01 / READRead the story
Try reading the Chinese before opening the English translations.
星期六,我们本来想去公园。
On Saturday, we had originally planned to go to the park.
可是早上一直在下雨。
But it kept raining that morning.
因为雨很大,所以我们决定去博物馆。
Because the rain was heavy, we decided to go to a museum.
我们先在家吃早饭,再坐地铁过去。
We had breakfast at home first, then took the subway there.
朋友说:“我以前没来过这里。”
My friend said, “I've never been here before.”
虽然外面在下雨,但是我们玩得很开心。
Although it was raining outside, we had a lovely time.
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02 / UNDERSTANDA reason, then a result
因为 introduces the reason; 所以 introduces what follows from it. Chinese can use both in one sentence: 因为雨很大,所以我们决定去博物馆. In natural English, you will usually translate this with either ‘because’ or ‘so’. The following sentence uses 先…再… to put breakfast before the subway ride.
Read the grammar lesson03 / PRACTISEWhat did you read?
04 / VOCABULARYStory vocabulary
| Chinese | Pinyin | Meaning here |
|---|---|---|
| 本来 | běnlái | originally |
| 公园 | gōngyuán | park |
| 决定 | juédìng | to decide |
| 博物馆 | bówùguǎn | museum |
| 地铁 | dìtiě | subway |
| 开心 | kāixīn | happy; having a good time |
Choose a Chinese word for dictionary definitions, examples and stroke order. The meanings above are specific to this lesson.
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