In this quick lesson about judging others, we learn that those who live in dirty glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. HSK 2-3.
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，然后我把玻璃全擦干净了。”
在我们作出判断之前，首先要看一下你的“窗户”是否干净。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 一对 | yī duì | couple; pair |
| 年轻 | nián qīng | young |
| 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… |
| 夫妇 | fū fù | a (married) couple; husband and wife; CL:對|对[dui4] |
| 对面 | duì miàn | opposite; across (the street etc); directly in front of one; up ahead; face to face |
| 搬 | bān | to move (i.e. relocate oneself); to move (sth relatively heavy or bulky); to shift; to copy indiscriminately |
| 来 | lái | to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3… |
| 一 | yī | one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out … |
| 户 | hù | a household; door; family |
| 新 | Xīn | abbr. for Xinjiang 新疆[Xin1 jiang1]; abbr. for Singapore 新加坡[Xin1 jia1 po1]; surname Xin |
| 邻居 | lín jū | neighbor |
| 第 | dì | (prefix indicating ordinal number, as in 第六[di4 liu4] "sixth"); (literary) grades in which successful candidates in the imperial examinations were placed; (old) residence of a high… |
| 二 | èr | two; 2; (Beijing dialect) stupid |
| 天 | tiān | day; sky; heaven |
| 早上 | zǎo shang | early morning; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 当 | dāng | (onom.) dong; ding dong (bell); to be; to act as; manage; withstand; when; during; ought; should; match equally; equal; same; obstruct; just at (a time or place); on the spot; right; just at |
| 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]) |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 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] |
| 早饭 | zǎo fàn | breakfast; CL:份[fen4],頓|顿[dun4],次[ci4],餐[can1] |
| 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 |
| 妻子 | qī zǐ | wife and children |
| 看到 | kàn dào | to see |
| 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 |
| 正 | zhēng | first month of the lunar year |
| 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) |
| 外面 | wài miàn | outside (also pr. [wai4 mian5] for this sense); surface; exterior; external appearance |
| 洗衣 | xǐ yī | laundry |
| 服 | fú | clothes; dress; garment; to serve (in the military, a prison sentence etc); to obey; to be convinced (by an argument); to convince; to admire; to acclimatize; to take (medicine); m… |
| 对 | duì | right; correct; towards; at; for; concerning; regarding; to treat (sb a certain way); to face; (bound form) opposite; facing; matching; to match together; to adjust; to fit; to sui… |
| 丈 | zhǎng | measure of length, ten Chinese feet (3.3 m); husband |
| 夫 | fū | husband; man; manual worker; conscripted laborer (old) |
| 说道 | shuō dào | to state; to say (the quoted words) |
| 那些 | nà xiē | those |
| 衣服 | yī fu | clothes; CL:件[jian4],套[tao4] |
| 洗 | xǐ | to wash; to bathe; to develop (photographs); to shuffle (cards etc); to erase (a recording) |
| 得 | dé | to obtain; to get; to gain; to catch (a disease); proper; suitable; proud; contented; to allow; to permit; ready; finished |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- |
| 干净 | gān jìng | clean; neat |
| 也许 | yě xǔ | perhaps; maybe |
| 那个 | nà ge | that one; that thing; that (as opposed to this); (used before a verb or adjective for emphasis); (used to humorously or indirectly refer to sth embarrassing, funny etc, or when one… |
| 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… |
| 如何 | rú hé | how; what way; what |
| 清洗 | qīng xǐ | to wash; to rinse; to clean; (fig.) to purge; to get rid of (corrupt individuals etc) |
| 她 | tā | she |
| 需要 | xū yào | to need; to want; to demand; to require; needs |
| 好 | hǎo | good; appropriate; proper; all right!; (before a verb) easy to; (before a verb) good to; (before an adjective for exclamatory effect) so; (verb complement indicating completion); (… |
| 一点 | yī diǎn | a bit; a little bit; (used in negative expressions) (not) the least bit; (after an adjective, used to form the comparative) a bit more, -er; a point (in a discussion etc); (calligr… |
| 洗衣粉 | xǐ yī fěn | laundry detergent; washing powder |
| 看 | kān | to look after; to take care of; to watch; to guard |
| 沉 | chēn | to sink; heavy; deep; to immerse; to keep down |
| 默 | mò | silent; to write from memory |
| 不语 | bù yǔ | (literary) not to speak |
| 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… |
| 这 | zhè | (pronoun) this; these; (bound form) this; the (followed by a noun); (bound form) this; these (followed by a classifier) (in this sense, commonly pr. [zhei4], esp. in Beijing) |
| 样 | yàng | manner; pattern; way; appearance; shape; classifier: kind, type |
| 每次 | měi cì | every time |
| 都会 | dū huì | city; metropolis |
| 评论 | píng lùn | to comment on; to discuss; comment; commentary; CL:篇[pian1] |
| 对方 | duì fāng | the other person; the other side; the other party |
| 番 | Pān | surname Pan |
| 大 | dà | big; large; great; older (than another person); eldest (as in 大姐[da4 jie3]); greatly; freely; fully; (dialect) father; (dialect) uncle (father's brother) |
| 概 | gài | (bound form) general; approximate; without exception; categorically; (bound form) bearing; deportment; old variant of 概[gai4] |
| 一个 | yī ge | a; an; one; the whole (afternoon, summer vacation etc) |
| 月 | yuè | moon; month; monthly; CL:個|个[ge4],輪|轮[lun2] |
| 后 | Hòu | surname Hou; back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later; post- |
| 惊奇 | jīng qí | to be amazed; to be surprised; to wonder |
| 地 | de | -ly; structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct |
| 发现 | fā xiàn | to notice; to become aware of; to discover; to find; to detect; a discovery |
| 晾 | ||
| 衣 | yī | clothes; CL:件[jian4]; Kangxi radical 145 |
| 绳 | shéng | rope; CL:根[gen1] |
| 上 | shǎng | used in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] |
| 居然 | jū rán | unexpectedly; to one's surprise; go so far as to |
| 悬 | xuān | to hang or suspend; public announcement; baseless |
| 挂 | guà | to hang; to suspend (from a hook etc); to hang up (the phone); (of a line) to be dead; to be worried; to be concerned; (dialect) to make a phone call; to register (at a hospital); … |
| 着 | zhāo | variant of 著|着[zhao1]; a move in chess (Taiwan pr. [zhuo2]); trick; tactic; (dialect) okay; all right; (dialect) to put in; to add |
| 件 | jiàn | item; component; classifier for events, things, clothes etc |
| 叫 | jiào | to shout; to call; to order; to ask; to be called; by (indicates agent in the passive mood); variant of 叫[jiao4] |
| 说 | shuì | to persuade; variant of 說|说[shuo1] |
| 快 | kuài | rapid; quick; speed; rate; soon; almost; to make haste; clever; sharp (of knives or wits); forthright; plainspoken; gratified; pleased; pleasant |
| 学会 | xué huì | to learn; to master; institute; learned society; (scholarly) association |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 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) |
| 知道 | zhī dào | to know; to become aware of; also pr. [zhi1dao5] |
| 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] |
| 谁 | shéi | who; also pr. [shui2] |
| 教会 | jiāo huì | to show; to teach |
| 这个 | zhè ge | (pronoun) this; (adjective) this |
| 呢 | ne | (sentence-final particle) used in questions to link back to prior discourse or context ("what about...?", "and...?"); (sentence-final particle) indicating that a state or situation… |
| 却 | què | old variant of 卻|却[que4]; but; yet; however; while; to go back; to decline; to retreat; nevertheless; even though |
| 回答 | huí dá | to reply; to answer; reply; answer |
| 到 | dào | to reach; to arrive; to leave for; to go to; to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point); (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point); considerate; thoug… |
| 今天 | jīn tiān | today; the present time; now |
| 一大早 | yī dà zǎo | at dawn; at first light; first thing in the morning |
| 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… |
| 然 | rán | correct; right; so; thus; like this; -ly |
| 把 | bǎ | to hold; to grasp; to hold a baby in position to help it urinate or defecate; handlebar; classifier: handful, bundle, bunch; classifier for things with handles; (used to put the ob… |
| 玻 | bo | see 玻璃[bo1 li5] |
| 璃 | lī | (phonetic character used in transliteration of foreign names) |
| 全 | Quán | surname Quan |
| 擦 | cā | to rub; to scratch; to wipe; to polish; to apply (lipstick, lotion etc); to brush (past); to shred (a vegetable etc) |
| 作出 | zuò chū | to put out; to come up with; to make (a choice, decision, proposal, response, comment etc); to issue (a permit, statement, explanation, apology, reassurance to the public etc); to … |
| 判 | pǎn | (bound form) to differentiate; to distinguish; to judge; to decide; to grade |
| 断 | duàn | to break; to snap; to cut off; to give up or abstain from sth; to judge; (usu. used in the negative) absolutely; definitely; decidedly |
| 之前 | zhī qián | before; prior to; ago; previously; beforehand |
| 首先 | shǒu xiān | first of all; in the first place |
| 要看 | yào kàn | (it) depends on ... |
| 一下 | yī xià | (after a verb) a bit; a little (indicating brief duration, or softening the tone, or suggesting giving sth a try); all at once; suddenly |
| 你 | nǐ | you (informal, as opposed to courteous 您[nin2]); you (Note: In Taiwan, 妳 is used to address females, but in mainland China, it is not commonly used. Instead, 你 is used to address both males and females.) |
| 窗户 | chuāng hu | window; CL:個|个[ge4],扇[shan4] |
| 否 | fóu | to negate; not |
A new neighbor moved in across from a young husband and wife. On the second morning, when they were eating breakfast, the young wife saw that the new neighbors were outside washing their clothes.
The wife said to the husband: “Those clothes haven’t been washed clean, perhaps the neighbor doesn’t know how to how clean them. Perhaps she needs better washing powder.”
The husband looked at his wife, and [sat] silent without speaking.
And so every time the neighbors washed their clothes, the wife would always comment in this way. About a month later, the young wife discovered to her surprise, an item of clean clothing was hung on the neighbors washing line, and she called loudly to her husband: “Quick, look! She learned how to wash clothes. I’d like to know who taught her this?”
Her husband, however, answered: “I got up early today, and washed the glass [on our windows].”
Before we make judgements, first we should look to see if our own “windows” are clean.