Learning Chinese through Stories

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 make complaint. And surprisingly, he found... 乌龟 受伤了，让蜗牛去买药。过了两个小时，蜗牛还没有回来。乌龟急了就骂它："哼，这蜗牛，再不回来我可就死了!" 这时候 门外 传来了蜗牛的声音："你再说我，我就不去帮你买药了！" 乌龟 wūguī Noun, turtle 受伤 shòush...

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. 妈妈："儿子，你到厨房里去看一下，看看电灯有没有关？"儿子去了一下回来说："妈妈，那里黑咕隆咚的，什么也看不见。我怎么知道？" 儿子 érzi Noun, son 厨房 chúfáng Noun, kitchen 电灯 diàndēng Noun, lighting bulb 关 guān Verb, to turn off; to switch off; to cl...

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 want more Chinese jokes like this. 爸爸问儿子：你将来 娶谁做老婆？儿子说：我要娶奶奶，她疼我！爸爸说：胡说，你怎么可以娶我妈呢？儿子说：你可以娶我妈做老婆，为什么我就不能娶你妈呢！ ——摘自http://m.jj59.com/gaoxiaowenzhang/030757.html 将来 jiānglái Noun,...

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 安徽 Ānhuī Anhui province, capital city is Hefei 景色 jǐngsè Noun, scene; view; landscape Or 风景 秀丽 xiùlì Adj, beautiful(only used to describe mountain, forest and natural scenes that have trees) 风景秀丽，景色秀丽 神奇 shénqí Adj, magical 尤其是 yóuqí shì Conjuncti...

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 famous boulders on the Yellow Mountain. Anyway, check it out, I mean both this story and the Yellow Mountain. Going through the new word list before you listen to this episode will help you have a better understanding. The word list can be found on www.le...

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 are from countryside and those families made less than 5000 US dollars each year. The leukemia comes as a devastating blow. You can leave a comment and contact us if you would like to make a donation to help out this family. 因病致 贫的白血病儿家庭：...

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 午饭 早饭，早餐:breakfast 晚饭，晚餐：dinner 一旁 yì páng Noun, one side; away from the majority of the people Or 一边 站在一旁，stand alone 背包 bèibāo Noun, backpack 书包，book pack 丢 diū Verb, to lose 把背包丢了。Lost the backpack. 面包 miànbāo Noun, bread 矿泉水 ku...

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 Masha might have just learned who could become her best friend. Going through the new word list before you listen to this episode will help you have a better understanding. The word list can be found on www.learningchinesethroughstories.com 春游那天，到...

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 one day 学校内，inside school 持 chí Verb, to take; to hold 假 jiǎ Adj, fake 信用卡 xìnyòngkǎ Noun, credit card 刷 shuā Verb， to swipe 刷卡，to swipe a card 点 diǎn Noun, dot 13.4 十三点四 万 wàn Noun, 10 thousand 高档 gāodàng Adj, high-end; fancy 烟 yān Noun, ciga...

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 got sentenced and a penalty of course. Check it out and get to know more about this news. Going through the new word list before you listen to this episode will help you have a better understanding. The word list can be found on www.learningchinesethr...

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 收下 shōu xià Verb, to accept (gift, money, bribery, etc.) 些 xiē Pronoun, some 一些, some 这些，these 那些, those 菜子 càizǐ Noun, vegetable seeds Or 菜籽 翻 fān Verb， to plow; to turn up（ the soil） 翻地 松 sōng Adj, loose 把地翻松, to plow the soil 土松了，the soi...

"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, this is a similar one, but it is rabbit and napa cabbage instead. Going through the new word list before you listen to this episode will help you have a better understanding. The word list can be found on www.learningchinesethroughstories.com 老山羊在...

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, (do something) with (someone); and, (noun) and (noun) 我跟朋友去看电影。I went to the movie with a friend. 苹果跟香蕉，apple and banana 花园 huāyuán Noun, garden 颐和园(yíhéyuán)，the summer palace 假 jiǎ Adj, fake 假山，fake mountain; rockery 口 kǒu Measure word for vat,...

Simaguang is the writer of the greatest Chinese history masterpiece "Zizhi Tongjian". He was a famous historian, writer and politician in Song Dynasty. This story records his heroic act of saving a drowned buddy in his childhood. It has another well-known Chinese name called "Simaguang smashed the vat" (Simaguang Za Gang) and it is one of the best-known stories in China. Going through the new word...

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 Noun, mosquito 咬住 yǎo zhù Verb phrase, to bite into; to grip 挣 zhèng Verb, to break; to snap 断 duàn Adj, to be broken into half 逃走 táozǒu Verb, to escape 难看 nánkàn Adj, ugly 爬 pá Verb, to crawl 河边 hé biān Noun, riverside 摇 yáo Verb, to wave (head or tail) ……来...

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 different animals and asking for a loan of a new tail, the little gecko learned that its tail would grow back. Going through the new word list before you listen to this episode will help you have a better understanding. The word list can be found on www...

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 下班 xiàbān Verb phrase, to get off work 拿 ná Verb, to take/pick something with hands 又 yòu Adv, again; one more time 贴 tiē Verb, to post 墙 qiáng Noun, wall 明白 míngbai Verb, to understand 只是 zhǐshì Adv, only 自己 zìjǐ Pronoun, oneself 那么 nàme Adv, very (+adj...

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 members. Lanlan's father picked this picture from many of her paintings and hang it on the wall. At first, Lanlan was very confused, but later she learned why from each of her family member. Going through the new word list before you listen to this episod...

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(ding)，the top of a hill 山脚，the foot of a hill 山腰，the mid of a hill 闷 mēn Adj, stifling 直（起） zhí (qǐ) Verb, to straight up… 直起腰 直起身子 身子 shēnzi Noun, body 伸 shēn Verb, to stretch 腰 yāo Noun, waist 燕子 yànzi Noun, swallow 大声 dàshēng Adv,...

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. 小白兔弯着腰在山坡上割草。天气很闷，小白兔直起 身子，伸伸腰。 　　小燕子从他头上飞过。小白兔大声 喊："燕子，燕子，你为什么飞得这么低啊？" 　　燕子边飞边说："要下雨了。空气很潮湿，虫子的翅膀沾了小水珠，我飞不高。我正 忙着 捉虫子呢！" 是要下雨了吗？ 小...

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 重庆 Chóngqìng City name, Chongqing 直径 zhíjìng Noun, diameter 米 mǐ Noun, meter 月饼 yuèbǐng Noun, mooncake, traditional Chinese food for the Mid-Autumn's Day 王 wáng Noun, king 标价 biāojià Verb, the price is marked at… 千 qiān Noun, thousand 百 bǎi Noun, hun...

The Mid-Autumn's Day (Zhongqiu jie) is around the corner. As a traditional food for the festival, Chinese mooncakes are notorious for being overpackaging as well as for their skyrocketing prices. This year, a mooncake king produced in Chongqing is priced at 8888 Yuan, which equals 1333 USD. Check out this news story and find out more about this mooncake. And find the transcript and glossary at www...

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 him. He could have brought everything home, but he did not. Find out more about the story in this episode. The transcript of our stories can be found at www.learningchinesethroughstories.com. They are free for you to download. Enjoy learning with 听...

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 一块巧克力,a piece of chocolate 玉米 yùmǐ Noun, corn 地 dì Noun, farming field 玉米地，corn field 结 jiē Verb, (fruit, flower) grow(s) 玉米结得又大又好。The corn is big and good. 又……又…… yòu……yòu…… ...(adj) and …(adj) 又大又红,big and red 掰 bāi Verb, to break in...

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 Conjunction word, but; however. Or 但是，然而 瓶口 píng kǒu Noun, the mouth of a bottle 着 zháo Particle word, an action to be complete. Verb + (不 )+着。 喝(得)着,can get to drink… 喝不着，cannot get to drink… 怎么办 zěnme bàn What should (I/he/she/they) do now? 呢 ne Que...