Teacher 李 guides 小美 in a tone imitation game to help her understand how different tones in Chinese change the meaning of words.

• Chinese Short Dialogue | Website
• Chinese Short Dialogue | App Store
• Chinese Short Dialogue | Google Play

Learn Chinese | 중국어 배우기 | 中国語を学ぶ | Изучать китайский язык | Học tiếng Trung | Belajar bahasa Mandarin | Aprender chino | تعلم اللغة الصينية

李芳: 小美, let's play a tone game!
小美: A tone game? How do we play?
李芳: I'll say a word, and you imitate the tones, like 'mā, má, mǎ, mà.' Listen to the differences.
小美: Mā~ má~ mǎ~ mà! Haha, it sounds like singing!
李芳: That's right! Different tones mean different things. '妈' means mom, '马' means horse you ride—are they the same?
小美: They're different! I can't ride my mom!
李芳: Haha, you're so clever, 小美! Now try 'bāo' and 'bào.' Do the sounds feel different?
小美: Bāo~ bào! One is like carrying something, the other is like hugging a doll!
李芳: Excellent! Chinese tones are really interesting. Practice more, and you'll speak very well too!
小美: Okay! I like the tone game. I want to get really good at it!

Liu Na and Yuko discuss the hot topic among Chinese netizens about earthquake rumors in Japan.

• Chinese Short Dialogue | Website
• Chinese Short Dialogue | App Store
• Chinese Short Dialogue | Google Play

Learn Chinese | 중국어 배우기 | 中国語を学ぶ | Изучать китайский язык | Học tiếng Trung | Belajar bahasa Mandarin | Aprender chino | تعلم اللغة الصينية

优子: Ms. Liu, recently the topic of a big earthquake happening in Japan on July 5th has been really popular on Chinese social media. I even saw news that 250,000 people watched livestreams waiting for the quake.
刘娜: Yes, it's all over Weibo and Moments—everyone's talking about it. But the Japan Meteorological Agency has debunked the rumor many times, saying that current technology can't accurately predict earthquakes.
优子: Actually, in Japan, people aren't really concerned about this rumor. My friends all think it's exaggerated, and basically no one believes it.
刘娜: I see. Sometimes a story can become a hot topic overseas, but locally, people don't pay much attention.
优子: But I heard that some foreign tourists have canceled their travel plans because of it, so there is some impact.
刘娜: That's why we need to learn to distinguish between true and false information and not believe every online rumor.
优子: Yes, from now on I'll be more careful about information sources, and discuss trending topics rationally with people around me.

A couple discusses paternity test data and issues of family trust.

• Chinese Short Dialogue | Website
• Chinese Short Dialogue | App Store
• Chinese Short Dialogue | Google Play

Learn Chinese | 중국어 배우기 | 中国語を学ぶ | Изучать китайский язык | Học tiếng Trung | Belajar bahasa Mandarin | Aprender chino | تعلم اللغة الصينية

黄刚: Xiao Hua, did you see the news? At a paternity testing center in Hebei, 22% of the results showed the child wasn't biological. That's such a high number—it's really shocking.
陈花: I saw it too, especially that more than a third were discovered after the child turned 10. I can't imagine the psychological impact on those families.
黄刚: Yeah, paternity testing is a technical matter, but it really reflects the fragility of family relationships and trust. Especially since 89% of requests are initiated by men, which suggests men may feel less secure in family relationships.
陈花: I think technology makes things convenient, but the ethical issues are definitely complicated. Some cases even involve secretly collecting biological samples, so privacy concerns are pretty serious.
黄刚: Exactly. In the end, technology should serve people. The key is building family trust, not just relying on cold, hard data to define relationships.
陈花: That's right. The most important thing for a couple is communication and trust. If you're relying on a test to confirm your relationship, you might already be at a disadvantage from the start.