Short Chinese Stories for Beginners (Traditional)

Below are four short Chinese stories for beginners, each about eight or nine sentences, written in Traditional characters. They are set in places a learner in Taiwan meets in the first week: the MRT, a night market, a convenience store and a breakfast shop. Each sentence comes with pinyin and an English gloss, so you can read the Chinese first and check yourself afterwards.

The texts are original and were written for this page. Nearly every word falls within the Novice to Band A levels of the official 華語八千詞表 (TOCFL 8,000-word list). The few exceptions are everyday Taiwan food and shop words, and they are glossed under each story. Story 1 is the easiest, so start there if you are early in your first book.

How to Use These Stories

Reading a story you can nearly follow is different from studying a lesson. A few habits make it work:

1. Cover the pinyin column. Read the Traditional characters on their own. Only uncover the pinyin for a sentence you are stuck on. Our guide to when to stop using pinyin explains how to wean off it gradually.
2. Read the whole story before checking anything. Eight sentences take two minutes. Guess what you can from context, then go back.
3. Read it aloud once. The sentences are short enough to say in one breath, which makes them good for reading aloud.
4. Come back in a few days. A second read of the same text, when you know it, is where reading starts to feel fast.

If these feel easy, move on to a published series. The guide to graded readers in Traditional Chinese lists what exists by level.

A note on the pinyin: it shows the tones as the syllables are written, with the usual changes for 不 and 一 (for example 不客氣 bú kèqì). Neutral tones follow the Ministry of Education dictionary, such as 袋子 dàizi and 謝謝 xièxie.

Story 1: 坐捷運 (Taking the MRT)

Traditional	Pinyin	English
小美每天坐捷運去上班。	Xiǎoměi měitiān zuò jiéyùn qù shàngbān.	Xiaomei takes the MRT to work every day.
今天捷運站的人很多。	Jīntiān jiéyùn zhàn de rén hěn duō.	Today there are a lot of people at the MRT station.
她上車，坐下來。	Tā shàng chē, zuò xiàlái.	She gets on and sits down.
後來，一位老先生上車。	Hòulái, yí wèi lǎo xiānsheng shàng chē.	Later, an elderly gentleman gets on.
小美站起來，說：「老先生，請坐。」	Xiǎoměi zhàn qǐlái, shuō: “Lǎo xiānsheng, qǐng zuò.”	Xiaomei stands up and says, “Sir, please sit.”
老先生說：「謝謝你。」	Lǎo xiānsheng shuō: “Xièxie nǐ.”	The old gentleman says, “Thank you.”
小美說：「不客氣。」	Xiǎoměi shuō: “Bú kèqì.”	Xiaomei says, “You’re welcome.”
十分鐘後，她到站了。	Shí fēnzhōng hòu, tā dào zhàn le.	Ten minutes later, she arrives at her stop.
她下車，走路去公司。	Tā xià chē, zǒulù qù gōngsī.	She gets off and walks to the office.

Words to notice: 捷運 (jiéyùn) is the Taiwan word for the metro in Taipei and other Taiwan cities. Mainland usage is 地鐵 (dìtiě). 老先生 (lǎo xiānsheng) is a polite way to address an elderly man.

Story 2: 夜市 (The Night Market)

Traditional	Pinyin	English
星期六晚上，大衛和朋友去夜市。	Xīngqíliù wǎnshang, Dàwèi hé péngyǒu qù yèshì.	On Saturday evening, David and a friend go to the night market.
夜市人很多，很熱鬧。	Yèshì rén hěn duō, hěn rènao.	There are many people at the night market, and it is lively.
大衛很餓。	Dàwèi hěn è.	David is very hungry.
他看見一個賣雞排的攤子。	Tā kànjian yí ge mài jīpái de tānzi.	He sees a stall that sells fried chicken cutlets.
他問老闆：「這個多少錢？」	Tā wèn lǎobǎn: “Zhège duōshǎo qián?”	He asks the owner, “How much is this?”
老闆說：「八十塊。」	Lǎobǎn shuō: “Bāshí kuài.”	The owner says, “Eighty dollars.”
大衛說：「我要這個。」	Dàwèi shuō: “Wǒ yào zhège.”	David says, “I’ll have this one.”
他吃了一口，說：「很好吃。」	Tā chī le yì kǒu, shuō: “Hěn hǎochī.”	He takes a bite and says, “Very tasty.”
朋友說：「我們去買珍珠奶茶吧。」	Péngyǒu shuō: “Wǒmen qù mǎi zhēnzhū nǎichá ba.”	His friend says, “Let’s go and buy bubble tea.”

Words to notice: 攤子 (tānzi) is a stall. 雞排 (jīpái) is the large fried chicken cutlet sold at night markets across Taiwan. 珍珠奶茶 (zhēnzhū nǎichá) is bubble milk tea. 塊 (kuài) is how people say “dollar” when speaking about New Taiwan dollars; in writing you will also see 元 (yuán). The price in the story is invented.

Story 3: 便利商店 (The Convenience Store)

Traditional	Pinyin	English
早上，王先生去便利商店。	Zǎoshang, Wáng xiānshēng qù biànlì shāngdiàn.	In the morning, Mr. Wang goes to the convenience store.
他想買咖啡和飯糰。	Tā xiǎng mǎi kāfēi hé fàntuán.	He wants to buy coffee and a rice ball.
店員說：「歡迎光臨。」	Diànyuán shuō: “Huānyíng guānglín.”	The clerk says, “Welcome.”
他拿咖啡和飯糰給店員。	Tā ná kāfēi hé fàntuán gěi diànyuán.	He hands the coffee and rice ball to the clerk.
店員問：「要袋子嗎？」	Diànyuán wèn: “Yào dàizi ma?”	The clerk asks, “Do you want a bag?”
王先生說：「不用，謝謝。」	Wáng xiānshēng shuō: “Búyòng, xièxie.”	Mr. Wang says, “No need, thanks.”
店員說：「一共八十五塊。」	Diànyuán shuō: “Yígòng bāshíwǔ kuài.”	The clerk says, “That’s eighty-five dollars in total.”
他用手機付錢。	Tā yòng shǒujī fù qián.	He pays with his phone.
他走出去，喝了一口咖啡。	Tā zǒu chūqù, hē le yì kǒu kāfēi.	He walks out and takes a sip of coffee.

Words to notice: 便利商店 (biànlì shāngdiàn) is the full name, and people often shorten it to 超商 (chāoshāng). 飯糰 (fàntuán) is a rice ball with fillings. 歡迎光臨 is the greeting you hear when you walk into almost any shop. The price is invented.

Story 4: 早餐店 (The Breakfast Shop)

Traditional	Pinyin	English
星期六早上，我去早餐店。	Xīngqíliù zǎoshang, wǒ qù zǎocāndiàn.	On Saturday morning, I go to the breakfast shop.
老闆娘問：「要吃什麼？」	Lǎobǎnniáng wèn: “Yào chī shénme?”	The owner’s wife asks, “What would you like to eat?”
我說：「我要蛋餅和豆漿。」	Wǒ shuō: “Wǒ yào dànbǐng hé dòujiāng.”	I say, “I’d like an egg pancake and soy milk.”
老闆娘問：「豆漿要熱的還是冰的？」	Lǎobǎnniáng wèn: “Dòujiāng yào rè de háishì bīng de?”	She asks, “Do you want the soy milk hot or iced?”
我說：「熱的。」	Wǒ shuō: “Rè de.”	I say, “Hot.”
她說：「好，請等一下。」	Tā shuō: “Hǎo, qǐng děng yíxià.”	She says, “Okay, please wait a moment.”
五分鐘後，我拿到蛋餅和豆漿。	Wǔ fēnzhōng hòu, wǒ ná dào dànbǐng hé dòujiāng.	Five minutes later, I get my egg pancake and soy milk.
蛋餅很好吃，豆漿也很好喝。	Dànbǐng hěn hǎochī, dòujiāng yě hěn hǎohē.	The egg pancake is tasty, and the soy milk is good too.

Words to notice: 蛋餅 (dànbǐng) is a thin egg-filled pancake roll, a standard Taiwanese breakfast. 老闆娘 (lǎobǎnniáng) is how customers address or refer to a shop owner’s wife, or a woman who runs the shop. 好吃 is for food and 好喝 is for drinks.

The Words That Are Not on the Word List

Most of the vocabulary is the common core of a first-year course. A handful of words are Taiwan food and shop terms that you learn once and keep: 雞排, 攤子, 飯糰, 蛋餅, 珍珠奶茶, 便利商店 and 歡迎光臨. Learn those as chunks. They are also useful in real life, which is why they are in the stories.

For more phrases for ordering food, see our guide to ordering food in Taiwan.

What to Read Next

Once the four stories feel easy, you have two routes. One is a published graded series with longer stories. The other is real Taiwan text such as menus and short messages, which our guide to what you can read at A2 and B1 lays out. Zhong also has graded reading inside the app, if you prefer reading next to your reviews.

Related Reading

• Graded Readers in Traditional Chinese: What Exists
• When to Stop Using Pinyin (and Read Without It)
• What Can You Read in Chinese at A2 and B1?
• Ordering Food in Taiwan: The Mandarin You Actually Need