it until he saw what really happened... Worksheet questions for this story can be found under the tab "练习题Worksheet" on http://www.learningchinesethroughstories.com 更羸（léi）是古时候魏(wei4)国有名的射箭能手。 　　有一天，更羸跟魏王...

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, early We don't say晚晚 for late. 小儿麻痹症xiǎo'ér mábì zhèng Polio 患有小儿麻痹症or 得了小儿麻痹症 落下 làoxià Verb, a problem was caused by a disease and it never goes away 腿脚落下了残疾 (her) legs and feet were left handicapped because of the disease 残疾 cánjí Adj,...

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 to walk in front of others. One day, Yingzi was called up by a new teacher to present a story in front of the whole class. Yingzi did not know that her life was going to changed... 上小学的时候，我们班有位叫英子的同学。她很文静，总是默默地坐在教室的一...

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 something very important. Five years passed and when he finally could say five words, something shocking happened... Worksheet questions for this story can be found under the tab "练习题Worksheet" on http://www.learningchinesethroughstories.com 王子被施了...

Find the transcript of glossary under "Stories", "Joke stories" on http://www.learningchinesethroughstories.com An old man decided to put three locks on his newly-bought bicycle after losing his previous one. And he also left a note to any potential thief. On the following day, his bicycle was kept well; however, he also saw something unbelievable... 一老人丢车，当他将新买的自行车放在楼下时，他上...

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 why. Find the transcript of glossary under "Stories", "Joke stories" on http://www.learningchinesethroughstories.com 醉汉回到家，对妻子说："家里闹鬼了！"妻子满脸惊恐，问："何以见得？"醉汉说："我一拉卫生间的门，灯就亮了，而且阴风阵阵，寒气逼人！"妻字一...

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 this story in no time! Enjoy the lesson and please find the new word list on our website: www.learningchinesethroughstories.com 蝌蚪 kēdǒu Noun, tadpole 池塘 chítáng Noun, pond 游泳池，swimming pool 脑袋 nǎodai Noun, brain 甩 shuǎi Verb, to whip 歌曲...

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 story was also adapted into a watercolor animation and it gained a great success. Find the transcript of glossary under "Stories", "Scientific stories" on http://www.learningchinesethroughstories.com 　　池塘里有一群小蝌蚪，大大的脑袋，黑灰色的身子，甩...

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 did one thing that made the cop so mad that he fainted and fell... Find the transcript of glossary under "Stories", "Joke stories" on http://www.learningchinesethroughstories.com 一农民赶牛车进城被警察拦下，理由是没有车牌。农民愤怒,找来一木板写了一牌挂...

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 with the searching bar on the top left corner of our website www.learningchinesethroughstories.com

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 from countryside barely get any physical education in school. Check out this article by Mr. Changjun Wang from a famous Chinese periodical "Sanlian Shenghuo Zhoukan". 乡村孩⼦与奥运会 马长军 奥运会开幕后，我在微信群里做了⼀个小调查，问家长们，孩⼦喜欢看...