Simplified Chinese course

Lesson 176 of 240

New here? This is lesson 176 of a free 240-lesson Simplified Chinese course.

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The story grows in Simplified Chinese

Back in Taipei, Yi-Jun retells the Tainan train mix-up for the fourth time. Each telling, the train gets a little faster.

Learn how to start a retelling, push back when a story grows, and notice when two versions do not match.

Then practise those lines at breakfast, where A-Li's soy milk is still unfinished.

By the end of this lesson

Retell an event, compare two versions, and push back when a story grows.

  • 其实没那么夸张It wasn't actually that dramatic.
  • 你讲得好像真的一样You're telling it like it's true.
  • 事情是这样的Here's what happened.
  • 我昨天听到的版本不一样The version I heard yesterday was different.
  • 越说越大It gets bigger the more you tell it.
  • 不是这样的啦That's not how it was.

Scene — a fourth telling

At Banyan Breakfast, Yi-Jun leans in and starts the Tainan story again. Maya heard a quieter version yesterday, and A-Li listens from the back table.

The train in this telling is already faster. Nobody solves the fortune slip; A-Li's soy milk stays unfinished.

Yi-Jun leans across a breakfast tray to restart a story while Maya sits opposite and A-Li the yak at a back table leaves soy milk untouched.

Learn — when stories grow

These six lines help you retell a story and push back when it grows. Listen first, then say each one out loud.

Notice how 得 marks degree after a verb, and how 越…越… shows something getting bigger.

  1. Maya sits square at the breakfast table flattening one palm toward the tray, downplaying how dramatic the tale was.

    其实没那么夸张

    It wasn't actually that dramatic.

    When to use it: Use this when a retelling makes a small event sound huge.

    没那么 plus an adjective scales a claim down.

  2. A-Li the yak sits on a pair of stools at a back breakfast table and looks toward the front, soy milk still full.

    你讲得好像真的一样

    You're telling it like it's true.

    When to use it: Use this when a story sounds too polished to believe.

    得 after a verb introduces how the action is done.

    Say it: The 得 after the verb is usually a light tone.

  3. Yi-Jun leans in over the breakfast tray with both hands open as if laying out what happened.

    事情是这样的

    Here's what happened.

    When to use it: Use this to start a retelling from the beginning.

    This set phrase introduces the account you are about to tell.

  4. Maya twists in the chair and taps the breakfast tray, measuring this telling against a quieter one from yesterday.

    我昨天听到的版本不一样

    The version I heard yesterday was different.

    When to use it: Use this when two tellings of the same event do not match.

    的 links the earlier clause to the noun 版本.

  5. A-Li the yak spreads both arms wide beside unfinished soy milk, as if the story has grown.

    越说越大

    It gets bigger the more you tell it.

    When to use it: Use this when each retelling adds extra drama.

    越…越… shows one thing growing as another continues.

  6. Maya leans forward with one hand raised in a correcting stop, rejecting this version of events.

    不是这样的啦

    That's not how it was.

    When to use it: Use this to reject a version that has grown too far.

    啦 softens a disagreement so it still sounds friendly.

    Say it: 啦 at the end is a short, light tone.

Story — the train gets faster

Listen as Yi-Jun tells the wrong-train story again at breakfast. Maya heard it yesterday, and this version is already larger.

A-Li stays at the back table with his unfinished drink.

  1. Yi-Jun欸，事情是这样的。Hey, here's what happened.
  2. Maya后来呢？And then?
  3. Yi-Jun那班车很快，我们坐过站了。That train was so fast we went past our stop.
  4. Maya真的吗？Really?
  5. Yi-Jun对啊，车门都还没关好就开走了。Yeah, it left before the doors had even closed.
  6. Maya你讲得好像真的一样。You're telling it like it's true.
  7. A-Li我昨天听到的版本不一样。The version I heard yesterday was different.
  8. Yi-Jun不会吧！这次比较准。No way! This time is more accurate.
  9. Maya其实没那么夸张。It wasn't actually that dramatic.
  10. Yi-Jun可是车真的越来越快啊。But the train really is getting faster.
  11. Maya越说越大。It gets bigger the more you tell it.
  12. Yi-Jun我哪有？就是这样啊。I am not! That's how it was.
  13. Maya不是这样的啦。That's not how it was.
  14. A-Li豆浆还没喝完。The soy milk still isn't finished.

Practice — retell and push back

Work through short exercises that ask you to start a retelling, compare versions, and cool a story down.

After each answer, read why the other choice does not fit.

0 of 9 done

  1. What does it mean?

    真的吗？

  2. What do you say?

    Yi-Jun asks you to tell the Tainan mix-up from the start.

  3. Build the line

    The version I heard yesterday was different.

    Tap the words in order.

  4. Fill the gap

    It gets bigger the more you tell it.

    越说越____

  5. What did you hear?

  6. Pick the reply

    Yi-Jun says:

    我们那天是坐飞机去的。

    That day we went by plane.

    And you reply with:

  7. Swap the word

    Yi-Jun makes the Tainan mix-up sound huge. Scale the claim down.

    其实没那么____

  8. What do you say?

    Yi-Jun says the train left before the doors had even closed. React with shock.

  9. Pick the reply

    Yi-Jun says:

    我们上错车以后……

    After we boarded the wrong train...

    And you reply with:

Say it — your retelling

You play Maya and talk with Yi-Jun about the growing train story. Listen to each cue, then say the line out loud.

Tap the microphone to speak. You can replay her line before your turn.

  1. Back at Banyan Breakfast, Yi-Jun wants the Tainan story again.
  2. Yi-Jun你那天记得什么？What do you remember from that day?
  3. Maya (you)Start the retelling from the beginning.

    事情是这样的

    Here's what happened.

0 of 6 said

Recap — what you can say now

Simplified ChineseEnglish
其实没那么夸张It wasn't actually that dramatic.
你讲得好像真的一样You're telling it like it's true.
事情是这样的Here's what happened.
我昨天听到的版本不一样The version I heard yesterday was different.
越说越大It gets bigger the more you tell it.
不是这样的啦That's not how it was.
Next: lesson 177Wait, what?

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Keep practicing with Yak Cards

Today's retelling lines are in Yak Cards with more ways to compare versions.

Review a few of these cards after you hear a story told twice.

Open Yak Cards