A quick introduction to basketball star Yao Ming, with language tailored for beginner readers.
姚明是中国最有名的篮球运动员。他1980年出生在上海。他的爸爸妈妈都很高，所以姚明也非常高。他有两米二六！
姚明很小的时候就开始打篮球。他每天练习很长时间，非常努力。2002年，他去了美国，在NBA打球。很多美国人不知道他，但是姚明用他的球技让大家都认识了他。
姚明打球打了八年。他帮助中国和美国的人更了解对方。现在他不打球了，但是他还在帮助年轻人学习篮球。很多中国孩子因为他，也爱上了篮球。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 篮球 | lán qiú | basketball |
| 运动员 | yùn dòng yuán | athlete |
| 出生 | chū shēng | to be born |
| 练习 | liàn xí | to practice |
| 努力 | nǔ lì | hardworking |
| 球技 | qiú jì | ball skills |
| 认识 | rèn shi5 | to know (someone) |
| 了解 | liǎo jiě | to understand |
| 年轻 | nián qīng | young |
| 有名 | yǒu míng | famous |
| 姚 | ||
| 明 | Míng | Ming Dynasty (1368–1644); surname Ming; Ming (c. 2000 BC), fourth of the legendary Flame Emperors, 炎帝[Yan2 di4] descended from Shennong 神農|神农[Shen2 nong2] Farmer God |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4] |
| 中国 | Zhōng guó | China |
| 最 | zuì | variant of 最[zui4]; old variant of 最[zui4]; (before an adjective or verb) to the highest degree; (the) most ...; -est; (after 之[zhi1]) best or most extreme example (e.g. 世界之最[shi4 jie4 zhi1 zui4] "the greatest in the world") |
| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to… |
| 他 | tā | (third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his; (bound form) other; another; some other (as in 他日[ta1 ri4] and 他人[ta1 ren2]) |
| 年 | Nián | surname Nian; grain; harvest (old); variant of 年[nian2] |
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) |
| 上海 | Shàng hǎi | Shanghai municipality (short name 滬|沪[Hu4]) |
| 爸爸 | bà ba | (coll.) father; dad; CL:位[wei4] |
| 妈妈 | mā ma | mama; mommy; mother; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4] |
| 都 | Dū | surname Du |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element) |
| 高 | Gāo | surname Gao |
| 所以 | suǒ yǐ | therefore; as a result; so; the reason why |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 非常 | fēi cháng | very; really; unusual; extraordinary |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional) |
| 两 | liǎng | two; both; some; a few; tael, unit of weight equal to 50 grams (modern) or 1⁄16 of a catty 斤[jin1] (old) |
| 米 | Mǐ | surname Mi |
| 二 | èr | two; 2; (Beijing dialect) stupid |
| 六 | lìu | six; 6 |
| 小的 | xiǎo de | (coll.) young child; the little one(s) of the family; (old) (humble) I; me; my (used by a commoner when speaking to an official) |
| 时 | shí | old variant of 時|时[shi2]; surname Shi |
| 候 | hòu | to wait; to inquire after; to watch; season; climate; (old) period of five days |
| 就 | jìu | (after a suppositional clause) in that case; then; (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after; (same as 就是[jiu4 shi4]) merely; nothing else but; simply; just; precise… |
| 开始 | kāi shǐ | to begin; to start; beginning; start |
| 打 | dá | (loanword) dozen; Taiwan pr. [da3] |
| 每天 | měi tiān | every day |
| 长 | cháng | long; (bound form) length; (bound form) strong point; forte; (bound form) to be good at; (literary) surplus; spare (Taiwan pr. [zhang4]) |
| 时间 | shí jiān | (concept of) time; (duration of) time; (point in) time |
| 去 | qù | to go; to go to (a place); (of a time etc) last; just passed; to send; to remove; to get rid of; to reduce; to be apart from in space or time; to die (euphemism); to play (a part);… |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly |
| 美国 | Měi guó | United States; USA; US |
| 打球 | dǎ qíu | to play ball; to play with a ball |
| 多 | duō | many; much; more; a lot of; too many; in excess; (after a numeral) ... odd; how (to what extent) (Taiwan pr. [duo2]); (bound form) multi-; poly- |
| 美国人 | Měi guó rén | American; American person; American people; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 不知 | bù zhī | not to know; unaware; unknowingly; fig. not to admit (defeat, hardships, tiredness etc) |
| 道 | dào | road; path (CL:條|条[tiao2],股[gu3]); (bound form) way; reason; principle; (bound form) a skill; an art; a specialization; (Daoism) the Way; the Dao; to say (introducing a direct quot… |
| 但 | dàn | but; yet; however; still; merely; only; just |
| 用 | yòng | to use; to make use of; to employ; (coverb) with; using; to need; to have to (usu. used in the negative or in questions); usefulness; utility; (bound form) expense; outlay; (courte… |
| 让 | ràng | to yield; to permit; to let sb do sth; to have sb do sth; to make sb (feel sad etc); by (indicates the agent in a passive clause, like 被[bei4]) |
| 大家 | dà jiā | everyone; influential family; great expert |
| 八 | bā | eight |
| 帮助 | bāng zhù | assistance; aid; to help; to assist |
| 和 | hé | old variant of 和[he2]; surname He; (literary) harmonious (variant of 和[he2]) |
| 人 | rén | person; people; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4],名[ming2] |
| 更 | gēng | to change or replace; to experience; one of the five two-hour periods into which the night was formerly divided; watch (e.g. of a sentry or guard) |
| 对方 | duì fāng | the other person; the other side; the other party |
| 现 | xiàn | to appear; present; now; existing; current |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- |
| 还 | Huán | surname Huan |
| 年轻人 | nián qīng rén | young people; youngster |
| 学习 | xué xí | to learn; to study |
| 孩子 | hái zi | child |
| 因为 | yīn wèi | because; owing to; on account of |
| 爱上 | ài shàng | to fall in love with; to be in love with |
Yao Ming is China’s most famous basketball player. He was born in Shanghai in 1980. His father and mother were both very tall, so Yao Ming was also very tall. He is 2.26 meters tall!
Yao Ming started playing basketball when he was very young. He practiced for a long time every day and worked very hard. In 2002, he went to America to play in the NBA. Many Americans didn’t know him, but Yao Ming used his basketball skills and soon everyone knew of him.
Yao Ming played basketball for eight years. He helped Chinese and American people understand each other better. Now he doesn’t play anymore, but he still helps young people learn basketball. Many Chinese children fell in love with basketball because of him.