5:05
阿姨卖的"鹅腿"，其实是鸭腿
The Auntie's 'Goose Legs' Were Actually Duck Legs — A Beginner Story in Simple Chinese
HSK 1 Chinese listening practice. The story of Beijing's famous 'Goose Leg Auntie', who told students she was selling roasted goose legs for years — and then admitted they were duck legs all along. Told one slow step at a time using only beginner-level Chinese.
This is an HSK 1 Chinese listening episode that runs about 5 minutes. The full Mandarin script is shown with tap-for-pinyin and a line-by-line English translation, so you can listen and read at once — comprehensible input in the sense of Stephen Krashen's i+1 theory. It teaches 12 key vocabulary words such as 阿姨、鹅、鸭 and walks through 7 grammar patterns, each explained in English with examples. The same news story is retold at 4 difficulty levels — use the level selector above to find the version that is challenging but still understandable for you.
今天我们说一个事。
Today we'll talk about a thing.
今天的事，是一个人的事。
Today's thing is about a person.
我们说说这个人。
Let's talk about this person.
她是一个女的。
She is a woman.
她不在你家。
She is not at your home.
她不在我家。
She is not at my home.
她在中国。
She is in China.
她在中国的一个地方。
She is in a place in China.
这个地方，叫北京。
This place is called Beijing.
你听过北京吗？
Have you heard of Beijing?
你也许听过。
Maybe you have.
也许没听过。
Maybe you haven't.
没关系。
It's okay.
北京有很多人。
Beijing has many people.
北京也有很多大学。
Beijing also has many universities.
什么是大学呢？
What is a university?
大学就是大的学校。
A university is a big school.
学生大了，去大学。
When students are grown up, they go to university.
北京有大学。
Beijing has universities.
大学里有学生。
Universities have students.
学生很多。
There are many students.
他们想吃东西。
They want to eat things.
大学的外面，有的人在卖东西。
Outside the universities, some people sell things.
卖什么呢？
Sell what?
卖吃的。
Sell things to eat.
今天的这个人，就是在那里卖东西。
Today's person sells things there.
她在大学外面卖。
She sells outside the university.
她卖了很多年。
She has sold for many years.
卖了十几年。
More than ten years.
那她卖什么呢？
So what does she sell?
她卖的，是一种肉。
What she sells is meat.
肉的样子，是一条腿。
The meat looks like a leg.
是什么的腿呢？
What kind of leg?
她说："这是鹅的腿。
She says: 'This is a goose's leg.'
鹅是什么呢？
What is a goose?
鹅是一种动物。
A goose is a kind of animal.
鹅有两条腿。
A goose has two legs.
鹅会走。
A goose walks.
鹅也会叫。
A goose also calls out (makes noise).
鹅的样子，有一点像鸡。
A goose looks a bit like a chicken.
但是比鸡大。
But bigger than a chicken.
她卖的，就是鹅的腿。
What she sells is the goose's leg.
我们说："鹅腿"。
We say: 'goose leg'.
她的鹅腿，做得很好吃。
Her goose legs are very tasty.
学生都喜欢。
Students all like them.
一个学生吃了，说："好吃！
One student ate one and said: 'Tasty!'
他告诉别的学生。
He told other students.
别的学生也来吃。
Other students came to eat too.
他们也说："好吃！
They also said: 'Tasty!'
然后越来越多的学生来。
Then more and more students came.
来买的人很多。
Many people came to buy.
有时候要等一个小时。
Sometimes you had to wait an hour.
有时候要等更久。
Sometimes you waited even longer.
但是学生们也愿意等。
But the students were willing to wait.
他们说："这个鹅腿，等也愿意。
They said: 'For this goose leg, waiting is worth it.'
慢慢的，这个阿姨变得很有名。
Slowly, this auntie became famous.
中国的网上，都在说她。
On the Chinese internet, people were all talking about her.
大家叫她："鹅腿阿姨"。
People called her: 'Goose Leg Auntie'.
很多人都喜欢她。
Many people liked her.
就这样，过了好几年。
Just like that, several years passed.
鹅腿阿姨，每天都在卖。
Goose Leg Auntie sold every day.
学生每天都来买。
Students came to buy every day.
钱也越赚越多。
She made more and more money.
但是，前几天。
But, a few days ago.
鹅腿阿姨说了一件事。
Goose Leg Auntie said something.
她说的这件事，很多人都没想到。
What she said, many people didn't expect.
她说：
She said:
"我跟大家说一件事。
'I want to tell everyone something.
我卖的，其实不是鹅腿。
What I sell is actually not goose leg.
我卖的，是鸭腿。
What I sell is duck leg.
鸭也是一种动物。
A duck is also a kind of animal.
鸭比鹅小。
A duck is smaller than a goose.
鸭的腿，也比鹅的腿便宜。
A duck's leg is also cheaper than a goose's leg.
我跟大家说对不起。
I want to say sorry to everyone.'
大家听了，都很不高兴。
When everyone heard this, they were all unhappy.
学生也不高兴。
Students were unhappy.
喜欢她的人，都不高兴。
The people who liked her were all unhappy.
大家说：
They said:
"我们以为吃的是鹅腿。
'We thought we were eating goose leg.
其实吃的是鸭腿。
Actually we were eating duck leg.
我们花的钱是鹅腿的钱。
We spent the price of a goose leg.
不是鸭腿的钱。
Not the price of a duck leg.
鹅腿的钱多。
Goose-leg money is a lot.
鸭腿的钱少。
Duck-leg money is a little.
钱不一样。
The amounts are different.'
那为什么以前不说呢？
So why didn't she say this before?
阿姨说：
Auntie said:
"很多年以前，我真的卖鹅腿。
'Many years ago, I really sold goose leg.
真的真的卖。
Really really sold it.
后来，找不到鹅了。
Later, I couldn't find geese anymore.
我想找。
I wanted to find some.
我也想买。
I also wanted to buy some.
但是没有。
But there were none.
我就用鸭。
So I used ducks.
鸭好找。
Ducks are easy to find.
鸭也便宜。
Ducks are also cheap.
但是我没跟大家说。
But I didn't tell everyone.
我也想说。
I wanted to say.
但是没说。
But I never said.
我也知道，这是不对的。
I also knew this was not right.
对不起。
I'm sorry.'
现在，有人在看这件事。
Now, someone is looking into this thing.
看是不是阿姨做错了。
Looking at whether Auntie did something wrong.
也看以后怎么办。
Also looking at what to do next.
最后，我想问你一下。
Finally, I want to ask you something.
你有没有，跟别人说一件事。
Have you ever told someone something,
你说的，跟你做的，不一样？
where what you said and what you did were not the same?
也许是一件小事。
Maybe it was a small thing.
也许是一件大事。
Maybe it was a big thing.
那以后呢？
What about from now on?
你跟别人说的，跟你做的，一样吗？
What you tell others and what you do — are they the same?
说一样的，做一样的。
Say the same thing, do the same thing.
心里也安心。
Then your heart feels at peace.
HSK 1, within HSK 1. Glossed inline: 大学就是大的学校 = a university is a big school.
HSK 1. The customers in this story.
HSK 1 verb. Central action of the story: 她在大学外面卖东西.
HSK 3 noun. In Chinese, used to address any older woman politely. Here it's the news subject's actual public nickname: 鹅腿阿姨 = Goose Leg Auntie.
Glossed inline: 鹅是一种动物。有两条腿。比鸡大。= A goose is a kind of animal, has two legs, bigger than a chicken.
Glossed inline: 鸭比鹅小 = a duck is smaller than a goose. 鸭便宜 = duck is cheap.
HSK 4 noun, but the basic body part. 鹅的腿 = a goose's leg; 鸭的腿 = a duck's leg.
HSK 3 noun. 她卖的是一种肉 = what she sells is a kind of meat.
HSK 2 adjective. 鸭便宜 = duck is cheap. 鸭腿比鹅腿便宜 = duck leg is cheaper than goose leg.
HSK 3 adverb. 我卖的，其实不是鹅腿 = what I sell is actually not goose leg. Key turn in the story.
HSK 3 noun. 鹅是一种动物 = a goose is a kind of animal.
HSK 3 verb. 学生愿意等 = students are willing to wait. Marks emotional commitment.
* beyond level超纲词
Subject + 是 / 不是 + Noun
Basic identity: 'X is/is not Y'.
她是一个女的。
鹅是一种动物。
我卖的，其实不是鹅腿。
A 比 B + Adj (comparison)
'A is more Adj than B'. HSK 2 comparison structure.
鸭比鹅小。
鸭腿比鹅腿便宜。
鸡比鹅小。
Subject + 也 / 都 + Verb
也 = also; 都 = all. Both come before the verb. Used for parallel statements.
鸭也是一种动物。
学生都喜欢。
喜欢她的人，都不高兴。
V + 了 + 很多 / 几 + Noun + 了
Marks continuing past action up to now.
她卖了很多年。
卖了十几年。
就这样，过了好几年。
Verb + 着 / Verb + 来 (manner)
Various verb markers used here: 越来越多 = more and more.
越来越多的学生来。
钱也越赚越多。
那 / 那么 + Adj / Clause (so / well then)
Discourse connector: 'so, then...' or 'in that case...'.
那为什么以前不说呢？
那以后呢？
其实 + Clause (actually)
Reversal marker — introduces what is actually true.
我卖的，其实不是鹅腿。
其实吃的是鸭腿。