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Mythic Mandarin

The first day at school

Preview version — Chinese review in progress.

HSK 1 About 4 minutes

第一天上学

Dì-yī tiān shàngxué

The first day at school

Story

  1. ，。

    jīntiān, Tiántian qù xuéxiào.

    Today Tiantian goes to school.

    Words in this sentence
    今天 jīntiān
    today Dictionary
    田田 Tiántian
    Tiantian (name)
    去 qù
    to go Dictionary
    学校 xuéxiào
    school Dictionary

  2. ：“。”

    lǎoshī shuō:“ wǒ xìng Gāo.”

    The teacher says, "My surname is Gao."

    Words in this sentence
    老师 lǎoshī
    teacher Dictionary
    说 shuō
    to say, to speak Dictionary
    我 wǒ
    I, me Dictionary
    姓 xìng
    surname; to be surnamed Dictionary
    高 Gāo
    Gao (surname) Dictionary

  3. ：“？”

    yí gè nǚhái shuō:“ nǐ huì xiě Hànzì ma?”

    A girl says, "Can you write Chinese characters?"

    Words in this sentence
    一 yí
    one, a Dictionary
    个 gè
    (measure word for people and things) Dictionary
    女孩 nǚhái
    girl Dictionary
    说 shuō
    to say, to speak Dictionary
    你 nǐ
    you Dictionary
    会 huì
    can (a learned skill) Dictionary
    写 xiě
    to write Dictionary
    汉字 Hànzì
    Chinese character(s) Dictionary
    吗 ma
    (question particle) Dictionary

  4. ：“。”

    Tiántian shuō:“ wǒ huì xiě yìdiǎnr.”

    Tiantian says, "I can write a little."

    Words in this sentence
    田田 Tiántian
    Tiantian (name)
    说 shuō
    to say, to speak Dictionary
    我 wǒ
    I, me Dictionary
    会 huì
    can (a learned skill) Dictionary
    写 xiě
    to write Dictionary
    一点儿 yìdiǎnr
    a little Dictionary

  5. “？”

    “ nǐ xìng shénme?”

    "What's your surname?"

    Words in this sentence
    你 nǐ
    you Dictionary
    姓 xìng
    surname; to be surnamed Dictionary
    什么 shénme
    what Dictionary

  6. ：“。”

    nǚhái shuō:“ wǒ yě xìng Gāo.”

    The girl says, "My surname is Gao too."

    Words in this sentence
    女孩 nǚhái
    girl Dictionary
    说 shuō
    to say, to speak Dictionary
    我 wǒ
    I, me Dictionary
    也 yě
    also, too Dictionary
    姓 xìng
    surname; to be surnamed Dictionary
    高 Gāo
    Gao (surname) Dictionary

  7. “！”

    “ Gāo lǎoshī shì wǒ māma!”

    "Teacher Gao is my mum!"

    Words in this sentence
    高 Gāo
    Gao (surname) Dictionary
    老师 lǎoshī
    teacher Dictionary
    是 shì
    to be Dictionary
    我 wǒ
    I, me Dictionary
    妈妈 māma
    mum Dictionary

Grammar focus

  • 会 "can" for a skill you learned: 会写汉字
  • 姓 "to be surnamed": 我姓高

Vocabulary

Questions

1老师姓什么？Lǎoshī xìng shénme?What is the teacher's surname?
Show the answer and explanations

Answer: A. Sentence 2: 我姓高, "My surname is Gao."

  • B: Tiantian is the new student, not the teacher.
  • C: 李 is not in the story; the teacher says 我姓高.
2田田会写一点儿汉字。Tiántian huì xiě yìdiǎnr Hànzì.Tiantian can write a few characters.
Show the answer and explanations

Answer: A. True. Sentence 4: 我会写一点儿, "I can write a little."

  • B: In sentence 4 Tiantian says 我会写一点儿, so she can write some characters.
3女孩的妈妈是谁？Nǚhái de māma shì shéi?Who is the girl's mother?
Show the answer and explanations

Answer: B. Sentence 7: 高老师是我妈妈, "Teacher Gao is my mum!" That is why they share the surname 高.

  • A: Tiantian is the new student in the class.
  • C: Sentence 7 tells us: 高老师是我妈妈.
4“汉字”是什么意思？"Hànzì" shì shénme yìsi?What does 汉字 mean?
Show the answer and explanations

Answer: A. 汉字 are 字, the written characters of Chinese: 你会写汉字吗？

  • B: "School" is 学校 (sentence 1); 汉字 are characters you write.
  • C: 中国人 are people; 汉字 are written characters.
5我＿＿姓高。Wǒ __ xìng gāo.My surname is Gao ___.
Show the answer and explanations

Answer: C. Sentence 6: 我也姓高, "My surname is Gao too." 也 goes before the verb.

  • A: 姓 is already the verb; 是姓 is not correct here.
  • B: 不姓高 would mean her surname is not Gao, but sentence 7 shows why it is.

Speaking task

介绍你的名字和姓。

Jièshào nǐ de míngzi hé xìng.

Introduce your name and surname.

Tips

  • 我姓…… gives your surname; 我叫…… gives your whole name.
  • Say what you can do with 我会……
Try it yourself first, then show the model answer

我姓王，叫王小明。我会写一点儿汉字。

Wǒ xìng Wáng, jiào Wáng Xiǎomíng. Wǒ huì xiě yìdiǎnr Hànzì.

My surname is Wang and my name is Wang Xiaoming. I can write a few characters.

About the HSK 1 level