Simplified Chinese course

Lesson 170 of 240

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A trip that went wrong in Simplified Chinese

Yi-Jun drops into Banyan Breakfast looking worn out. She rode a scooter, missed a train, and the day did not go as planned. A-Li listens from two stools, soy milk still unfinished.

Learn six lines for saying a trip went wrong, what happened on the way, and what you will do next time.

Then tell a short travel mishap of your own, without solving any shop mystery.

By the end of this lesson

Tell what went wrong on a trip and how you got through.

  • 这趟旅行没有照原本计划走This trip didn't go to plan.
  • 去的路上发生了一件事Something happened on the way.
  • 我迷路了，但后来找到路了I got lost but found my way later.
  • 比我想像中还累It was more tiring than I thought.
  • 我永远忘不了那一刻I'll never forget that moment.
  • 下次我会先查好Next time I'll look it up first.

Scene — a scooter and a missed train

Saturday light falls across Banyan Breakfast. Yi-Jun sits down tired from a scooter ride and a missed train.

Maya listens, and A-Li stays on two stools with his soy milk still unfinished.

The story is ordinary bad luck on the road. Nobody reads the slip in the till, and A-Li is not solving anything today.

Saturday morning light fills Banyan Breakfast as Yi-Jun drops onto a stool, Maya leans in, and A-Li the yak keeps a pair of stools beside unfinished soy milk.

Learn — when a trip goes off plan

Here are six lines for telling a travel story that went off plan. Listen, then say each one out loud.

Notice how 了 marks a finished event, and how 比…还 compares what you felt with what you expected.

  1. Yi-Jun opens both palms in a shrug at the counter while Maya pauses with chopsticks and A-Li the yak ignores the table.

    这趟旅行没有照原本计划走

    This trip didn't go to plan.

    When to use it: Use this when a trip did not follow your original plan.

    照 plus a plan means you follow that plan.

  2. Yi-Jun points at the street from the open shop front with a scooter helmet in the other hand while Maya looks that way too.

    去的路上发生了一件事

    Something happened on the way.

    When to use it: Use this to start the problem that came up while traveling.

    一件事 uses the measure word 件 for an event.

    Say it: 一 changes tone before the fourth-tone syllable in 件.

  3. Yi-Jun traces a winding path in the air and then a straight one while Maya's hands ease on the counter.

    我迷路了，但后来找到路了

    I got lost but found my way later.

    When to use it: Use this when you were lost and then found the road again.

    Each 了 marks a finished event: getting lost, then finding the way.

  4. Yi-Jun slumps over the counter rubbing the back of the neck while Maya slides a hot tray over.

    比我想像中还累

    It was more tiring than I thought.

    When to use it: Use this when a trip tired you more than you expected.

    比…还 compares the real feeling with what you imagined.

  5. Morning light fills the empty doorway while Yi-Jun sits still in the background staring toward the street.

    我永远忘不了那一刻

    I'll never forget that moment.

    When to use it: Use this for a moment that stayed with you.

    忘不了 means you cannot forget, even if you try.

  6. Yi-Jun lifts a phone with a short nod while Maya taps another phone in agreement.

    下次我会先查好

    Next time I'll look it up first.

    When to use it: Use this when you will check the facts before the next trip.

    好 after 查 marks the checking as done in advance.

Story — Yi-Jun missed the train

Listen to Yi-Jun tell Maya why her trip went wrong. She rode a scooter and missed a train.

A-Li stays at the back table. His soy milk is still unfinished.

  1. Saturday at Banyan Breakfast, Yi-Jun sits down looking worn out.
  2. Yi-Jun这趟旅行没有照原本计划走。This trip didn't go to plan.
  3. Maya发生什么事了？What happened?
  4. Yi-Jun去的路上发生了一件事。Something happened on the way.
  5. A-Li后来呢？And then?
  6. Yi-Jun我骑摩托车去赶火车。I rode a scooter to catch the train.
  7. Yi-Jun我迷路了，但后来找到路了。I got lost but found my way later.
  8. Maya那你有赶上吗？So did you make it?
  9. Yi-Jun没有，我到的时候车已经走了。No, the train had already left when I got there.
  10. Yi-Jun比我想像中还累。It was more tiring than I thought.
  11. A-Li豆浆还没喝完。The soy milk still isn't finished.
  12. Yi-Jun我永远忘不了那一刻。I'll never forget that moment.
  13. Maya听起来真的很累。That sounds really tiring.
  14. Yi-Jun对啊，下次不能这样。Yeah, I can't do it like that next time.
  15. Maya下次我会先查好。Next time I'll look it up first.
  16. Yi-Jun你也要去旅行喔？You're going on a trip too?
  17. Maya对啊，我还在想。Yeah, I'm still thinking it through.

Practice — tell what went wrong

Work through ten short exercises. Pick the line that fits each mishap, then check why the other choices fail.

Say the winning line again after you check the note.

0 of 10 done

  1. What does it mean?

    这趟旅行没有照原本计划走

  2. What do you say?

    Say that something happened while you were on the way, rather than summarizing whether the trip followed the plan.

  3. Build the line

    Next time I'll look it up first.

    Tap the words in order.

  4. Fill the gap

    It was more tiring than I thought.

    比我____中还累

  5. What did you hear?

  6. Pick the reply

    Yi-Jun says:

    后来呢？

    And then?

    And you reply with:

  7. Swap the word

    You are saying something took place on the way, not that you ran into someone.

    去的路上____了一件事

  8. Match the pairs

    Simplified Chinese

    这趟旅行没有照原本计划走Drop the English here
    去的路上发生了一件事Drop the English here
    比我想像中还累Drop the English here
    我永远忘不了那一刻Drop the English here

    English

    Drag an English line onto its Simplified Chinese, or tap one and then the other.

  9. What do you say?

    Yi-Jun sits down looking exhausted and has not started her story yet. Ask what happened.

  10. Pick the reply

    Yi-Jun says:

    我骑摩托车去赶火车。

    I rode a scooter to catch the train.

    And you reply with:

Say it — your travel mishap

You play Maya and tell Yi-Jun about a trip that went off plan. Listen to each cue, then say the line out loud.

Tap the microphone to speak. You can replay the other person's line before your turn.

  1. You sit with Yi-Jun at Banyan Breakfast and tell her about a messy day out.
  2. Maya (you)Tell her this trip didn't go to plan.

    这趟旅行没有照原本计划走

    This trip didn't go to plan.

0 of 6 said

Recap — what you can say now

Simplified ChineseEnglish
这趟旅行没有照原本计划走This trip didn't go to plan.
去的路上发生了一件事Something happened on the way.
我迷路了，但后来找到路了I got lost but found my way later.
比我想像中还累It was more tiring than I thought.
我永远忘不了那一刻I'll never forget that moment.
下次我会先查好Next time I'll look it up first.
Next: lesson 171Planning Tainan

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Keep practicing with Yak Cards

Today's travel-mishap lines are in Yak Cards with more ways to tell what went wrong.

Review a few cards each day so the story comes out in order.

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