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Grindr's AI Pricing Sparks App Decline Debate — episode cover art
6:02

Grindr:这个 app 为什么没人用了?

Grindr's AI Pricing Sparks App Decline Debate

About this story

A simple shop story about why friends stopped coming to Grindr — ads, money and an AI chatbot in their place. HSK 1 Chinese listening practice.

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 16 key vocabulary words such as 商店、朋友、高兴 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.

说到找朋友的事情,我想说一个故事。
这是一个关于商店的故事。
这是一个很大很大的商店。
以前,很多人去这个商店。
我也去这个商店。
你去过吗?
我想你去过。
我们在商店里做什么?
我们在那里找朋友。
我们在那里说话。
我们在那里喝茶。
那时候,商店很好。
人很多。
朋友很多。
大家都很高兴。
我也很高兴。
你可以看见我。
我可以看见你。
我们都可以说话。
这很简单。
这很快。
我不累。
你也不累。
可是,那是以前。
那是昨天的事情。
那是去年的事情。
现在是二零二六年。
现在,商店变了。
商店不一样了。
今天,我又去了商店。
我走到门前面。
我想进去。
可是,有人在门前面。
他不让我进去。
他是谁?
他是商店的人。
他看着我。
他说:“你好。
我说:“你好。
他说:“你要给钱。
我听不懂。
我说:“什么?
他说:“你要给钱。
我问:“多少钱?
他说:“五百块。
真的吗?
五百块?
五百块很多。
我有五百块吗?
我看看我的钱。
我有一块。
我有两块。
我有十块。
我有一百块。
可是我没有五百块。
五百块太多了。
我问:“为什么?
我问:“为什么要五百块?
他说:“因为我们有新东西。
他说:“我们有很好的电脑。
我不听。
我不高兴。
我不想给钱。
我想回家。
可是,我想找朋友。
我想见朋友。
所以我进去了。
我没有给五百块。
我只看看。
我走到里面。
商店里很大。
可是,我看不到人。
人都在哪里?
桌子在那里。
椅子在那里。
杯子在那里。
可是人呢?
我看前面。
前面没有人。
我看后面。
后面没有人。
我看上面。
上面没有朋友。
我看下面。
下面也没有朋友。
我很冷。
这个地方很冷。
这时候,我看见一个人。
他在那里站着。
他很高。
他很好看。
我想:“他是我的朋友吗?
我走过去。
我走到他前面。
我对他说:“你好。
他很快说话。
他说了很多话。
他说:“我爱你。
他说:“你漂亮。
他问:“你是谁?
他问:“你在哪儿?
我也很高兴。
可是,有一点不对。
他的眼睛不动。
他的手不动。
他不是真的人。
他是电脑。
他是机器。
你知道吗?
他不是人。
我很不高兴。
我不想和电脑说话。
我想和人说话。
我想和真的人说话。
这个商店里,有很多这样的人。
他们都是电脑。
他们不是我们的朋友。
这个商店有很多东西。
有很多我不喜欢的东西。
我看不到朋友。
我只看到东西。
我很累。
找朋友太难了。
在这个商店里,太难了。
我要走了。
我要去别的地方。
我的朋友走了。
他们去新的商店了。
那个商店很小。
可是那里有人。
那里没有电脑。
那里不要五百块。
我也要去那里。
再见,大商店。
我不喜欢你了。
这个故事说完了。
这个故事说的是什么呢?
这个故事是真的。
这不是商店。
这是一个电话里的东西。
它的名字叫Grindr。
这是一个找朋友的地方。
以前,它很好。
现在,它不好。
它要很多钱。
五百块一个月。
它有很多电脑人。
那不是真的人。
那是AI。
大家都不喜欢。
大家都走了。
这就是Grindr的故事。
它现在没有人了。
English transcript reference

Speaking of finding friends, I want to tell a story.

This is a story about a store.

This is a very, very big store.

Before, many people went to this store.

I also went to this store.

Have you been there?

I think you have been there.

What do we do in the store?

We look for friends there.

We talk there.

We drink tea there.

At that time, the store was very good.

There were many people.

There were many friends.

Everyone was very happy.

I was also very happy.

You could see me.

I could see you.

We could all talk.

This was very simple.

This was very fast.

I wasn't tired.

You weren't tired either.

But, that was before.

That was yesterday's matter.

That was last year's matter.

Now it is 2026.

Now, the store has changed.

The store is different.

Today, I went to the store again.

I walked to the front of the door.

I wanted to go in.

But, someone was in front of the door.

He didn't let me go in.

Who is he?

He is a person from the store.

He looked at me.

He said: "Hello."

I said: "Hello."

He said: "You need to give money."

I didn't understand.

I said: "What?"

He said: "You need to give money."

I asked: "How much money?"

He said: "Five hundred kuai."

Really?

Five hundred kuai?

Five hundred kuai is a lot.

Do I have five hundred kuai?

I look at my money.

I have one kuai.

I have two kuai.

I have ten kuai.

I have one hundred kuai.

But I don't have five hundred kuai.

Five hundred kuai is too much.

I asked: "Why?"

I asked: "Why do you want five hundred kuai?"

He said: "Because we have new things."

He said: "We have very good computers."

I didn't listen.

I was not happy.

I didn't want to give money.

I wanted to go home.

But, I wanted to look for friends.

I wanted to see friends.

So I went in.

I didn't give five hundred kuai.

I just looked.

I walked inside.

Inside the store was very big.

But, I couldn't see people.

Where were all the people?

The tables were there.

The chairs were there.

The cups were there.

But where were the people?

I looked in front.

There was no one in front.

I looked behind.

There was no one behind.

I looked above.

There were no friends above.

I looked below.

There were no friends below either.

I was very cold.

This place was very cold.

At this moment, I saw a person.

He was standing there.

He was very tall.

He was very good-looking.

I thought: "Is he my friend?"

I walked over.

I walked in front of him.

I said to him: "Hello."

He spoke very fast.

He said a lot of words.

He said: "I love you."

He said: "You are beautiful."

He asked: "Who are you?"

He asked: "Where are you?"

I was also very happy.

But, something was wrong.

His eyes didn't move.

His hands didn't move.

He was not a real person.

He was a computer.

He was a machine.

Do you know?

He was not a human.

I was very unhappy.

I didn't want to talk to a computer.

I wanted to talk to a person.

I wanted to talk to a real person.

In this store, there were many people like this.

They were all computers.

They were not our friends.

This store had many things.

There were many things I didn't like.

I couldn't see friends.

I only saw things.

I was very tired.

Finding friends is too hard.

In this store, it is too hard.

I am leaving.

I am going to another place.

My friends have left.

They went to a new store.

That store is very small.

But there are people there.

There are no computers there.

It doesn't require five hundred kuai there.

I am also going there.

Goodbye, big store.

I don't like you anymore.

This story is finished.

What is this story about?

This story is true.

This is not a store.

This is something inside a phone.

Its name is Grindr.

This is a place to find friends.

Before, it was very good.

Now, it is not good.

It wants a lot of money.

Five hundred kuai a month.

It has many computer people.

Those are not real people.

That is AI.

No one likes it.

Everyone has left.

This is the story of Grindr.

It has no people now.

Listen again

Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.

What vocabulary does this episode teach?

词汇
shāngdiànstore / shop

A common place to buy things. Measure word: 家 (jiā).

péngyoufriend

A very common noun for people you know and like.

gāoxìnghappy / glad

Adjective describing a positive feeling.

lèitired

Adjective describing physical or mental fatigue.

dǒngto understand

Often used in '听不懂' (listen but not understand).

wèishémewhy

Standard question word for asking reasons.

suǒyǐso / therefore

Conjunction used to introduce a result.

yǎnjingeye

Body part noun. Measure word: 只 (zhī) for one, 双 (shuāng) for a pair.

kuàipiece / colloquial unit of currency

In this context, it refers to money (CNY/Yuan).

jìnqùto go in / enter

Directional verb indicating movement away from the speaker into a space.

gùshistory

A narrative. Measure word: 个 (gè).

guānyúabout / regarding

Preposition used to introduce the topic.

jiǎndānsimple / uncomplicated

Adjective describing something easy or not complex.

biànto change / to become

Verb indicating a change in state.

jīqìmachine

Noun referring to mechanical devices or, in this context, bots.

zhànto stand

Verb indicating physical posture.

* beyond level超纲词

What grammar patterns appear in this episode?

语法

Verb + 过 (guò)

Indicates a past experience. It emphasizes that the action has happened at least once in the past.

你去过吗? (Have you been there?)

我想你去过。 (I think you have been there.)

Verb + 着 (zhe)

The aspect particle 'zhe' is added to a verb to indicate a continuous state or an ongoing action.

他在那里站着。 (He was standing there.)

看着我 (Looking at me)

因为 (yīnwèi) ... 所以 (suǒyǐ) ...

A common conjunction pair meaning 'Because ... therefore ...'. Sometimes 'yīnwèi' is omitted.

因为我们有新东西。 (Because we have new things.)

所以我进去了。 (So I went in.)

Place + 有 (yǒu) + Object

Standard pattern to express existence or presence in a location (There is/are...).

有人在门前面。 (There is someone in front of the door.)

商店里有很多这样的人。 (There are many people like this in the store.)

Topic + 变 + 了 (biàn le)

Indicates a change of state. The 'le' at the end emphasizes the change has occurred.

商店变了。 (The store has changed.)

Proper nouns

专有名词
GrindrGrindrGrindr (App Name)AIAIArtificial Intelligence

Sources

来源

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