In this quick lesson about judging others, we learn that those who live in dirty glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. HSK 2-3.
Source here.
Some language stuff
Most of the nouns and verbs in this story are HSK 1-3, pretty basic, but there are a couple of more advanced grammar words. First off, if you’re new to Chinese measure words, you’ll learn some new ones in here. We’ve got:
一对 yī duì – A pair (in this case, of people – a husband and wife)
一户 yī hù – A household
一番 yī fān- The measure word for a conversation or a block of speech
We’ve also got three words here specifically related to washing clothes and cleaning:
干净 gān jìng – To be clean
洗衣粉 xǐ yī fěn – Detergent (washing powder)
晾衣绳 liàng yī shéng – Washing line (dry clothes rope)
悬挂 xuán guà – To hang
擦 cā – To wipe
清洗 qīng xǐ – To wash (something until it is clean)
Want something easier?
Du Chinese has a big catalog of easy HSK 1 and HSK 2 texts for ultra-beginners. There are quite a few free practice lessons, but CRP readers get 10% off on paid accounts using the discount code CRP10.
洗衣服
一对年轻的夫妇对面搬来一户新邻居。第二天早上，当他们吃早饭的时候，年轻的妻子看到了新搬来的邻居正在外面洗衣服。
妻子对丈夫说道：“那些衣服洗得不干净，也许那个邻居不知道如何清洗。也许她需要好一点的洗衣粉。”
丈夫看了看了妻子，沉默不语。
就这样每次邻居洗衣服，妻子都会这样评论对方一番。 大概一个月后，年轻的妻子惊奇地发现，邻居的晾衣绳上居然悬挂着一件干净的衣服，她大叫着对丈夫说：“快看！她学会洗衣服了。我想知道是谁教会她这个的呢？”
她的丈夫却回答到：“我今天早上一大早起来，然后我把玻璃悬擦干净了。”
在我们作出判断之前，首先要看一下你的“窗户”是否干净。
