Traditional Chinese course

Lesson 220 of 240

New here? This is lesson 220 of a free 240-lesson Traditional Chinese course.

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If only in Traditional Chinese

You missed the train, and the morning at Banyan Breakfast turns into a pile of what-ifs. Yi-Jun is with you, and A-Li is still at the back table with soy milk he has not finished.

Learn how to say you would not have gone, you wish you could try again, and you should have asked one more thing. Then guess whether there is still time, or admit it is too late.

These lines fit ordinary regret, not a long speech.

By the end of this lesson

Express regrets about what you would have done, say you wish you could try again, and judge whether there is still time.

  • 早知道就不去了If I'd known, I wouldn't have gone.
  • 要是能再來一次就好了If only I could do it again.
  • 如果當時我多問一句If I'd asked one more question at the time.
  • 真希望我早點學I really wish I'd learned earlier.
  • 說不定還來得及There may still be time.
  • 可惜已經太晚了It's too late, unfortunately.

Scene — a missed train

Maya and Yi-Jun push into Banyan Breakfast after the train they wanted has already gone. A-Li is at the back table with two stools and soy milk he still has not finished.

Maya is late, sweaty, and stuck on what she should have asked. Nobody opens the fortune slip today.

Maya and Yi-Jun shove in through the open breakfast-shop front while A-Li holds a back table with extra stools and unfinished soy milk.

Learn — wishes and regrets

Listen to six lines for regret, wishes, and whether a chance is still open. Notice how 早知道, 要是, and 如果 look back at a choice you cannot change.

就好了 and 真希望 name a wish. 說不定 keeps a little hope; 可惜 closes it.

  1. Maya has dropped onto a plastic stool and stares at a transit card in regret.

    早知道就不去了

    If I'd known, I wouldn't have gone.

    When to use it: Say this when you regret going, now that you know it was not worth it.

    早知道 plus 就 plus a negative verb looks back at a choice you would not make again.

    Say it: 不 changes to a rising tone before the falling tone of 去.

  2. Yi-Jun stands in profile at the bright doorway, pulled toward a morning that has already gone.

    要是能再來一次就好了

    If only I could do it again.

    When to use it: Use this to wish you could repeat a moment and do it differently.

    要是 plus what you wanted, then 就好了, marks a wish, not a real plan.

  3. Maya leans at the counter with one hand half-raised, stuck on the extra question never asked, while Yi-Jun looks on.

    如果當時我多問一句

    If I'd asked one more question at the time.

    When to use it: Use this when you regret not asking something important in that moment.

    一句 is the measure word for a spoken question or sentence.

    Say it: 一 changes to a rising tone before the falling-tone measure word 句.

  4. Maya hunches over an open pocket notebook, wishing the studying had started much earlier.

    真希望我早點學

    I really wish I'd learned earlier.

    When to use it: Say this when you wish you had started learning sooner.

    真希望 plus a past action you missed makes a strong personal wish.

    Say it: In 早點, the first third tone rises before the next third tone.

  5. Yi-Jun leans toward the street door with a forward, hopeful gesture, as if another chance is still out there.

    說不定還來得及

    There may still be time.

    When to use it: Use this when something might still be possible, even if it looks tight.

    說不定 softens a guess; you are not promising it will work.

  6. Maya slumps at the back table beside A-Li and the unfinished soy milk, the morning already gone.

    可惜已經太晚了

    It's too late, unfortunately.

    When to use it: Say this when the chance has already gone and you feel sorry.

    已經 with 了 shows that being too late is already a finished fact.

Story — too late for the train

Maya missed a train and sits down at Banyan Breakfast with Yi-Jun. A-Li is already there, and his soy milk is still waiting.

Listen for the wishes and the moment they decide it is too late.

  1. Maya and Yi-Jun come into Banyan Breakfast. A-Li is already at the back table, using two stools.
  2. Yi-Jun怎麼了？你跑得滿頭汗。What's wrong? You're sweating from running.
  3. Maya我遲到了。I'm late.
  4. Yi-Jun那班車呢？What about that train?
  5. Maya已經開走了。It already left.
  6. A-Li坐一下吧，豆漿還在。Sit for a bit; the soy milk is still here.
  7. Maya早知道就不去了。If I'd known, I wouldn't have gone.
  8. Yi-Jun去哪裡？Gone where?
  9. Maya車站。如果當時我多問一句。The station. If I'd asked one more question at the time.
  10. A-Li問什麼？Ask what?
  11. Maya幾點開、在哪個月台，我都沒問。我十點有會，還來得及嗎？What time it left, which platform—I didn't ask any of it. I have a ten o'clock meeting; is there still time?
  12. A-Li說不定還來得及。There may still be time.
  13. Yi-Jun我幫你看下一班。I'll check the next one for you.
  14. Maya要是能再來一次就好了。If only I could do it again.
  15. A-Li時刻表很難吧。The timetable is hard, isn't it?
  16. Maya真希望我早點學。I really wish I'd learned earlier.
  17. Yi-Jun下一班要等四十分鐘，十點趕不上。The next one is a forty-minute wait; you won't make ten o'clock.
  18. Maya可惜已經太晚了。It's too late, unfortunately.
  19. A-Li沒關係，你先坐。豆漿還熱。It's okay, sit first. The soy milk is still warm.
  20. Yi-Jun那我們先喝點東西吧。Then let's have a drink first.
  21. Maya好喔。Okay.
  22. A-Li好啊。Sure.

Practice — if only

Work through short exercises on wishes and missed chances. Pick the line that fits each moment, and watch the gap so only one word works.

After each answer, read why the other choices fail, then say the line again.

0 of 10 done

  1. What does it mean?

    早知道就不去了

  2. Fill the gap

    If I'd asked one more question at the time.

    如果____我多問一句

  3. What do you say?

    You missed the train and wish you could live that moment again.

  4. Build the line

    I really wish I'd learned earlier.

    Tap the words in order.

  5. What did you hear?

  6. Swap the word

    The next train is forty minutes away, and the chance has already gone.

    可惜已經太____了

  7. Pick the reply

    Yi-Jun says:

    還來得及嗎？

    Is there still time?

    And you reply with:

  8. What do you say?

    Yi-Jun sees you rush in after the train has gone and asks what is wrong.

  9. Match the pairs

    Traditional Chinese

    早知道就不去了Drop the English here
    如果當時我多問一句Drop the English here
    真希望我早點學Drop the English here
    可惜已經太晚了Drop the English here

    English

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

  10. What does it mean?

    還來得及嗎？

Say it — say your regrets

You play Maya after the missed train. Listen to Yi-Jun and A-Li, then say the wish or regret that fits.

Tap the microphone to speak. You can replay their lines before your turn.

  1. After the train has gone, Maya sits down at Banyan Breakfast.
  2. Yi-Jun你去車站了？Did you go to the station?
  3. Maya (you)Tell her you would not have gone if you had known.

    早知道就不去了

    If I'd known, I wouldn't have gone.

0 of 6 said

Recap — what you can say now

Traditional ChineseEnglish
早知道就不去了If I'd known, I wouldn't have gone.
要是能再來一次就好了If only I could do it again.
如果當時我多問一句If I'd asked one more question at the time.
真希望我早點學I really wish I'd learned earlier.
說不定還來得及There may still be time.
可惜已經太晚了It's too late, unfortunately.
Next: lesson 221Not what I expected

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Today's wishes and regrets are in Yak Cards with more lines for talking about what might have been.

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