A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels

MBTI过时了,SBTI来了
MBTI Is Out, SBTI Is In — Bilibili's Silly Big Personality Test Takes Over
About this story
Chinese youth are tired of MBTI. A funny new test called SBTI from Bilibili creator Zhurouerchuaner is everywhere now. HSK 2 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 2 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 有意思、问题、意思 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.
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原文Read the complete story in Chinese. Reveal pinyin and English only when you need them.
English transcript reference
Speaking of the hottest thing in China recently, it's the SBTI test.
You may have heard of MBTI.
MBTI is a very famous personality test.
You answer some questions.
Then it gives you four letters.
Telling you what kind of person you are.
For example you're an "introverted thinker."
Or an "extroverted feeler."
In China MBTI is extremely popular.
When young people meet new friends they ask.
"Are you an I person or an E person?"
I person means introverted.
E person means extroverted.
When looking for a job you also fill in MBTI.
Many bosses look at your personality type to decide whether to hire you.
But recently something new has gone viral.
Even more popular than MBTI.
It's called SBTI.
What is SBTI?
SBTI's full name is "Silly Big Personality Test."
Translated it means "silly big personality test."
You can tell from the name.
This is not a serious test.
This is a funny test.
It's made by imitating MBTI.
But all the serious parts have been removed.
Replaced with funny stuff.
Who made SBTI?
A Bilibili content creator.
A content creator is someone who posts videos on Bilibili.
This person's online name is "Zhurouerchuaner."
The reason he made this test is very funny.
He said he wanted to convince a friend to quit drinking.
So he made this test.
Inside he even hid a "drunkard" personality type.
On April 9th he posted a video introducing the test.
The video title was "I made a bootleg SBTI test and tricked people into taking it."
Then it exploded.
Within one day the video got over 2 million views.
WeChat searches reached over 40 million.
Discussions across the internet exceeded 20 million posts.
The website straight-up crashed.
Wouldn't open.
Because too many people were online at the same time.
The server couldn't handle it.
Later many mirror websites appeared.
So everyone could keep testing.
So what does this test actually look like?
There are thirty-one questions total.
The questions are all very strange.
For example one question is.
"You've been on the toilet for over 30 minutes and still haven't come out."
"What would you do?"
Another question is.
"Most people are kind."
And the option is "actually there are more evil hearts in this world than hemorrhoids."
Another question directly says.
"This question has no topic."
"Please choose randomly."
See, it's all this style.
Funny, self-deprecating, not serious.
After finishing the test you get a result.
The result is a four-letter type.
Same format as MBTI.
But the meaning is completely different.
You might get "Dead Person."
Dead Person means the kind of person.
Who has 99 unread messages on their phone.
But doesn't reply.
Pretends not to see them.
Only replies "received" when the deadline approaches.
You might also get "Mahou."
Mahou on the Chinese internet means "working person."
The kind who clearly thinks the world is terrible.
But still wakes up at 7 AM to go to work.
There are 27 personality types in total.
Each one is an internet meme.
After finishing, everyone takes a screenshot and posts to WeChat Moments.
"I'm a Mahou!"
"Haha me too!"
Just like that, one tells ten and ten tells a hundred.
It went viral across the whole internet.
But SBTI also caused some controversy.
Some people said certain questions weren't appropriate.
For example there's a question about a child giving you a lollipop.
Some people felt the design of this question had problems.
Others said if you take it twice you get different results.
Meaning the test isn't accurate.
But actually the creator himself also said.
"I didn't balance entertainment and professionalism well."
This test was never meant to be serious.
It's just a toy.
Later the video was deleted from Bilibili.
Related topics on Weibo and Xiaohongshu were also restricted.
Maybe because it spread too fast.
Or maybe because some content was considered inappropriate.
But regardless.
SBTI has become the most interesting internet phenomenon of spring 2026.
It shows one thing.
Chinese young people are tired.
They don't want to be a "perfect person" anymore.
They want to laugh a little.
Make fun of themselves a bit.
Then continue with the next day's life.
SBTI gave them this opportunity.
A one-minute test.
A funny label.
A chance to laugh with friends.
That's enough.
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇HSK 1-2. interesting.
HSK 1-2. problem / question.
HSK 1-2. meaning / interest.
HSK 1-2. mobile phone.
HSK 1-2. morning.
HSK 1-2. to tell.
A quiz that tells you about your personality type.
Preferring to be alone or in small groups.
Preferring to be social and around people.
To copy or mimic something else.
A humorous imitation of something serious.
A copy of a website hosted elsewhere.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法Proper Nouns
专有名词Sources
来源Free account
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