故事
story; tale
gùshi
What does 故事 mean?
故事 (gùshi) means a 'story' or 'tale' — a narrative, whether real or fictional. It covers everything from bedtime children's stories (儿童故事) and folk tales (民间故事) to a person's life story (他的故事 — his story) and the storyline of a film or novel (故事情节 — plot). The 事 is pronounced in the neutral tone (shi), making 'gùshi' light and quick — a beginner pitfall is overstressing it as 'gù-shì.'
Note the distinction with English: a news 'story' in the journalism sense is usually 报道 (bàodào) or 新闻 (xīnwén), not 故事. Also, a 'short story' as a literary genre is 短篇小说 (duǎnpiān xiǎoshuō); 故事 covers oral storytelling and informal narratives more than published fiction.
Character breakdown
old; reason; therefore
matter; affair; thing (neutral tone here)
Memory hook: 故 'old' + 事 'matter' — old matters told and retold: a story.
Measure word for 故事
Example sentences
妈妈给我讲故事。
Māma gěi wǒ jiǎng gùshi.
Mom tells me a story.
spoken
这是一个真实的故事。
Zhè shì yī gè zhēnshí de gùshi.
This is a true story.
neutral
我喜欢听他的故事。
Wǒ xǐhuan tīng tā de gùshi.
I like listening to his stories.
spoken
这本书里有很多有意思的故事。
Zhè běn shū lǐ yǒu hěn duō yǒu yìsi de gùshi.
There are many interesting stories in this book.
neutral
Common phrases with 故事
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故事 appears in 1 podcast episode at natural native speed, with full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.
Synonyms
小说 is a novel or work of fiction — a printed, structured literary form. 故事 is a story told or written in any length or form. 我喜欢看小说 (I like reading novels) vs 给我讲个故事 (tell me a story).
传说 means 'legend' — a story passed down with cultural or mythical weight (传说中的英雄 — legendary hero). 故事 is everyday and includes legends but isn't limited to them.
Don't confuse 故事 with
事故 (same characters reversed) means 'accident' (车祸事故 — car accident). 故事 is a story. Same characters, opposite order, totally different meanings — a classic Chinese pitfall.
FAQ
Related words from the same episodes
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