10 real-life short stories in Chinese, Pinyin and English

天真热!

Tiān zhēn rè

It’s really hot!

最近几个星期真的很热。在我的城市大连，每天的最高气温都在30度以上。有一天竟然达到了36.8度。这个温度超过了从1951年有记录以来的最高温度。

zuìjìn jǐ gè xīngqī zhēn de hěn rè. Zài wǒ de chéngshì dàlián, měitiān de zuìgāo qìwēn dōu zài 30 dù yǐshàng. Yǒu yītiān jìngrán dádàole 36.8 Dù. Zhège wēndù chāoguòle cóng 1951 nián yǒu jìlù yǐlái de zuìgāo wēndù.

It has been really hot in recent weeks. In my city Dalian, the highest temperature every day is above 30 degrees. One day it reached 36.8 degrees. This temperature exceeds the highest temperature since records were recorded in 1951.

因为我每天都在网络上用Skype和全球各地的学生上中文课。所以我也经常和他们谈天气。从学生那里我知道，好像今年夏天普遍很热。日本东京的最高温度也打破了记录，超过了40度。在德国和法国的学生告诉我，他们那里不习惯用空调，大部分人的家里没有空调，所以最近非常不舒服。甚至有个澳大利亚的学生告诉我，那里的冬天也好像比以前热一些。

Yīnwèi wǒ měitiān dōu zài wǎngluò shàng yòng Skype hé quánqiú gèdì de xuéshēng shàng zhōngwén kè. Suǒyǐ wǒ yě jīngcháng hé tāmen tán tiānqì. Cóng xuéshēng nàlǐ wǒ zhīdào, hǎoxiàng jīnnián xiàtiān pǔbiàn hěn rè. Rìběn dōngjīng de zuìgāo wēndù yě dǎpòle jìlù, chāoguòle 40 dù. Shènzhì yǒu gè àodàlìyǎ de xuéshēng gàosù wǒ, nàlǐ de dōngtiān yě hǎoxiàng bǐ yǐqián rè yīxiē.

Because I teach Chinese online with Skype to students from all over the world every day, I also often talk to them about the weather. I know from the students that it seems to be very hot this summer. The highest temperature in Tokyo, Japan, also broke the record, exceeding 40 degrees. Even an Australian student told me that the winter there seems to be hotter than before.

其实我不但用网络上课，而且也上面对面的课。有些学生来我的教室上课。因为天热，他们可惨了！我的教室里没有空调，只有一个电风扇。所以我和学生们就开着电风扇，喝着凉水上课。但是仍然出了很多汗。还好，他们对我讲课的内容还很满意！

Qíshí wǒ búdàn yòng wǎngluò shàngkè, érqiě yě shàng miànduìmiàn de kè. Yǒuxiē xuéshēng lái wǒ de jiàoshì shàngkè. yīnwèi tiān rè, tāmen kě cǎnle! Wǒ de jiàoshì lǐ méiyǒu kòng diào, zhǐyǒu yīgè diàn fēngshàn. Suǒyǐ wǒ hé xuéshēngmen jiù kāi zhe diàn fēngshàn, hē zhe liángshuǐ shàngkè. Dànshì réngrán chūle hěnduō hàn. Hái hǎo, tāmen duì wǒ de jiǎngkè de nèiróng hái hěn mǎnyì!

In fact, I teach not only on the Internet but also in face-to-face class settings. Some students come to my classroom to take classes. Because of the heat, they are miserable! There is no air conditioning in my classroom, only one electric fan. So the students and I use the electric fan and drink cool water when we have the class. But still we sweat all over. Fortunately, they are satisfied with the content of my lecture!

今天早上下雨了。现在我写这个短文的时候，雨还在下，而且挺大的。这真是个让人高兴的事情。不是吗？

Jīntiān zǎoshang xià yǔle. Xiànzài wǒ xiě zhège duǎnwén de shíhòu, yǔ hái zài xià, érqiě tǐng dà de. Zhè zhēnshi gè ràng rén gāoxìng de shìqíng. Bù shì ma?

It was raining this morning. Now as I write this essay, it is still raining, and quite heavily. This is really a happy thing is it not?

2018年8月15日 John老师 于大连

2018 Nián 8 yuè 15 rì John lǎoshī yú dàlián

August 15, 2018, Chinese Teacher John, in Dalian

Word by word translation：https://www.purpleculture.net/chinese-pinyin-converter/?session=ca971cf9502e4941f5ead8139bd1a1d6

桃子和梨

Táozi hé lí

Peaches and pears

说起桃子和梨。我感到有点不好意思。我说不好意思，并不是因为我经常吃它们。是因为直到几天以前我还傻傻地分不清在英文中哪个词是桃子，哪个词是梨。

shuō qǐ táozi hé lí. Wǒ gǎndào yǒudiǎn bùhǎoyìsi. Wǒ shuō buhǎoyìsi, bìng bùshì yīnwèi wǒ jīngcháng chī tāmen. Shì yīnwèi zhídào jǐ tiān yǐqián wǒ hái shǎ shǎ de fēn bù qīng zài yīngwén zhōng nǎge cí shì táozi, nǎge cí shì lí.

Speaking of peaches and pears, I feel a little embarrassed. I am embarrassed, not because I often eat them. It is because until a few days ago I was still too stupid to tell which word is peach in English and which word is pear.

我当然知道，在英文里，peach和pear分别是桃子和梨的意思。可问题是，我总是记不住到底peach是桃子还是pear是桃子。因为它们两个词真的太像了。开头都是“pea”。

Wǒ dāngrán zhīdào, zài yīngwén lǐ,peach hé pear fēnbié shì táozi hé lí de yìsi. Kě wèntí shì, wǒ zǒngshì jì bù zhù dàodǐ peach shì táozi huán shì pear shì táozi. Yīnwèi tāmen liǎng gè cí zhēnde tài xiàng le. Kāitóu dōu shì “pea”.

I certainly know that in English, peach and pear are the meaning of peaches and pears. The problem is, I can't remember whether peach is a peach or pear is a peach. Because these two words are really too much like. The beginning is "pea".

我以前想了很多办法，但是都不好用。可能当时记住了，可是没过几天，就又混淆了。这个事儿真让我头疼！

Wǒ yǐqián xiǎng le hěnduō bànfǎ, dànshì dōu bù hǎo yòng. Kěnéng dāngshí jì zhù le, kěshì méi guò jǐ tiān, jiù yòu hùnxiáo le. Zhège shìr zhēn ràng wǒ tóuténg!

I used to think of a lot of methods, but they all didn’t work well. They may have been remembered at the time, but they were confused after a few days. This thing really gives me a headache!

终于，前几天我想出来一个好办法。大家知道“桃子”在中文里是两个字，发两个音“tao+zi”，而peach也是两个音节“pea+ch”。“梨”在中文里是一个字，在英文里也是一个音节“pear”。

Zhōngyú, qián jǐ tiān wǒ xiǎng chū lái yīgè hǎo bànfǎ. Dàjiā zhīdào “táozi” zài zhōngwén lǐ shì liǎng gè zì, fā liǎng gè yīn “tao+zi”, ér peach yěshì liǎng gè yīnjié “pea+ch”.“Lí” zài zhōngwén lǐ shì yī gè zì, zài yīngwén lǐ yě shì yī gè yīnjié “pear”.

Finally, a few days ago I came up with a good idea. Everyone knows that "Peach" is a two-character word in Chinese, two sounds "tao+zi", and peach is also two syllables "pea+ch". "Pear" is a one-character word in Chinese, and it is also one syllable "pear" in English.

我的天啊！我终于找到了记住这两个词的方法！

Wǒ de tiān a! Wǒ zhōngyú zhǎodào le jì zhù zhè liǎng gè cí de fāngfǎ!

My goodness! I finally found a way to remember these two words!

昨天我问我的太太：“你知道桃子用英文怎么说吗？”。她没有犹豫，马上告诉我：“是peach！”。我很惊讶，我问她：“你怎么知道？”。她说：“我当然知道。”

Zuótiān wǒ wèn wǒ de tàitài:“Nǐ zhīdào táozi yòng yīngwén zěnme shuō ma?”. Tā méiyǒu yóuyù, mǎshàng gàosù wǒ:“Shì peach!”. Wǒ hěn jīngyà, wǒ wèn tā:“Nǐ zěnme zhīdào?”. Tā shuō:“Wǒ dāngrán zhīdào.”

Yesterday I asked my wife: "Do you know how to say ‘peaches’ in English?" She did not hesitate and immediately told me: "It is a peach!". I was surprised, I asked her: "How do you know?" She said: "Of course I know."

过了一会儿，我又问她：“那你知道梨怎么说吗？”。她说她不知道。哈哈，这下我明白为什么她不会把这两个词混淆了！

Guò le yīhuǐ'er, wǒ yòu wèn tā:“Nà nǐ zhīdào lí zěnme shuō ma?”. Tā shuō tā bù zhīdào. Hāhā, zhè xià wǒ míngbái wèishéme tā bù huì bǎ zhè liǎng gè cí hùnxiáo le!

After a while, I asked her again: "Do you know how to say ‘pears’?" She said she didn't know. Haha, now I understand why she doesn’t confuse these two words!

Word by word translation: https://www.purpleculture.net/chinese-pinyin-converter/?session=534ad2ff964a0b14472c69ef7ec331b2

第3篇：白菜的故事

Dì sān piān: Báicài de gùshì

No.3: The Story of Chinese Cabbage

白菜是中国人很喜欢的一种蔬菜。在英语中，有人把它翻译成Chinese cabbage 或者bok choy。很明显bok choy是一个音译，也就是说根据声音的翻译。

báicài shì zhōngguó rén hěn xǐhuān de yī zhǒng shūcài. Zài yīngyǔ zhōnɡ, yǒurén bǎ tā fānyì chéng Chinese cabbage huòzhě bok choy. Hěn míngxiǎn bok choy shì yīgè yīnyì, yě jiùshì shuō gēnjù shēngyīn de fānyì.

Cabbage is a kind of vegetable that Chinese people like very much. In English, someone translates it into Chinese cabbage or bok choy. Obviously bok choy is a transliteration, that is to say according to the translation of the sound.

可能有人会觉得白菜和bok choy的发音不是那么像。这是因为很多英语的音译来自于广东话的发音。在以前，广东话在世界上的影响是超过普通话的。

Kěnéng yǒurén huì juédé báicài hé bok choy de fǎyīn bù shì nàme xiàng. Zhè shì yīnwèi hěnduō yīngyǔ de yīnyì láizì yú guǎngdōnghuà de fāyīn. Zài yǐqián, guǎngdōnghuà zài shìjiè shàng de yǐngxiǎng shì chāoguò pǔtōnghuà de.

Some people may think that the pronunciation of cabbage and bok choy is not so similar. This is because many English transliterations come from the pronunciation of Cantonese. In the past, the influence of Cantonese in the world was more than that of Mandarin.

其实bok choy在英文中的意思不完全准确。在中国，白菜有大白菜和小白菜两种。而且白菜主要指的是大白菜。就是又大又胖的那种白菜。

Qíshí bok choy zài yīngwén zhōng de yìsi bù wánquán zhǔnquè. Zài zhōngguó, báicài yǒu dà báicài hé xiǎo báicài liǎng zhǒng. Érqiě báicài zhǔyào zhǐ de shì dà báicài. Jiùshì yòu dà yòu pàng de nà zhǒng báicài.

In fact, the meaning of bok choy in English is not completely accurate. In China, we have two kinds of cabbage. We call them Big Cabbage and Small Cabbage. And the Chinese word Baicai mainly refers to Big Cabbage. It is the big and fat kind of cabbage.

而英语中的bok choy其实是指比较瘦的小白菜。

Ér yīngyǔ zhòng de bok choy qíshí shì zhǐ bǐjiào shòu de xiǎo báicài.

The bok choy in English actually refers to the thinner cabbage.

我是北方人。因为北方冬天很冷，在以前南方的蔬菜还不能运到北方来，所以冬天我们主要的菜就是白菜。

Wǒ shì běifāng rén. Yīnwèi běifāng dōngtiān hěn lěng, zài yǐqián nánfāng de shūcài hái bùnéng yùn dào běifāng lái, suǒyǐ dōngtiān wǒmen zhǔyào de cài jiùshì báicài.

I am a northerner. Because the winter in the north is very cold, plus the vegetables in the south couldn't be shipped to the north in the past, so our main dish in winter was cabbage.

在秋天，农民们会开车到城里卖白菜。每家都会买很多白菜。我觉得最少要买一两百斤，这样才够整个冬天吃的。

Zài qiūtiān, nóngmínmen huì kāichē dào chéng lǐ mài báicài. Měi jiā dōu huì mǎi hěnduō báicài. Wǒ juédé zuìshǎo yāo mǎi yī liǎng bǎi jīn, zhèyàng cái gòu zhěnggè dōngtiān chī de.

In the fall, farmers will drive to the city to sell cabbage. Every family will buy a lot of cabbage. I feel that each family has to buy at least one or two hundred pounds, so that they can eat them all winter.

我们会把白菜放在一个大缸里，然后加上水和盐，上面放一个大石头压着。这样大概放两三个星期，把白菜做成酸菜，就可以保存一个冬天了。

Wǒmen huì bǎ báicài fàng zài yī gè dà gāng lǐ, ránhòu jiā shàng shuǐ hé yán, shàngmiàn fàng yī gè dà shítou yā zhe. Zhèyàng dàgài fàng liǎng sān gè xīngqī, bǎ báicài zuò chéng suāncài, jiù kěyǐ bǎocún yī gè dōngtiān le.

We will put the cabbage in a large tank, then add water and salt, and put a big stone on it. It will be put there about two or three weeks, and the Chinese cabbage is turned into Suancai which literally means Sour vegetable. The Suancai can be preserved for the whole winter.

现在不一样了，南方的蔬菜可以随时运到北方来。冬天也可以买到各种各样的蔬菜。但很多北方人还是喜欢酸菜的味道。因为这是一种北方的味道。

Xiànzài bù yīyàng le, nánfāng de shūcài kěyǐ suíshí yùn dào běifāng lái. Dōngtiān yě kěyǐ mǎi dào gèzhǒnggèyàng de shūcài. Dàn hěnduō běifāng rén háishì xǐhuān suāncài de wèidào. Yīnwèi zhè shì yī zhǒng běifāng de wèidào.

It’s different now, and the southern vegetables can be shipped to the north at any time. A variety of vegetables can also be bought in winter. But many northerners still like the taste of Suancai. Because this is a northern taste.

2018年John老师于大连

2018 Nián John lǎoshī yú dàlián

Chinese Teacher John in Dalian 2018

Word by word translation: https://www.purpleculture.net/chinese-pinyin-converter/?session=1a8af3abd7d7540dc7610d7d5bc9cbe6

第4篇：中国女人喜欢白

Dì 4 piān: Zhōngguó nǚrén xǐhuān bái

No.4: Chinese women like WHITE

我说中国女人喜欢白，并不是说她们喜欢白色。我是说她们喜欢皮肤白。可能你会说，中国人的皮肤不是黄色的吗？对，你说得没错。

Wǒ shuō zhōngguó nǚrén xǐhuān bái, bìng bùshì shuō tāmen xǐhuān báisè. Wǒ shì shuō tāmen xǐhuān pífū bái. Kěnéng nǐ huì shuō, zhōngguó rén de pífū bùshì huángsè de ma? Duì, nǐ shuō de méi cuò.

I said that Chinese women like white, not because they like the color of white. I mean they like fair skin. You may wonder if the Chinese skin is not yellow? Yes, you are right.

但是中国人习惯说皮肤白或者皮肤黑。如果你去海边游了泳，回来以后，就会有人告诉你，你变黑了。

Dànshì zhōngguórén xíguàn shuō pífū bái huòzhě pífū hēi. Rúguǒ nǐ qù hǎibiān yóul e yǒng, huílái yǐhòu, jiù huì yǒurén gàosù nǐ, nǐ biàn hēi le.

But Chinese people are used to saying that the skin is white or black. If you go swimming at the beach, after you come back, someone will tell you that you are getting Black.

如果你的孩子一直呆在家里不出门，别人可能会夸他说：“这孩子真白！”

Rúguǒ nǐ de háizi yīzhí dāi zài jiālǐ bù chūmén, biérén kěnéng huì kuā tā shuō:“Zhè háizi zhēn bái!”

If your child stays at home and doesn't go out, others may praise him and say, "This child is really White!"

总的来说，中国人更喜欢白，尤其是中国女人。在夏天，在街上你会看到大部分的女人都会打伞，因为她们怕被太阳晒黑了。也有不愿意打伞的女人，她们会在脸上盖一块布来挡住阳光。

Zǒng de lái shuō, zhōngguórén gèng xǐhuān bái, yóuqí shì zhōngguó nǚrén. Zài xiàtiān, zài jiē shàng nǐ huì kàn dào dà bùfèn de nǚrén dōu huì dǎ sǎn, yīnwèi tāmen pà bèi tàiyáng shài hēi le. Yě yǒu bù yuànyì dǎ sǎn de nǚrén, tāmen huì zài liǎn shàng gài yī kuài bù lái dǎngzhù yángguāng.

In general, Chinese people prefer White, especially Chinese women. In the summer, on the street you will see that most women will hold umbrellas because they are afraid of becoming Black. There are also women who are unwilling to take an umbrella. They will put a piece of cloth on their faces to block the sun.

甚至夏天在海里游泳的时候，她们也很有办法。中国人发明了一个特别的东西。很多外国人叫它“脸基尼”。就是把一个头套套在头上，只露出眼睛、鼻孔和嘴。

Shènzhì xiàtiān zài hǎi lǐ yóuyǒng de shíhòu, tāmen yě hěn yǒu bànfǎ. Zhōngguó rén fāmínɡ le yī gè tèbié de dōngxī. Hěnduō wàiguó rén jiào tā “liǎn jīní”. Jiùshì bǎ yīgè tóutào tào zài tóu shàng, zhǐ lòu chū yǎnjīng, bíkǒng hé zuǐ.

Even when swimming in the sea in the summer, they also have their ways. The Chinese invented a special thing. Many foreigners call it "faceKini". Just put a headgear on the head and only show your eyes, nostrils and mouth.

因为在中文中Bikini是“比基尼”，所以这个发明就被叫做“脸基尼”。

Yīnwèi zài zhōngwén zhōng Bikini shì “bǐjīní”, suǒyǐ zhège fāmíng jiù bèi jiàozuò “liǎn jīní”.

Because Bikini is a "bikini" in Chinese, this invention is called "facekini".

有时候我真的很佩服她们。什么问题都可以这样轻松地解决！

Yǒushíhòu wǒ zhēnde hěn pèifú tāmen. Shénme wèntí dōu kěyǐ zhèyàng qīngsōng de jiějué!

Sometimes I really admire them. Any problem can be solved easily!

 2018年John老师于大连

2018 Nián John lǎoshī yú dàlián

Chinese Teacher John in Dalian 2018

Word by word translation: https://www.purpleculture.net/chinese-pinyin-converter/?session=811a0c269f4c6f92df81c1264b34d549

第5篇：熊猫还是胸毛

Dì 5 piān: Xióngmāo háishì xiōngmáo

No.5 Panda or chest hair

大家一定知道中国的熊猫吧。胖胖的身体，圆圆的脑袋，确实很可爱。熊猫只有中国有。而且在中国也只有四川省有。

dàjiā yìdìng zhīdào zhōngguó de xióngmāo ba. Pàngpàng de shēntǐ, yuányuán de nǎodai, quèshí hěn kě'ài. Xióngmāo zhǐyǒu zhòngguó yǒu. Érqiě zài zhōngguó yě zhǐyǒu sìchuān shěng yǒu.

Everyone must know the Chinese pandas. The fat body, round head, is really cute. Pandas are only available in China. And in China, only in Sichuan Province.

当你读“熊猫”这个词的时候一定要非常小心。你要很注意它的声调。因为弄不好你就会把“熊猫”读成“胸毛”。

Dāng nǐ dú “xióngmāo” zhège cí de shíhòu yīdìng yào fēicháng xiǎoxīn. Nǐ yào hěn zhùyì tā de shēngdiào. Yīnwèi nòng bù hǎo nǐ jiù huì bǎ “xióngmāo” dú chéng “xiōngmáo”.

Be very careful when you read the word "panda". You have to pay attention to its tone. Because you may make a mistake by reading "Panda" as "breast hair".

这两个词的意思可是大不一样！一个可爱的国宝，另一个我就不说了，你一定知道。

Zhè liǎng gè cí de yìsi kěshì dà bù yīyàng! Yīgè kě'ài de guóbǎo, lìng yīgè wǒ jiù bù shuōle, nǐ yīdìng zhīdào.

The meaning of these two words is very different! One is the cute national treasure, the other is…, you must know.

我一直有一个疑问。就是熊猫是一种熊，一种和猫一样可爱的熊。按道理应该叫“猫熊”才对。因为它不是猫，而是熊。可能大家也有这个疑问。

Wǒ yīzhí yǒu yīgè yíwèn. Jiù shì xióngmāo shì yī zhǒng xióng, yī zhǒng hé māo yīyàng kě'ài de xióng. Àn dàolǐ yīnggāi jiào “māoxióng” cái duì. Yīnwèi tā bú shì māo, ér shì xióng. Kěnéng dàjiā yě yǒu zhège yíwèn.

I have always had a question. That is, a panda is a kind of bear which is as cute as a cat. so it should be called "cat bear". Because it is not a cat, but a bear. Maybe everyone has this question too.

有一天，我查了相关的资料。原来，熊猫以前真的叫“猫熊”。大概在70多年以前，那个时候的中国，大部分的地方，写字的顺序还是从右往左，和现在的不同。

Yǒu yītiān, wǒ chále xiāngguān de zīliào. Yuánlái, xióngmāo yǐqián zhēnde jiào “māoxióng”. Dàgài zài 70 duō nián yǐqián, nàgè shíhòu de zhōngguó, dà bùfèn de dìfāng, xiězì de shùnxù háishì cóng yòu wǎng zuǒ, hé xiànzài de bùtóng.

One day, I checked the relevant information. It turned out that the panda used to be called "cat bear". About 70 years ago, at that time, in China, the order of writing was from right to left, which was different from the present.

但有的地方已经开始用西方的写字顺序，从左往右。所以有一些乱。那个时候熊猫也不是家喻户晓。所以在展览的时候，本来应该是“猫熊”，但是有人读错了，就成了“熊猫”。

Dàn yǒu de dìfāng yǐjīng kāishǐ yòng xīfāng de xiězì shùnxù, cóng zuǒ wǎng yòu. Suǒyǐ yǒu yīxiē luàn. Nàgè shíhòu xióngmāo yě bú shì jiāyùhùxiǎo. Suǒyǐ zài zhǎnlǎn de shíhòu, běnlái yīnggāi shì “māoxióng”, dànshì yǒurén dú cuò le, jiù chéng le “xióngmāo”.

But some places had begun to use Western writing order, from left to right. So there were some chaos. At that time, the panda was not a household name. Therefore, in an exhibition, it should be called "cat bear", but someone read it wrongly, it became a "panda."

后来这个错误的名字就一直被使用，直到今天。其实在中文里，还有很多这样的例子。虽然开始是用错了，但是因为用的人多了，就变成了对的。语言是很有意思的东西。

Hòulái zhège cuòwù de míngzì jiù yīzhí bèi shǐyòng, zhídào jīntiān. Qíshí zài zhōngwén lǐ, hái yǒu hěnduō zhèyàng de lìzi. Suīrán kāishǐ shì yòng cuò le, dànshì yīnwèi yòng de rén duō le, jiù biàn chéng le duì de. Yǔyán shì hěn yǒuyìsi de dōngxī.

Later this wrong name has been used until today. In fact, there are many such examples in Chinese. Although it was used wrongly at the beginning, but it became correct finally because most people used it. Language is a very interesting thing.

2018年John老师于大连

2018 Nián John lǎoshī yú dàlián

Chinese Teacher John in Dalian 2018

Word by word translation: https://www.purpleculture.net/chinese-pinyin-converter/?session=4aca79324f168d42c7030041afb0999a

第6篇：泰国学生 (1)
Dì 6 piān: Tàiguó xuéshēng (1)
No. 6: Thai student (part one)

上个月的一个星期天的下午，我正躺在床上睡午觉。突然一个声音把我弄醒，我睁开眼睛一看，是我的手机在响。手机上显示的是一个来自泰国的电话号码。
shàng gè yuè de yīgè xīngqítiān de xiàwǔ, wǒ zhèng tǎng zài chuáng shàng shuì wǔjiào. Túrán yīgè shēngyīn bǎ wǒ nòng xǐng, wǒ zhēng kāi yǎnjīng yī kàn, shì wǒ de shǒujī zài xiǎng. Shǒujī shàng xiǎnshì de shì yīgè láizì tàiguó de diànhuà hàomǎ.

One Sunday afternoon last month, I was lying in bed for a nap. Suddenly, a sound woke me up. I opened my eyes and looked around. My cell phone was ringing. What was shown on the phone was a phone number from Thailand.

我心想，这一定又是一个诈骗电话。所以我没有接，闭上眼睛继续睡觉。
Wǒ xīn xiǎng, zhè yīdìng yòu shì yīgè zhàpiàn diànhuà. Suǒyǐ wǒ méiyǒu jiē, bì shàng yǎnjīng jìxù shuìjiào.

I thought it must be another scam. So I didn’t answer it; I closed my eyes and went back to sleep.

过了一会儿，又有一个电话打了进来，我很不高兴地睁开眼睛看了看。这次是一个来自中国大连的本地电话。好吧，我接了这个电话。
Guò le yīhuì’er, yòu yǒu yīgè diànhuà dǎ le jìnlái, wǒ hěn bù gāoxìng de zhēng kāi yǎnjīng kàn le kàn. Zhè cì shì yīgè láizì zhōngguó dàlián de běndì diànhuà. Hǎo ba, wǒ jiē le zhège diànhuà.

After a while, another call came in. I wasn’t very happy as I opened my eyes to look at it. This time it was a local call from Dalian, China. So ok, I took the call.

电话那边是一个说英语的人。她的英语有比较重的口音。她说的一些词我没办法明白。后来，我明白了她是泰国人，她来大连和我学习汉语。而且她刚刚下了飞机，到了大连。
Diànhuà nà biān shì yīgè shuō yīngyǔ de rén. Tā de yīngyǔ yǒu bǐjiào zhòng de kǒuyīn. Tā shuō de yīxiē cí wǒ méi bànfǎ míngbái. Hòulái, wǒ míngbái le tā shì tàiguó rén, tā lái dàlián hé wǒ xuéxí hànyǔ. Érqiě tā gānggāng xià le fēijī, dào le dàlián.

On the other side of the phone was an English speaking person. She had a heavy accent. I couldn’t understand some of the words she was saying. Later, I realized that she was a Thai and that she came here to Dalian to study Chinese with me. She had just arrived in Dalian and had just gotten off the plane.

哦！我的天！是那位用邮件跟我联系过几次的泰国女士！我们之前写过几个邮件，但是她没有告诉过我来大连的时间和计划，所以我以为她还没有决定要不要来大连。
Ó! Wǒ de tiān! Shì nà wèi yòng yóujiàn gēn wǒ liánxì guò jǐ cì de tàiguó nǚshì! Wǒmen zhīqián xiě guò jǐ gè yóujiàn, dànshì tā méiyǒu gàosù guò wǒ lái dàlián de shíjiān hé jìhuà, suǒyǐ wǒ yǐwéi tā hái méiyǒu juédìng yào bùyào lái dàlián.

Oh my God! It was the Thai lady who had contacted me several times by email! We had exchanged several emails before, but she never confirmed her plans to come to Dalian, so I thought she had decided not to come to Dalian.

没想到她从千里之外飞过来了，而且马上要到我的教室找我！我急忙起床，穿上衣服，快步走到教室和她见面。
Méi xiǎngdào tā cóng qiānlǐ zhī wài fēi guòlái le, érqiě mǎshàng yào dào wǒ de jiàoshì zhǎo wǒ! Wǒ jímáng qǐchuáng, chuān shàng yīfú, kuài bù zǒu dào jiàoshì hé tā jiànmiàn.

I didn’t expect that she would fly from a thousand miles away, and was going to find me in my classroom waiting for her! I jumped out of bed, hurriedly put on my clothes, and walked quickly to the classroom to meet her.

2018年John老师于大连
2018 Nián John lǎoshī yú dàlián
Chinese Teacher John in Dalian 2018

Word by word translation: https://www.purpleculture.net/chinese-pinyin-converter/?session=75941e61db3445764f6a96c9cdbc2088

第6篇：泰国学生 (2)
Dì 6 piān: Tàiguó xuéshēng (2)
No. 6: Thai student (part 2)

她大概40多岁，是一个非常爱学习的人。她有一个博士学位。她以前在四五个国际大公司工作过。她工作的时候很努力。每天十几个小时不休息。
Tā dàgài 40 duō suì, shì yīgè fēicháng ài xuéxí de rén. Tā yǒu yīgè bóshì xuéwèi. Tā yǐqián zài sì wǔ gè guójì dà gōngsī gōngzuò guò. Tā gōngzuò de shíhòu hěn nǔlì. Měitiān shí jǐ gè xiǎoshí bù xiūxí.

She is probably in her 40s and she likes to study very much. She has a Ph.D. She used to work in four or five international companies. She worked very hard when she was working. She worked without rest for more than ten hours a day.

但是她每四五年就会换一家新的公司。在新的公司开始工作以前，她会去世界各地旅游和学习，可能是三个月，也可能是半年。
Dànshì tā měi sì wǔ nián jiù huì huàn yī jiā xīn de gōngsī. Zài xīn de gōngsī kāishǐ gōngzuò yǐqián, tā huì qù shìjiè gèdì lǚyóu hé xuéxí, kěnéng shì sān gè yuè, yě kěnéng shì bàn nián.

But she goes to a new company every four or five years. Before she starts working in a new company, she will travel and study around the world, for maybe three months or half a year.

这次来大连，正好是她在上一个公司工作了4年后的休息。她来学习汉语，一方面是因为她是华裔。华裔的意思是她的爸爸或者爷爷，爷爷的爷爷是中国人。
Zhè cì lái dàlián, zhènghǎo shì tā zài shàng yīgè gōngsī gōngzuò le 4 nián hòu de xiūxí. Tā lái xuéxí hànyǔ, yī fāngmiàn shì yīnwèi tā shì huáyì. Huáyì de yìsi shì tā de bàba huòzhě yéyé, yéyé de yéyé shì zhōngguó rén.

This time in Dalian, it happened to be the break after 4 years work from her last company. She came to learn Chinese because she is ethnic Chinese, which means her father, grandfather, or grandfather’s grandfather is Chinese.

另一方面是汉语可能对她以后的工作有帮助。她打算在一个新的公司再工作四五年以后，开一家自己的培训学校。
Lìng yī fāngmiàn shì hànyǔ kěnéng duì tā yǐhòu de gōngzuò yǒu bāngzhù. Tā dǎsuàn zài yī gè xīn de gōngsī zài gōngzuò sì wǔ nián yǐhòu, kāi yī jiā zìjǐ de péixùn xuéxiào.

On the other hand, Chinese may be helpful to her future work. She plans to open her own training school after working for another four or five years in a new company.

主要培训在泰国想在国际大公司工作的人如何适应不同国家的企业文化。我觉得这是一个很好的项目，她一定可以做得很好。
Zhǔyào péixùn zài tàiguó xiǎng zài guójì dà gōngsī gōngzuò de rén rúhé shìyìng bùtóng guójiā de qǐyè wénhuà. Wǒ juédé zhè shì yī gè hěn hǎo de xiàngmù, tā yīdìng kěyǐ zuò de hěn hǎo.

Mainly, she wants to train people in Thailand who want to work in international companies on how to adapt to the corporate culture of different countries. I think this is a very good project and she can do it very well.

她学习很努力。从周一到周五每天跟我学习3个小时，自己在酒店学习3个小时。我们用四周的时间完成了HSK 1级和2级的所有课程。这是个非常快的速度。
Tā xuéxí hěn nǔlì. Cóng zhōuyī dào zhōuwǔ měi tiān gēn wǒ xuéxí 3 gè xiǎoshí, zìjǐ zài jiǔdiàn xuéxí 3 gè xiǎoshí. Wǒmen yòng sì zhōu de shíjiān wánchéng le HSK 1 jí hé 2 jí de suǒyǒu kèchéng. Zhè shì gè fēicháng kuài de sùdù.

She studied hard. Three hours a day from Monday to Friday, and she studied another three hours by herself at the hotel. We completed all courses at HSK Level 1 and Level 2 in four weeks. This was a very fast pace.

但她学得又好又快！
Dàn tā xué dé yòu hǎo yòu kuài!

But she learned well and quickly!

周末的时候，她不学习，她去看朋友。当她告诉我她在中国有48个朋友的时候，我感到很吃惊！我说：“什么！48个！你怎么能认识这么多中国朋友？”。
Zhōumò de shíhòu, tā bù xuéxí, tā qù kàn péngyǒu dāng tā gàosù wǒ tā zài zhōngguó yǒu 48 gè péngyǒu de shíhòu, wǒ gǎndào hěn chījīng wǒ shuō:“Shénme! 48 gè! nǐ zěnme néng rènshì zhème duō zhōngguó péngyǒu? “.

On weekends, she didn’t study. She went to see friends. When she told me that she had 48 friends in China, I was very surprised. I said, “What! 48 friends! How can you have so many Chinese friends?”.

她告诉我她10年以前在英国参加了一个MBA的课程，他们的MBA班里有48个中国人，他们都是她的朋友。这次朋友们邀请她来中国，所以她要来看他们！
Tā gàosù wǒ tā 10 nián yǐqián zài yīngguó cānjiā le yī gè MBA de kèchéng, tāmen de MBA bān li yǒu 48 gè zhōngguó rén, tāmen dōu shì tā de péngyǒu. Zhè cì péngyǒumen yāoqǐng tā lái zhōngguó, suǒyǐ tā yào lái kàn tāmen!

She told me that she attended an MBA program in the UK ten years ago. There were 48 Chinese in their MBA class. They were all her friends. This time her friends invited her to come to China, so she wanted to see them!

哈哈，原来如此。
Hāhā, yuánlái rúcǐ.

Haha, that’s why.

现在她正在美国学习一个新的课程，不过她还是每周两次通过Skype跟我学习汉语。我很享受和她一起的课。
Xiànzài tā zhèngzài měiguó xuéxí yīgè xīn de kèchéng, bùguò tā háishì měi zhōu liǎng cì tōngguò Skype gēn wǒ xuéxí hànyǔ. Wǒ hěn xiǎngshòu hé tā yīqǐ de kè.

Now she is studying a new course in the United States, but she still learns Chinese with me through Skype twice a week. I really enjoy the lesson with her. [because ‘class’ implies a group of people

如果你也有一周或者几周的时间，你也可以来大连找我，我可以在很短时间里快速提高你的汉语！
Rúguǒ nǐ yě yǒu yīzhōu huòzhě jǐ zhōu de shíjiān, nǐ yě kěyǐ lái dàlián zhǎo wǒ, wǒ kěyǐ zài hěn duǎn shíjiān lǐ kuàisù tígāo nǐ de hànyǔ!

If you have a week or a few weeks, you can also consider coming to Dalian to find me, I can quickly improve your Chinese in short order!

2018年John老师于大连
2018 Nián John lǎoshī yú dàlián
Chinese Teacher John in Dalian 2018

Word by word translation: https://www.purpleculture.net/chinese-pinyin-converter/?session=cee6c9c43b75dda07c2747669350df98

第8篇：双十一
Dì 8 piān: shuāng shíyī
No. 8: Double Eleven

今天是11月11日，中国人又叫它“双十一”。你知道吗？在中国，今天绝对是一个特别的日子。
Jīntiān shì 11 yuè 11 rì, zhōngguó rén yòu jiào tā “shuāng shíyī”. Nǐ zhīdào ma? Zài zhōngguó, jīntiān juéduì shì yīgè tèbié de rìzi.

Today is November 11th, and the Chinese call it “Double Eleven”. Have you heard of it? In China, it’s definitely a special day.

以前，11月11日被人们称为“光棍节”，“光”在这里是什么也没有的意思，而“棍”是木棍的意思，“光棍”在一起是单身汉的意思，是指没有结婚的男人。
Yǐqián,11 yuè 11 rì bèi rénmen chēng wéi “guānggùn jié”,“guāng” zài zhèlǐ shì shénme yě méiyǒu de yìsi, ér “gùn” shì mùgùn de yìsi,“guānggùn” zài yīqǐ shì dānshēnhàn de yìsi, shì zhǐ méiyǒu jiéhūn de nánrén.

In the past, November 11 was called “Single’s Day”. “Guang” means nothing here, and “Gun” means wooden stick. Together, “Guanggun” means bachelor. It means a man who hasn’t yet been married.

为什么11月11日是“光棍节”，因为有很多个“1”啊！这些“1”代表着很多单身的人。
Wèishéme 11 yuè 11 rì shì “guānggùn jié”, yīnwèi yǒu hěnduō ge “1” a! Zhèxiē “1” dàibiǎo zhe hěnduō dānshēn de rén.

Why is November 11 (called) “Single’s Day”? Because there are many “1”s! These “1”s represent many single people.

现在阿里巴巴给了这个单身的节日新的内容。而且因为这个新的内容，让这个节日变得更有名。那就是全民网购的节日。
Xiànzài ālǐbābā gěile zhège dānshēn de jiérì xīn de nèiróng. Érqiě yīnwèi zhège xīn de nèiróng, ràng zhège jiérì biàn de gèng yǒumíng. Nà jiùshì quánmín wǎnggòu de jiérì.

Now, Alibaba has given this single’s festival a new meaning. Because of this new significance, this festival has become (even) more famous. It’s become the online shopping festival for everybody.

在这一天，全国著名的购物网站淘宝会有很多打折的商品。11月10日的晚上，很多人会早早地等在电脑前，准备在半夜12点抢购他们需要的商品。
Zài zhè yī tiān, quánguó zhùmíng de gòuwù wǎngzhàn táobǎo huì yǒu hěnduō dǎzhé de shāngpǐn.11 Yuè 10 rì de wǎnshàng, hěnduō rén huì zǎozǎo de děng zài diànnǎo qián, zhǔnbèi zài bànyè 12 diǎn qiǎnggòu tāmen xūyào de shāngpǐn.

On this day, Taobao, the famous shopping website in the country, will have a lot of discounted goods. Early on the evening of November 10, many people will wait in front of their computers, ready to snap up the goods they need at 12 o’clock in the middle of the night.

我觉得“双十一”的想法是跟美国的“黑色星期五”学的。甚至现在中国的“双十一”的销售量已经超过了美国的“黑色星期五”。
Wǒ juédé “shuāng shíyī” de xiǎngfǎ shì gēn měiguó de “hēisè xīngqíwǔ” xué de. Shènzhì xiànzài zhōngguó de “shuāng shíyī” de xiāoshòu liàng yǐjīng chāoguò le měiguó de “hēisè xīngqíwǔ”.

I think the idea of “Double Eleven” is inspired from “Black Friday” in the United States. China’s “Double Eleven” sales currently even exceed US “Black Friday” sales.

这也不奇怪，中国人口世界第一嘛！
Zhè yě bù qíguài, zhōngguó rénkǒu shìjiè dì yī ma!

This is not surprising as China’s population is the largest in the world!

今天我也在网上买了一件东西。这个东西是一个兵人，就是一个1:6的士兵的模型。有的学生问我是不是给我儿子买的，我说是给我自己买的。当然以后他也可以玩。
Jīntiān wǒ yě zài wǎng shàng mǎi le yī jiàn dōngxī. Zhège dōngxī shì yī ge bīng rén, jiùshì yī ge 1:6 de shìbīng de móxíng. Yǒude xuéshēng wèn wǒ shì bùshì gěi wǒ érzi mǎi de, wǒ shuō shì gěi wǒ zìjǐ mǎi de. Dāngrán yǐhòu tā yě kěyǐ wán.

Today I also bought something online. It’s a model soldier; a model of a 1:6 soldier. Some students asked if I bought it for my son. I said I bought it for myself. Of course he can play with it later (when he’s older.)

从另一个学生那里知道，今天恰好是“一战停战纪念日”，而且恰好是100周年。似有天意！
Cóng lìng yī ge xuéshēng nàlǐ zhīdào, jīntiān qiàhǎo shì “yī zhàn tíngzhàn jìniànrì”, érqiě qiàhǎo shì 100 zhōunián. sì yǒu tiānyì!

I learned from another student that today is exactly the “World War I Armistice Day” and it happens to be the 100th anniversary. It seems like divine providence!

2018年John老师于大连
2018 Nián John lǎoshī yú dàlián
Chinese Teacher John in Dalian 2018

Word by word translation: https://www.purpleculture.net/chinese-pinyin-converter/?session=278b823340e47c4783bb6230450e9261

第9篇：我的儿子
Dì 9 piān: wǒde érzi
No. 9: My son

上次说到“双十一”我买了一个兵人的玩具，有的朋友问是不是给我儿子买的，我说不是，是给我自己买的。
Shàng cì shuō dào “shuāng shíyī” wǒ mǎile yīgè bīng rén de wánjù, yǒu de péngyǒu wèn shì bùshì gěi wǒ érzi mǎi de, wǒ shuō bu shì, shì gěi wǒ zìjǐ mǎi de.

Last time I spoke of buying a soldier during “Double Eleven” (sale). Some friends asked if I bought it for my son. I said no, I bought it for myself.

说到我的儿子，他现在只有两岁三个月大。他还不太会说话。只会说一些一个音节的词。我说一些，有点多，他其实只会说几个词。
Shuō dào wǒ de érzi, tā xiànzài zhǐyǒu liǎng suì sān gè yuè dà. Tā hái bù tài huì shuōhuà. Zhǐ huì shuō yīxiē yīgè yīnjié de cí. Wǒ shuō yīxiē, yǒudiǎn duō, tā qíshí zhǐ huì shuō jǐ gè cí.

Speaking of my son, he is only two years and three months old. He still doesn’t speak very much – only some words in one syllable. When I say, “some”, I’m overstating it a bit. He can actually only say a “few” words.

比如说：爸爸，妈妈，爷爷，奶奶，和姥姥。
Bǐrú shuō：bàba, māma, yéye, nǎinai, hé lǎolao.

For example, [he can say] dad, mom, grandpa (father’s side) , grandma (father’s side), and grandma (mother’s side).

大家可能知道，在中文里，爷爷和姥爷，奶奶和姥姥是不同的词。
Dàjiā kěnéng zhīdào, zài zhōngwén lǐ, yéye hé lǎoye, nǎinai hé lǎolao shì bùtóng de cí.

As you may know, in Chinese, grandpa (father’s side) and grandpa (mother’s side) are different words, grandma (father’s side) and grandma (mother’s side) as well.

因为这样，在谈话中别人可以很清楚地听出谁是谁。这在传统的中国文化中很重要。在传统文化中，爸爸的那一边是更重要一些的。
Yīnwèi zhèyàng, zài tánhuà zhōng biérén kěyǐ hěn qīngchǔ de tīng chū shéi shì shéi. Zhè zài chuántǒng de zhōngguó wénhuà zhōng hěn zhòngyào. Zài chuántǒng wénhuà zhōng, bàba de nà yībiān shì gèng zhòngyào yīxiē de.

Because of this, in a conversation, others can clearly recognize who is who. This is very important in traditional Chinese culture. In traditional culture, the father’s side is more important.

在我儿子的爸爸妈妈和两边的四位老人中，我儿子已经会叫5个人了，只有姥爷他还不会叫。因为其他人都是一个音节，只有姥爷是两个音节的词。
Zài wǒ érzi de bàba māma hé liǎngbiān de sì wèi lǎorén zhōng, wǒ érzi yǐjīng huì jiào 5 gè rén le, zhǐyǒu lǎoye tā hái bú huì jiào. Yīnwèi qítā rén dōu shì yīgè yīnjié, zhǐyǒu lǎoye shì liǎng gè yīnjié de cí.

He now knows how to pronounce “father”, “mother” and three of his grandparents. He’s only unable to pronounce my father-in-law’s name (his grandpa, mother’s side) since the names of everyone else are one syllable words, whereas “grandpa” (mother’s side) is a two syllable word.

可怜的姥爷！
Kělián de lǎoye!

Poor grandpa (mother’s side)!

不过我觉得我儿子很快就会叫姥爷了。他上个星期已经开始说第一个两个音节的词，那就是“不要”。
Bùguò wǒ juédé wǒ érzi hěn kuài jiù huì jiào lǎoye le. Tā shàng gè xīnɡqī yǐjīng kāishǐ shuō dì yīgè liǎng gè yīnjié de cí, nà jiùshì “búyào”.

But I think my son will soon be saying, “grandpa” (mother’s side). He started saying his first two syllables word last week, and that is “no”.

很有意思的是，这个词也是很多外国人来中国的时候会说的第一个词。
Hěn yǒuyìsi de shì, zhège cí yěshì hěnduō wàiguó rén lái zhōngguó de shíhòu huì shuō de dì yī gè cí.

Interestingly, this term is also the first word that many foreigners will say when they (first) come to China.

真是很巧！
Zhēnshi hěn qiǎo!

What a coincidence!

学语言是一个需要耐心和时间的事情。大家一定相信我儿子很快会学会说姥爷，可能是下个星期，也可能是下个月，但他一定可以。
Xué yǔyán shì yī gè xūyào nàixīn hé shíjiān de shìqíng. Dàjiā yídìnɡ xiāngxìn wǒ érzi hěn kuài huì xuéhuì shuō lǎoyé, kěnéng shì xià gè xīnɡqī, yě kěnéng shì xià gè yuè, dàn tā yídìnɡ kěyǐ.

Learning language is a thing which requires patience and time. Everyone believes that my son will soon learn how to say grandpa (mother’s side), maybe next week, or next month, but he definitely will succeed.

你们也一样，只要坚持练习，大家的汉语也会越来越好，最后达到熟练的水平。一起努力吧！
Nǐmen yě yíyànɡ, zhǐyào jiānchí liànxí, dàjiā de hànyǔ yě huì yuèláiyuè hǎo, zuìhòu dádào shúliàn de shuǐpíng. Yīqǐ nǔlì ba!

The same is true for you. As long as you keep practicing, your Chinese will get better and better, and finally reach the level of proficiency. Let’s work hard together!

2018年John老师于大连
2018 Nián John lǎoshī yú dàlián
Chinese Teacher John in Dalian 2018

Word by word translation: https://www.purpleculture.net/chinese-pinyin-converter/?session=661a8ee1d3ab97b2708b6eb655c1bcdc