Do I need an account to play a story in class?

No. Open a story, put it on the speaker, press play. The audio, the Chinese transcript, the pinyin and the English are all public. An account only matters when you want to create a class and assign specific stories.

Can students use this for AP Chinese listening practice?

For half of that section, yes. The AP listening part uses two kinds of audio: rejoinders, where you pick the reply to a short exchange, and longer listening selections — announcements, voice messages, conversations and reports. Our stories are that second kind, and specifically the report: spoken once, then questions in English. We do not do rejoinders or two-person conversations at all, so this is a supplement to the released exams, not a practice test. On level, College Board puts AP Chinese at roughly an intermediate college course, which lands near HSK 4 — so HSK 3–4 is the closest cut, and HSK 5–6 is the stretch once 3–4 feels easy.

Do students have to pay?

No. Students join free with the class code. They only receive the stories you assign — a class does not unlock the full catalog. Pro includes one class of up to 25 students.

What if my class is larger than 25 students?

Pro includes one class of up to 25 students. If you teach more than that, email hello@fluentide.com with how many students you have and how you teach, and we can look at raising the cap for you.

How is this different from the listening worksheet tool?

The worksheet generator turns a transcript or SRT file into a printable lesson. This page is about the audio library itself: one live story, four HSK bands. Many teachers use both — play the story, then print a worksheet from the same text.

For teachers

Chinese listening activities for the classroom

Textbook audio sounds fake and a real news clip blows past half the room. Fluentide records the same story four times, at HSK 1, 2, 3–4 and 5–6, so you can hand the hour a piece of Chinese it can actually hear.

Same news, four listening cuts

One published story, opening lines from each cut. The people and the plot stay put; the sentences get longer and the clauses stack up as the band rises. Open any cut on a speaker. No account.

Archaeologists Pulled 2,300-Year-Old Zongzi Out of Two Chu Tombs. One Batch Vegetarian, One With Meat.

HSK 1
Open the HSK 1 cut
中国有一个东西，叫粽子。粽子是什么？用叶子包米，这就是粽子。
In China there is a thing called zongzi. What is zongzi? You wrap rice in leaves — that is zongzi.
HSK 2
Open the HSK 2 cut
先说一样东西：粽子。用叶子把米包起来，一年里有一天，中国人都吃它。那一天叫端午。
First, a thing: zongzi. You wrap rice up in leaves, and on one day of the year, Chinese people eat it. That day is called Duanwu.
HSK 3-4
Open the HSK 3-4 cut
很久以前，有一个人叫屈原，他跳了江。江边的人怕鱼咬他的身体，就把米包起来扔进水里。所以每年端午，中国人吃粽子。
A very long time ago there was a man called Qu Yuan, and he threw himself into a river. The people by the river were afraid the fish would bite his body, so they wrapped rice up and threw it into the water. And that is why, every Duanwu, Chinese people eat zongzi.
HSK 5-6
Open the HSK 5-6 cut
很久以前，楚国有个人叫屈原，他投了江。江边的人怕鱼咬他的身体，就把米用叶子包起来，扔进水里喂鱼。于是每年端午，我们吃粽子。
A very long time ago in the state of Chu there was a man called Qu Yuan, and he threw himself into a river. People by the river feared the fish would bite his body, so they wrapped rice in leaves and threw it into the water to feed them. And so every Duanwu, we eat zongzi.

Play the HSK 3-4 cut in class Browse the full archive

What is in the library

Five ways to teach with one story

Try it on a real hour

Play today’s story in your next lesson

Everything above works from the public library — pick a story, pick a band, press play. An account keeps a level for you and remembers what your class has already heard.