Welcome to the series— Practice Your Chinese, HSK level 2. It’s designed to provide the HSK level 2 students with the most suitable materials for practicing Chinese. It can also be used for preparing for the HSK level 2 test.

This practice series is just the extra part of our elementary Chinese courses, so if you want to learn Chinese in a systematic and efficient way, please choose the full courses (Chinese Pinyin, HSK Level 1 & HSK Level 2).

In each video of this series, firstly, you listen to a story or dialogue at normal speed to get the main idea. Secondly, listen to the same material but at a much slower speed, and at the same time complete each sentence by filling in the blank with the words or phrases you hear. Lastly, answer a few questions about the story or dialogue.

In today’s Chinese (HSK Level 2) practice lesson, you’re going to hear a brief introduction to the Chinese dialects.

Please take a quick look at the important words and phrases, then check the script and the translation of the story.

The Words & Phrases

总是(zǒngshì) adverb: always

问题(wèntí) noun: question; problem

话(huà) noun: words

可(kě) conjunction: but

别人(biérén) pronoun: other people

常(cháng) adverb: often

普通话(pǔtōnghuà) noun: Mandarin Chinese (Standard Chinese)

因为(yīnwèi) conjunction: because

所以(suǒyǐ) conjunction: so; therefore

可能(kěnnéng) adverb: maybe; perhaps

方言(fāngyán) noun: dialect

或者(huòzhě) conjunction: or

标准(biāozhǔn) adjective: standard

国家(guójiā) noun: country

有的(yǒude) pronoun: some

发音(fāyīn) noun: pronunciation

北方(běifāng) noun: the northern part of the country

南方(nánfāng) noun: the southern part of the country

大多数(dàduōshù) noun: majority; most

只(zhǐ) adverb: only; just

影响(yǐngxiǎng) noun: influence

口音(kǒuyīn) noun: accent

有时候(yǒushíhou) adverb: sometimes

The Script in Character

很多学生总是问我一个问题。“老师说的话我都能听懂，可为什么别人说的话我常听不懂？”因为可能他们说的是方言，或者他们的普通话不标准。中国是一个很大的国家，我们有很多方言。有的方言的发音跟普通话的差不多，比如一些北方的方言。有的方言的发音跟普通话的很不一样，比如一些南方的方言。大多数中国人都会说普通话，可还有一些人只会说方言。或者因为方言的影响，一些中国人说普通话的时候会有口音。所以，有时候听不懂真的不是你的问题。

The Script in Pinyin

Hěn duō xuéshēng zǒngshì wèn wǒ yī gè wèntí. “Lǎoshī shuō de huà wǒ dōu néng tīng dǒng, kě wéishénme biérén shuō de huà wǒ cháng tīng bù dǒng?” Yīnwèi kěnéng tāmen shuō de shì fāngyán, huòzhě tāmen de pǔtōnghuà bù biāozhǔn. Zhōngguó shì yī gè hěn dà de guójiā, wǒmen yǒu hěn duō fāngyán. Yǒude fāngyán de fǎyīn gēn pǔtōnghuà de chàbuduō, bǐrú yīxiē běifāng de fāngyán. Yǒude fāngyán de fǎyīn gēn pǔtōnghuà de hěn bù yīyàng, bǐrú yīxiē nánfāng de fāngyán. Dàduōshù Zhōngguórén dōu huì shuō pǔtōnghuà, kě háiyǒu yīxiē rén zhǐ huì shuō fāngyán. Huòzhě yīnwèi fāngyán de yǐngxiǎng, yīxiē Zhōngguórén shuō pǔtōnghuà de shíhou huì yǒu kǒuyīn. Suǒyǐ, yǒushíhou tīng bù dǒng zhēnde bú shì nǐ de wèntí.

The Translation

A lot of students always ask me a question. “I can understand everything the teacher says, but why can’t I understand what others say?” Because maybe they speak dialects, or their Mandarin is not standard. China is a big country and we have many dialects. Some dialects have similar pronunciations to Mandarin, such as some northern dialects. Some dialects are pronounced very differently from Mandarin, such as some southern dialects. Most Chinese can speak Mandarin, but some speak only dialects. Or because of the influence of dialects, some Chinese people have accents when speaking Mandarin. So, sometimes it’s really not your problem if you can’t understand them.

Welcome to the series— Practice Your Chinese, HSK level 2. It’s designed to provide the HSK level 2 students with the most suitable materials for practicing Chinese. It can also be used for preparing for the HSK level 2 test.

This practice series is just the extra part of our elementary Chinese courses, so if you want to learn Chinese in a systematic and efficient way, please choose the full courses (Chinese Pinyin, HSK Level 1 & HSK Level 2).

In each video of this series, firstly, you listen to a story or dialogue at normal speed to get the main idea. Secondly, listen to the same material but at a much slower speed, and at the same time complete each sentence by filling in the blank with the words or phrases you hear. Lastly, answer a few questions about the story or dialogue.

In today’s Chinese (HSK Level 2) practice lesson, you’re going to hear a brief introduction to the Chinese dialects.

Please take a quick look at the important words and phrases, then check the script and the translation of the story.

The Words & Phrases

总是(zǒngshì) adverb: always

问题(wèntí) noun: question; problem

话(huà) noun: words

可(kě) conjunction: but

别人(biérén) pronoun: other people

常(cháng) adverb: often

普通话(pǔtōnghuà) noun: Mandarin Chinese (Standard Chinese)

因为(yīnwèi) conjunction: because

所以(suǒyǐ) conjunction: so; therefore

可能(kěnnéng) adverb: maybe; perhaps

方言(fāngyán) noun: dialect

或者(huòzhě) conjunction: or

标准(biāozhǔn) adjective: standard

国家(guójiā) noun: country

有的(yǒude) pronoun: some

发音(fāyīn) noun: pronunciation

北方(běifāng) noun: the northern part of the country

南方(nánfāng) noun: the southern part of the country

大多数(dàduōshù) noun: majority; most

只(zhǐ) adverb: only; just

影响(yǐngxiǎng) noun: influence

口音(kǒuyīn) noun: accent

有时候(yǒushíhou) adverb: sometimes

The Script in Character

很多学生总是问我一个问题。“老师说的话我都能听懂，可为什么别人说的话我常听不懂？”因为可能他们说的是方言，或者他们的普通话不标准。中国是一个很大的国家，我们有很多方言。有的方言的发音跟普通话的差不多，比如一些北方的方言。有的方言的发音跟普通话的很不一样，比如一些南方的方言。大多数中国人都会说普通话，可还有一些人只会说方言。或者因为方言的影响，一些中国人说普通话的时候会有口音。所以，有时候听不懂真的不是你的问题。

The Script in Pinyin

Hěn duō xuéshēng zǒngshì wèn wǒ yī gè wèntí. “Lǎoshī shuō de huà wǒ dōu néng tīng dǒng, kě wéishénme biérén shuō de huà wǒ cháng tīng bù dǒng?” Yīnwèi kěnéng tāmen shuō de shì fāngyán, huòzhě tāmen de pǔtōnghuà bù biāozhǔn. Zhōngguó shì yī gè hěn dà de guójiā, wǒmen yǒu hěn duō fāngyán. Yǒude fāngyán de fǎyīn gēn pǔtōnghuà de chàbuduō, bǐrú yīxiē běifāng de fāngyán. Yǒude fāngyán de fǎyīn gēn pǔtōnghuà de hěn bù yīyàng, bǐrú yīxiē nánfāng de fāngyán. Dàduōshù Zhōngguórén dōu huì shuō pǔtōnghuà, kě háiyǒu yīxiē rén zhǐ huì shuō fāngyán. Huòzhě yīnwèi fāngyán de yǐngxiǎng, yīxiē Zhōngguórén shuō pǔtōnghuà de shíhou huì yǒu kǒuyīn. Suǒyǐ, yǒushíhou tīng bù dǒng zhēnde bú shì nǐ de wèntí.

The Translation

A lot of students always ask me a question. “I can understand everything the teacher says, but why can’t I understand what others say?” Because maybe they speak dialects, or their Mandarin is not standard. China is a big country and we have many dialects. Some dialects have similar pronunciations to Mandarin, such as some northern dialects. Some dialects are pronounced very differently from Mandarin, such as some southern dialects. Most Chinese can speak Mandarin, but some speak only dialects. Or because of the influence of dialects, some Chinese people have accents when speaking Mandarin. So, sometimes it’s really not your problem if you can’t understand them.