3:10
X 上，现在能看懂外国人说的话了
On X, You Can Now Understand Foreigners' Posts
This is an HSK 1 Chinese listening episode that runs about 3 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 今天、想、看 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.
今天我给你说一个新闻。
Today I'll tell you a news story.
这个新闻，
This news
和"语言"有关。
is about "language."
"语言"是什么？
What is "language"?
"语言"，
"Language"
就是人说的话。
is what people speak.
中国人说中文，
Chinese people speak Chinese.
日本人说日语，
Japanese people speak Japanese.
美国人说英语。
Americans speak English.
不一样的人，
Different people
说不一样的语言。
speak different languages.
所以以前，
So in the past
有一个问题：
there was a problem:
我看不懂别人写的字。
I couldn't read what others wrote.
比如，
For example,
一个日本人，
a Japanese person
在网上写了一句话。
writes a sentence online.
我不会日语，
I don't know Japanese,
我就看不懂。
so I can't read it.
但是最近，
But recently
有一个新的东西，
there is a new thing
变了这件事。
that has changed this.
有一个手机软件，
There is a mobile app
叫"X"。
called "X."
"X"是什么？
What is "X"?
我先告诉你。
Let me tell you first.
"X"是一个，
"X" is an app
外国人很爱用的软件。
foreigners love to use.
就像中国的微博。
It's like China's Weibo.
人们在上面，
On it, people
说话、
talk
写字。
and write.
最近，
Recently,
"X"做了一件大事。
"X" did a big thing.
它现在可以，
It can now
帮你"翻译"。
help you "translate."
"翻译"，
"Translate"
就是把一种语言，
means turning one language
变成另一种语言。
into another language.
比如，
For example,
一个日本人写了日语。
a Japanese person writes in Japanese.
软件帮你变成中文。
The app turns it into Chinese for you.
你就能看懂了。
You can now read it.
是不是很方便？
Isn't that convenient?
很多人很高兴。
Many people are very happy.
他们说：
They say:
"我现在能看到，
"Now I can see
"全世界的人，
"what people all over the world
"在说什么了！
"are saying!
但是，
But
也有人不高兴。
some people are not happy.
为什么？
Why?
因为有一些话，
Because some things
以前我们看不到。
we couldn't see before,
现在能看到了。
we can see now.
比如，
For example,
有的日本人，
some Japanese people,
在自己的国家，
inside their own country,
说了一些不好的话。
said some bad things.
说了一些，
They said some things
中国人不喜欢的话。
that Chinese people don't like.
以前我们看不到，
We couldn't see them before;
现在我们都能看到。
now we can.
反过来也一样。
And the other way too.
有的中国人，
Some Chinese people
说了一些，
said some things
外国人不喜欢的话。
foreigners don't like.
以前外国人不知道。
Foreigners didn't know before.
现在他们也知道了。
Now they know too.
所以这件事，
So this thing
有好的一面，
has a good side,
也有不太好的一面。
and also a not-so-good side.
我看了这个新闻，
I read this news,
我想了一件事。
and I thought of one thing.
以前我们以为，
We used to think
说话只有自己人能听到。
only our own people heard what we said.
现在不一样了。
Now it's different.
你说的每一句话，
Every sentence you say
全世界都可能看到。
can possibly be seen by the whole world.
最后我问你：
Finally I'll ask you:
如果你说的话，
If what you say
全世界都能看到，
can be seen by the whole world,
你还会，
will you still
像现在一样说话吗？
talk the way you do now?
你想一想。
Think about it.
好。
Okay.
今天就说到这里。
That's all for today.
明天再聊。
Talk tomorrow.
Today. The narrator opens 今天我给你说一个新闻 — 'today I'll tell you a news story.'
To think. The closing line: 你想一想 — 'think about it.'
To read, to look. 我看不懂别人写的字 — 'I can't read what others wrote.'
To listen / to hear. 你听过"X"吗 — 'have you heard of X?'
Happy. 很多人很高兴 — 'many people are very happy' about the new translation.
To know. 以前外国人不知道。现在他们也知道了 — 'foreigners didn't know before, now they know too.'
Language. Beyond HSK1. The episode glosses it: 人说的话 — 'what people speak.'
Translate. Beyond HSK1. The episode glosses it: 把一种语言变成另一种语言 — 'turn one language into another.'
App. Beyond HSK1. "X" is a 手机软件 — a mobile app — that does the translating.
Online. Beyond HSK1. 在网上写了一句话 — 'wrote a sentence online.'
News. Beyond HSK1. The episode is built around this 新闻 — news story — about X's translation.
The whole world. Beyond HSK1. The episode's closing point: 你说的每一句话，全世界都可能看到 — 'every sentence you say, the whole world can possibly see.'
* beyond level超纲词
不一样的 X，V 不一样的 Y
A simple parallel pattern that sets up contrast across groups — the episode uses it to introduce the basic fact that different countries speak different languages.
不一样的人，说不一样的语言。
不一样的国家，写不一样的字。
比如 + example
比如 introduces a concrete example after a general statement. The episode uses it to make the abstract idea (translation) tangible.
比如，一个日本人，在网上写了一句话。
比如，一个日本人写了日语。
是不是 + adj?
是不是 + adj turns a statement into a tag question — invites the listener to agree.
是不是很方便？
是不是有一点麻烦？
反过来也一样
反过来 marks a symmetric reversal of what was just said. The episode uses it to balance the story: foreign content visible to us, AND our content visible to them.
反过来也一样。
有的中国人，说了一些，外国人不喜欢的话。
Free account
You just read the story — hear it next. A free account saves your level, the words you keep from this episode, and the line you stop at, so you can pick the story back up on any device.