Regrets and lessons learned
HSK 4 Unit 10: Looking back, looking ahead · Lesson 2 of 8 · About 24 minutes
Preview version — Chinese review in progress.
Your mission: By the end of this lesson, you can talk about regrets and what you learned from them, with 要是, 后悔, 否则 and 既然.
Audio preview uses your device’s Chinese voice. It is not a recording.
Warm-up: do you remember?
Two quick questions from earlier lessons. Recalling before you learn makes the new material stick.
Meaning
What does 农村 mean?
That is 小时候 (xiǎoshíhou).
That is 贸易 (màoyì).
Show the answer
Answer: B, countryside.
农村 (nóngcūn) means countryside.
Characters
Which word means “in childhood, as a child”?
等待 (děngdài) means to wait.
影响 (yǐngxiǎng) means influence, to influence.
Show the answer
Answer: C, 小时候.
“in childhood, as a child” is 小时候 (xiǎoshíhou).
Listening
From an earlier unit. Listen. What does the word mean?
Cannot listen? Read it instead
肌肉 jīròu
That would be 石头 (shítou).
That would be 贸易 (màoyì).
Show the answer
Answer: C, muscle.
You heard 肌肉 (jīròu): muscle.
New words
Regrets
遗憾 (yíhàn) is a pity or regret; 后悔 is to regret something you did. 错过 (cuòguò) is to miss a chance. 教训 (jiàoxun) is a lesson learned the hard way. 珍惜 (zhēnxī) is to value something.
我错过了一个很好的机会，真遗憾。
Wǒ cuòguò le yí gè hěn hǎo de jīhuì, zhēn yíhàn.
I missed a great opportunity. What a pity.
这是一个很大的教训。
Zhè shì yí gè hěn dà de jiàoxun.
That was a big lesson.
要珍惜和家人在一起的时间。
Yào zhēnxī hé jiā rén zài yìqǐ de shíjiān.
Treasure the time you spend with family.
Characters
Open a character to see how it is written, stroke by stroke, with its meanings and words.
A missed chance
Zhang Wei and Xiaoyu talk late in the evening.
Listen first
Play the whole conversation and answer the questions before you open the transcript.
Helpful words: 抓住 zhuāzhù to seize, to grab; 完全 wánquán completely
Listening
Listen first. What does Zhang Wei regret?
Show the answer
Answer: C, not studying abroad.
我有机会去国外留学，可是…没去.
Listening
What lesson did he learn?
Show the answer
Answer: B, grab chances when they come.
机会来了，就要抓住，否则就会错过.
Show the transcript
小雨
你有没有后悔的事情？
Is there anything you regret?
张伟
有。大学的时候，我有机会去国外留学，可是我怕辛苦，没去。
Yes. At university I had a chance to study abroad, but I was afraid it would be hard, so I didn't go.
小雨
真遗憾。要是去了，你现在可能完全不一样。
What a pity. If you'd gone, you might be completely different now.
张伟
是啊。这是一个教训：机会来了，就要抓住，否则就会错过。
Yes. That was a lesson: when a chance comes, grab it, or you'll miss it.
小雨
既然你知道了，以后就更珍惜机会吧。
Since you know that now, value your chances more from now on.
Speak: listen, record, compare
Listen to each model, record yourself, then play both and compare: the rhythm, the tones, the vowels. No automatic score: your ear is the judge.
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Recording is not available in this browser. Listen, then repeat aloud and compare by ear.
是啊。这是一个教训：机会来了，就要抓住，否则就会错过。
Shì a. Zhè shì yí gè jiàoxun: jīhuì lái le, jiù yào zhuāzhù, fǒuzé jiù huì cuòguò.
Yes. That was a lesson: when a chance comes, grab it, or you'll miss it.
既然你知道了，以后就更珍惜机会吧。
Jìrán nǐ zhīdào le, yǐhòu jiù gèng zhēnxī jīhuì ba.
Since you know that now, value your chances more from now on.
真遗憾。要是去了，你现在可能完全不一样。
Zhēn yíhàn. Yàoshi qù le, nǐ xiànzài kěnéng wánquán bù yíyàng.
What a pity. If you'd gone, you might be completely different now.
Practice
Meaning
What does 遗憾 mean?
That is 卖 (mài).
That is 生活 (shēnghuó).
Show the answer
Answer: A, regret, pity.
遗憾 (yíhàn) means regret, pity.
Characters
Which word means “lesson (learned from a mistake)”?
错过 (cuòguò) means to miss (a chance).
记忆 (jìyì) means memory.
Show the answer
Answer: C, 教训.
“lesson (learned from a mistake)” is 教训 (jiàoxun).
Word order
Put the words in order: Is there anything you regret?
- 后悔
- 事情
- 没有
- 的
- 有
- 你
Show the answer
你有没有后悔的事情 Nǐ yǒu méiyǒu hòuhuǐ de shìqing?
Is there anything you regret?
你有没有后悔的事情？ The sentence comes from this lesson's text.
Listening
Listen. What does the word mean?
Cannot listen? Read it instead
错过 cuòguò
That would be 跑步 (pǎobù).
That would be 咳嗽 (késou).
Show the answer
Answer: A, to miss (a chance).
You heard 错过 (cuòguò): to miss (a chance).
Your turn
Recall: type the Chinese for “regret, pity” (characters or pinyin).
Show the answer
Answer: 遗憾
“regret, pity” is 遗憾 (yíhàn).
Fill the gap
Complete: I missed the chance.
我＿＿了这个机会。
Show the answer
Answer: A, 错过.
错过: to miss.
Grammar
Which sentence means Since you know, value it more?
Show the answer
Answer: B, 既然你知道了，就更珍惜吧。.
既然你知道了，就更珍惜吧。: 既然…就….
In context
A friend couldn't come to your wedding. What do you say?
Show the answer
Answer: A, 真遗憾！.
真遗憾！: 遗憾: what a pity.
Your turn
Type the Chinese for to cherish time
Show the answer
Answer: 珍惜时间
珍惜时间: to cherish time.
A lesson learned
Talk out loud about a regret and what you learned from it.
- What happened and what you did or didn't do.
- What would have happened, with 要是.
- The lesson, with 否则, and what you value now.
Sentence frames
要是我＿＿，现在可能＿＿。
Yàoshi wǒ ＿＿, xiànzài kěnéng ＿＿.
If I had ..., now I might ...
这是一个教训：＿＿。
Zhè shì yí gè jiàoxun: ＿＿.
That was a lesson: ...
Record your attempt (three and a half minutes at most) and listen back:
Review and finish
Can you do this? If a line feels shaky, go back to that part before you move on.
- I can talk about regrets and missed chances.
- I can say what I learned.
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