5:30
妈妈看了《给阿嬷的情书》
Mom Watched 'Letters to Grandma'
This is an HSK 1 Chinese listening episode that runs about 6 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 电影、朋友、钱 and walks through 4 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.
A film. Used throughout the conversation to refer to the movie 《给阿嬷的情书》 (Letters to Grandma).
A friend. In the story, Nanzhi is grandma's husband's 朋友 — but she becomes more than that over thirty years.
Money. Used to describe what grandma's husband (and later Nanzhi) sent home from Thailand.
To write. In the episode, 写 is used for writing letters — though the simpler phrase 写字 (write characters) is used since 信 is beyond HSK 1.
To love. The letters say 我爱你 (I love you) — the same phrase you'd say to family or a partner.
想 has two senses: 'to think' and 'to miss someone.' In 我想你 (I miss you), it's the second sense. Context tells you which.
Teochew (Chaoshan-dialect) word for grandma — equivalent to standard Mandarin 奶奶. The movie title uses this regional word because the family in the film is Teochew.
Standard Mandarin for paternal grandmother. Mom explains the dialect 阿嬷 as just 奶奶.
Husband. Mom explains it as '男的爸爸' — 'the man-dad' — using only HSK 1 words she knows the child already understands.
To tell (someone something). In the film, Nanzhi 告诉 Xiaowei the truth; Xiaowei 告诉 grandma; grandma listens.
To cry. The most striking moment: grandma 没有哭 (didn't cry) — she went to check the food instead.
Why? Common question word. HSK 1 has 怎么 (how) but 为什么 (why) is HSK 2.
* beyond level超纲词
Subject + 不在了
他不在了 literally means 'he is no longer here' — but in Chinese this is the gentle, indirect way to say someone has died. The episode never uses 死 (die); it uses 不在了 throughout, matching how Chinese families actually talk about loss.
他不在了。
奶奶的丈夫不在了。
X 就是 Y
就是 is a beginner-friendly way to define one word in terms of another. The mom uses it constantly to explain unfamiliar words: '阿嬷就是奶奶' — 'Amma is exactly grandma.'
阿嬷就是奶奶。
奶奶的孩子，就是爸爸。
X 给 Y 钱
Basic 给 (give) sentence: subject + 给 + recipient + object. Note that 给 here is HSK 2 but appears so often in HSK 1 daily life it's introduced early.
他给家里钱。
南枝给奶奶钱。
S + 没有 + Verb (past negation)
To say 'didn't do something' in the past, use 没有 + verb. The most famous line: '奶奶没有哭' — 'Grandma didn't cry.' Not 不哭, which would mean 'doesn't cry' (general).
奶奶没有哭。
南枝没有见过爸爸。