A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
金智秀的新电视剧
Jisoo's Boyfriend on Demand Netflix Drama
About this story
A simple story about Kim Jisoo's new Korean TV show Boyfriend on Demand, with characters Mi-rae and Qing Nan. HSK 1 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 1 Chinese listening episode that runs about 9 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 16 key vocabulary words such as 漂亮、累、手机 and walks through 5 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.
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原文Read the complete story in Chinese. Reveal pinyin and English only when you need them.
English transcript reference
Now let's talk about a new TV show — this story is about young people and love.
There is a girl, and her name is Mi-rae.
Mi-rae is a very pretty girl.
She has long hair and big eyes.
She is in her twenties this year.
Where is Mi-rae?
She works at a big company.
She goes to the company every day.
She is a very hardworking person.
Every morning at eight o'clock, she goes to the company.
She sits in front of a desk.
What is on the desk?
There is a computer on the desk.
There are also many books and lots of paper.
Mi-rae looks at the computer every day.
She looks at the computer, writes, and does a lot of work.
At noon, she eats a little rice.
In the afternoon, she is still working.
Sometimes, it gets dark and she is still working.
She feels very tired.
Her body is tired, and her heart is tired too.
Why is her heart tired?
Because she has no friends.
There are many people at the company.
But everyone is working and not talking.
Mi-rae wants to have a boyfriend.
What is a boyfriend?
A boyfriend is a boy who loves her.
Someone who can eat together with her and watch movies together.
But Mi-rae doesn't have a boyfriend.
When she goes home, there is no one at home.
There are only tables and chairs.
She feels very lonely.
She thinks: "I want a boyfriend."
"But I don't have time to meet people."
"I'm also very tired and don't want to go out."
What can she do?
One day, Mi-rae looks at her phone.
There is something new in her phone.
It's something like a store.
But this store doesn't sell clothes.
It doesn't sell fruit, and it doesn't sell apples.
It also doesn't sell water or tea.
What does this store sell?
It sells "boyfriends."
Is this real?
Yes, it's real.
You pay money, and you can have a boyfriend.
Mi-rae takes a look.
There are many boys here.
Some boys are very tall.
Some boys are very handsome.
Some boys like to smile.
Some boys like to listen to music.
Mi-rae is very happy.
She picks a boy.
She pays the money.
Then, she has a boyfriend in her phone.
This boyfriend is so wonderful.
He is very good-looking.
His clothes are also new.
He says to Mi-rae: "Hello, I am your boyfriend."
"I love you."
"What do you want to do?"
"I'll keep you company."
Mi-rae is so happy.
She lies on the bed looking at her phone.
The boyfriend in the phone smiles at her.
Mi-rae says: "I want to hear a story."
The boyfriend tells her a story.
Mi-rae says: "I want to see flowers."
Then the phone shows many flowers.
Red flowers, white flowers.
Very beautiful.
This boyfriend never gets angry.
He is always happy.
He always says Mi-rae is the best.
Mi-rae feels this is love.
She comes home every day and stays with her phone.
She doesn't want to sleep.
She only wants to look at her phone.
She feels that real life is not good.
The life inside the phone is the good one.
But the next morning, she has to go to work.
She puts down her phone and goes to the company.
At the company, there is a boy.
His name is Gyeong-nam.
Gyeong-nam is Mi-rae's coworker.
He is also her friend.
Gyeong-nam is a real boy.
He is a person.
He is not inside a phone.
What does Gyeong-nam look like?
He is not handsome.
His clothes are not new.
His hair doesn't look very nice either.
Gyeong-nam is also very tired from work.
Sometimes, Gyeong-nam feels unhappy.
Sometimes, Gyeong-nam gets sick.
He is next to Mi-rae.
While Mi-rae is working, her computer breaks.
Mi-rae is very worried.
Can the boyfriend in the phone help her?
No, he can't.
Because he is inside the phone.
He can't fix a computer.
Then, Gyeong-nam comes over.
Gyeong-nam says: "It's okay, I'll help you."
Gyeong-nam fixes Mi-rae's computer.
Mi-rae is thirsty.
Gyeong-nam buys her a cup of tea.
The tea is hot.
Mi-rae drinks the tea and feels very warm.
Mi-rae looks at Gyeong-nam.
Gyeong-nam is not perfect.
He has flaws.
He doesn't look as good as the boy in the phone.
But he is real.
He has warmth.
His hands are warm.
A phone is cold.
Mi-rae starts thinking about a question.
Who is the better boyfriend?
Is it the perfect boy in the phone?
Or the real boy by her side?
The boy in the phone does everything she says.
But he can't actually eat together with her.
The boy by her side isn't perfect.
But he is right there with her.
This is a very difficult choice.
Many people like perfect things.
They don't like imperfect things.
But life is not perfect.
In life there is cold, and there is warmth.
There is happiness, and there is unhappiness.
If you were Mi-rae, what would you do?
Would you choose the phone?
Or would you choose the real person?
What does this story tell us?
It tells us to look at real life.
Don't always look at your phone.
The things inside the phone are fake.
Real friends are the most precious.
So what is this story about?
It's about a new TV show.
The name of this show is "Custom Boyfriend."
This is a new Korean TV show.
The person who plays Mi-rae is very famous.
Her name is Kim Jisoo.
She is a very pretty girl.
Many people know her.
She sings beautifully and dances very well.
In this show, she is the girl who buys a boyfriend.
She will meet many handsome boys.
These boys are all inside the phone.
Many actors play these boys.
They are all very handsome.
But the real boy is only one.
This show starts on March 6th.
You can watch it on Netflix.
Netflix is a place where you watch movies.
You can go watch Jisoo's story.
See how she chooses between the real and the fake.
See how young people today fall in love.
This is a very interesting story.
I hope you'll watch it too.
After watching, think about your own life.
Think about what real love is.
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇A common adjective used to describe women or nice objects.
Adjective describing physical or mental fatigue.
Literally 'hand machine'. Essential vocabulary for modern life.
A generic place where goods are sold.
Used to express one's opinion or physical sensation.
Common electronic appliance vocabulary.
Location word indicating proximity.
Verb used when someone assists another.
Adjective or verb describing putting in a lot of effort.
Describes an environment or feeling that is cold and empty.
The abstract concept of love between partners.
Adjective describing something without flaws.
The opposite of 'strong point' or advantage.
Used here metaphorically to mean human warmth.
To make something according to specific requirements.
Adjective describing something of great value.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法The existential 'You' sentence structure, used to express that something exists at a specific location.
桌子上有一台电脑。
公司里有很多人。
手机里有一个新的东西。
Standard structure for indicating an action happens at a specific location.
她在一家大公司工作。
她躺在床上看手机。
Used to list different types or examples within a group, meaning 'some are..., some are...'.
有的男生很高。
有的男生很帅。
有的男生喜欢笑。
The continuous aspect marker 'zài' indicates an action is currently happening.
大家都在工作，不说话。
下午的时候，她还在工作。
A conjunction pair meaning 'Although... but...'. 'Suīrán' is often omitted in spoken Chinese, but 'dànshì' is kept.
身边的男生虽然不完美。但是他在她身边。
Proper nouns
专有名词Sources
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