In this one-paragraph read (HSK 2-3), Little Brother wants to help dad get ready to leave the house, but his contribution falls flat.
爸爸出差，可早晨起得迟了。他忙洗脸刷牙，姐姐帮爸爸整理衣服，妈妈给他端早餐，帮他找笔记本。爸爸一边吃早餐，一边摸口袋，咦，火车票哪去了？爸爸放下牛奶、蛋糕，手忙脚乱地找车票。小弟弟多么想帮爸爸做点儿事啊，可他什么也帮不上。小弟弟想：“帮爸爸吃早餐吧。”他爬上凳子，将爸爸吃剩的牛奶、蛋糕全吃了。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 爸爸 | bà ba | (coll.) father; dad; CL:位[wei4] |
| 出差 | chū chāi | to go on an official or business trip |
| 可 | kě | (prefix) can; may; able to; -able; to approve; to permit; to suit; (particle used for emphasis) certainly; very; but; however |
| 早晨 | zǎo chén | early morning; also pr. [zao3chen5] |
| 起 | qǐ | to rise; to raise; to get up; to set out; to start; to appear; to launch; to initiate (action); to draft; to establish; to get (from a depot or counter); verb suffix, to start; sta… |
| 得 | dé | to obtain; to get; to gain; to catch (a disease); proper; suitable; proud; contented; to allow; to permit; ready; finished |
| 迟 | Chí | surname Chi |
| 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 |
| 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]) |
| 忙 | máng | busy; hurriedly; to hurry; to rush |
| 洗 | xǐ | to wash; to bathe; to develop (photographs); to shuffle (cards etc); to erase (a recording) |
| 脸 | liǎn | face; CL:張|张[zhang1],個|个[ge4] |
| 刷 | shua | a brush; to brush; to scrub; (onom.) swish; rustle; to scroll on (a phone) |
| 牙 | yá | tooth; ivory; CL:顆|颗[ke1] |
| 姐 | jiě | older sister |
| 帮 | bāng | old variant of 幫|帮[bang1]; to help; to assist; to support; for sb (i.e. as a help); hired (as worker); side (of pail, boat etc); outer layer; upper (of a shoe); group; gang; clique; party; secret society |
| 整 | zhěng | (bound form) whole; complete; entire; (before a measure word) whole; (before or after number + measure word) exactly; (bound form) in good order; tidy; neat; (bound form) to put in… |
| 理 | lǐ | texture; grain (of wood); inner essence; intrinsic order; reason; logic; truth; science; natural science (esp. physics); to manage; to pay attention to; to run (affairs); to handle… |
| 衣服 | yī fu | clothes; CL:件[jian4],套[tao4] |
| 妈妈 | mā ma | mama; mommy; mother; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4] |
| 给 | gěi | to; for; for the benefit of; to give; to allow; to do sth (for sb); (grammatical equivalent of 被); (grammatical equivalent of 把); (sentence intensifier) |
| 端 | duān | (bound form) tip; end; extremity; (bound form) aspect; facet; (bound form) upright; proper; to hold sth level with both hands; to carry; to eliminate; to wipe out; old variant of 端[duan1]; start; origin |
| 早餐 | zǎo cān | breakfast; CL:份[fen4],頓|顿[dun4],次[ci4] |
| 找 | zhǎo | to try to find; to look for; to call on sb; to find; to seek; to return; to give change |
| 笔记本 | bǐ jì běn | notebook (stationery) (CL:本[ben3]); (computing) laptop; notebook (abbr. for 筆記本電腦|笔记本电脑[bi3 ji4 ben3 dian4 nao3]) |
| 一边 | yī biān | one side; either side; on the one hand; on the other hand; doing while |
| 吃 | chī | to eat; to consume; to eat at (a cafeteria etc); to eradicate; to destroy; to absorb; to suffer (shock, injury, defeat etc); variant of 吃[chi1] |
| 摸 | mo | to feel with the hand; to stroke; to steal |
| 口袋 | kǒu dài | pocket; bag; sack |
| 咦 | ||
| 火车票 | huǒ chē piào | train ticket |
| 哪 | nǎ | how; which |
| 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);… |
| 放下 | fàng xià | to lay down; to put down; to let go of; to relinquish; to set aside; to lower (the blinds etc) |
| 牛 | Níu | surname Niu |
| 奶 | nǎi | breast; milk; to breastfeed; variant of 嬭|奶[nai3]; mother; variant of 奶[nai3] |
| 蛋糕 | dàn gāo | cake; CL:塊|块[kuai4],個|个[ge4] |
| 手 | shǒu | hand; (formal) to hold; person engaged in certain types of work; person skilled in certain types of work; personal(ly); convenient; classifier for skill; CL:雙|双[shuang1],隻|只[zhi1] |
| 脚 | jiǎo | foot; leg (of an animal or an object); base (of an object); CL:雙|双[shuang1],隻|只[zhi1]; classifier for kicks |
| 乱 | luàn | in confusion or disorder; in a confused state of mind; disorder; upheaval; riot; illicit sexual relations; to throw into disorder; to mix up; indiscriminate; random; arbitrary |
| 地 | de | -ly; structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct |
| 车票 | chē piào | ticket (for a bus or train) |
| 小弟弟 | xiǎo dì di | little brother; little boy; (coll.) penis |
| 多么 | duō me | how (wonderful etc); what (a great idea etc); however (difficult it may be etc); (in interrogative sentences) how (much etc); to what extent |
| 想 | xiǎng | to think (about); to think of; to devise; to think (that); to believe (that); to desire; to want (to); to miss (feel wistful about the absence of) |
| 做 | zuò | to make; to produce; to write; to compose; to do; to engage in; to hold (a party etc); (of a person) to be (an intermediary, a good student etc); to become (husband and wife, frien… |
| 点儿 | diǎn r | erhua variant of 點|点[dian3] |
| 事 | shì | matter; thing; item; work; affair; CL:件[jian4],樁|桩[zhuang1],回[hui2] |
| 啊 | ā | interjection of surprise; Ah!; Oh! |
| 什 | shén | what |
| 么 | má | exclamatory final particle; variant of 麼|么[me5] |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- |
| 上 | shǎng | used in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] |
| 吧 | bā | bar (loanword) (serving drinks, or providing Internet access etc); to puff (on a pipe etc); (onom.) bang; abbr. for 貼吧|贴吧[tie1 ba1] |
| 爬上 | pá shàng | to climb up |
| 凳子 | dèng zi | stool; small seat |
| 将 | jiāng | will; shall; to use; to take; to checkmate; just a short while ago; (introduces object of main verb, used in the same way as 把[ba3]) |
| 剩 | shèng | to remain; to be left; to have as remainder; variant of 剩[sheng4] |
| 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… |
| 全 | Quán | surname Quan |
Father was going out of town for work, but in the morning he woke up late. He got busy washing his face and brushing his teeth, and elder sister helped him pack his clothes, mother brought him breakfast, and helped him find his notebook. While father ate his breakfast, he felt his pockets, Ack!, where did the train ticket go? Father put down the milk, the cake, and scrambled around looking for the ticket. Little brother so wanted to help father do something, but there was nothing he could do to help. Little brother thought: “How about I help dad eat breakfast.” He climbed up on the stool, took the leftover milk and cake and ate it all up.