This short essay, taken from the Beijing Language and Culture University beginner comprehension textbook, is written from the perspective of a friend visiting Jiang Ping （江苹） before she leaves the country.
今天我去江苹家了。 我和江苹是中学同学， 她是我的好朋友， 也是我们全班同学的朋友。 她学习非常努力， 是我们班学习最好的学生。 她会学习， 她会玩儿， 还常常帮助别人， 老师和同学都很喜欢她。 她这次参加了美国一个大学考试。 这个考试非常难，但是她考得很好，得了满分。 听说全世界只有三个学生得满分。 这个大学给江苹最高的奖学金。 我们都为她感到高兴。
她下星期要去美国留学， 我们班的同学都去看她， 给他送行。
江苹的家在城东边， 离我家比较远。 我下午四点多就从家里出发了， 五点半才到。 我到的时候， 同学们都已经到了。
江苹很热情地欢迎我们。 同学们好久不见了， 见面以后高兴得又说又笑， 谈得很愉快。 我们预祝江苹成功。 祝她一路平安。 我说， 一定要常来信啊。 江苹说，一定。 跟她说 “再见” 的时候， 她哭了， 我也哭了。
回家的路上， 我想， 我们常常说 “再见”， 但是， 有时候 “再见” 是很难的。 我和江苹什么时候能 “再见” 呢？
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 今天 | jīn tiān | today; the present time; now |
| 我去 | wǒ qù | (slang) what the ...!; oh my god!; that's insane! |
| 江 | Jiāng | surname Jiang; (bound form) Yangtze River; (bound form) Jiangsu Province (abbr. for 江蘇|江苏[Jiang1 su1]) |
| 苹 | píng | (artemisia); duckweed; used in 蘋果|苹果[ping2 guo3] |
| 家 | jiā | used in 傢伙|家伙[jia1 huo5] and 傢俱|家俱[jia1 ju4]; home; family; (polite) my (sister, uncle etc); classifier for families or businesses; refers to the philosophical schools of pre-Han China; noun suffix for a specialist in some act… |
| 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 |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 和 | hé | old variant of 和[he2]; surname He; (literary) harmonious (variant of 和[he2]) |
| 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] |
| 中学 | zhōng xué | middle school |
| 同学 | tóng xué | to study at the same school; fellow student; classmate; CL:位[wei4],個|个[ge4] |
| 她 | tā | she |
| 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… |
| 好朋友 | hǎo péng you | good friend; (slang) a visit from Aunt Flo (menstrual period) |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 全 | Quán | surname Quan |
| 班 | Bān | surname Ban |
| 朋友 | péng you | friend; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4] |
| 学习 | xué xí | to learn; to study |
| 非常 | fēi cháng | very; really; unusual; extraordinary |
| 努力 | nǔ lì | to make an effort; to try hard; to strive; hard-working; conscientious |
| 最好 | zuì hǎo | best; had better ...; it would be best to ... |
| 学生 | xué sheng | student; schoolchild |
| 会 | huì | can; to have the skill; to know how to; to be likely to; to be sure to; to meet; to get together; meeting; gathering; (suffix) union; group; association; (bound form) a moment (Tai… |
| 玩儿 | wán r | to play; to have fun; to hang out |
| 还 | Huán | surname Huan |
| 常常 | cháng cháng | frequently; often |
| 帮助 | bāng zhù | assistance; aid; to help; to assist |
| 别人 | bié ren | other people; others; other person |
| 老 | lǎo | prefix used before the surname of a person or a numeral indicating the order of birth of the children in a family or to indicate affection or familiarity; old (of people); venerabl… |
| 师 | Shī | surname Shi |
| 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) |
| 喜欢 | xǐ huan | to like; to be fond of |
| 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) |
| 次 | cì | next in sequence; second; the second (day, time etc); secondary; vice-; sub-; infra-; inferior quality; substandard; order; sequence; hypo- (chemistry); classifier for enumerated e… |
| 参加 | cān jiā | to participate; to take part; to join |
| 美国 | Měi guó | United States; USA; US |
| 一个 | yī ge | a; an; one; the whole (afternoon, summer vacation etc) |
| 大学 | Dà xué | the Great Learning, one of the Four Books 四書|四书[Si4 shu1] in Confucianism |
| 考试 | kǎo shì | to take an exam; exam; CL:次[ci4] |
| 这个 | zhè ge | (pronoun) this; (adjective) this |
| 难 | nán | difficult (to...); problem; difficulty; difficult; not good |
| 但 | dàn | but; yet; however; still; merely; only; just |
| 考 | kǎo | to beat; to hit; variant of 考[kao3]; to inspect; to test; to take an exam; to check; to verify; to test; to examine; to take an exam; to take an entrance exam for; deceased father |
| 得很 | de hěn | (after an adjective) very |
| 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); (… |
| 得了 | dé le | all right!; that's enough! |
| 满 | Mǎn | Manchu ethnic group |
| 分 | fēn | to divide; to separate; to distribute; to allocate; to distinguish (good and bad); (bound form) branch of (an organization); sub- (as in 分局[fen1 ju2]); fraction; one tenth (of cert… |
| 听说 | tīng shuō | to hear (sth said); one hears (that); hearsay; listening and speaking |
| 全世界 | quán shì jiè | worldwide; entire world |
| 只有 | zhǐ yǒu | only have ...; there is only ...; (used in combination with 才[cai2]) it is only if ... (that one can ...) (as in 只有通過治療才能痊愈|只有通过治疗才能痊愈[zhi3 you3 tong1 guo4 zhi4 liao2 cai2 neng2 qu… |
| 三 | Sān | surname San |
| 个 | gě | used in 自個兒|自个儿[zi4 ge3 r5]; variant of 個|个[ge4] |
| 得 | dé | to obtain; to get; to gain; to catch (a disease); proper; suitable; proud; contented; to allow; to permit; ready; finished |
| 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) |
| 最高 | zuì gāo | tallest; highest; supreme (court etc) |
| 奖学金 | jiǎng xué jīn | scholarship; CL:筆|笔[bi3] |
| 为 | wéi | as (in the capacity of); to take sth as; to act as; to serve as; to behave as; to become; to be; to do; by (in the passive voice); variant of 為|为[wei2] |
| 感 | gǎn | to feel; to move; to touch; to affect; feeling; emotion; (suffix) sense of ~ |
| 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… |
| 高兴 | gāo xìng | happy; glad; willing (to do sth); in a cheerful mood |
| 下星期 | xià xīng qī | next week |
| 要 | yāo | (bound form) to demand; to coerce |
| 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);… |
| 留学 | líu xué | to study abroad |
| 看 | kān | to look after; to take care of; to watch; to guard |
| 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]) |
| 送行 | sòng xíng | to see someone off; to throw someone a send-off party |
| 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) |
| 城 | chéng | city walls; city; town; CL:座[zuo4],道[dao4],個|个[ge4] |
| 东 | Dōng | surname Dong |
| 边 | biān | side; edge; margin; border; boundary; CL:個|个[ge4]; simultaneously |
| 离 | chī | mythical beast (archaic); surname Li |
| 比较 | bǐ jiào | to compare; to contrast; comparatively; relatively; quite; comparison |
| 远 | yuǎn | far; distant; remote; (intensifier in a comparison) by far; much (lower etc) |
| 下 | xià | down; downwards; below; lower; later; next (week etc); second (of two parts); to decline; to go down; to arrive at (a decision, conclusion etc); measure word to show the frequency … |
| 午 | wǔ | 7th earthly branch: 11 a.m.-1 p.m., noon, 5th solar month (6th June-6th July), year of the Horse; ancient Chinese compass point: 180° (south) |
| 四 | sì | four; 4 |
| 点 | diǎn | to touch briefly; to tap; to mark with a dot; to check off (on a list); to order (food etc); to select; to mention; to bring up (a topic or person); to hint at; to imply; to admini… |
| 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- |
| 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… |
| 从 | cóng | variant of 從|从[cong2]; surname Cong |
| 家里 | jiā lǐ | home |
| 出发 | chū fā | to set off; to start (on a journey) |
| 五 | wǔ | five; 5 |
| 半 | bàn | half; semi-; incomplete; (after a number) and a half |
| 才 | cái | ability; talent; sb of a certain type; a capable individual; then and only then; just now; (before an expression of quantity) only; (emphatic, esp. in contrast or correction) reall…; (variant of 才[cai2]) just now; (variant of 才[cai2]) (before an expression of quantity) only |
| 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 |
| 已经 | yǐ jīng | already |
| 到了 | dào liǎo | at last; finally; in the end |
| 热情 | rè qíng | cordial; enthusiastic; passion; passionate; passionately |
| 地 | de | -ly; structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct |
| 欢迎 | huān yíng | to welcome; welcome |
| 好久 | hǎo jǐu | (coll.) for a long time |
| 不见了 | bù jiàn le | to have disappeared; to be missing; nowhere to be found |
| 见面 | jiàn miàn | to meet; to see each other; CL:次[ci4] |
| 以 | yǐ | old variant of 以[yi3]; abbr. for Israel 以色列[Yi3 se4 lie4] |
| 后 | Hòu | surname Hou; back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later; post- |
| 又 | yòu | (once) again; also; both... and...; and yet; (used for emphasis) anyway |
| 说 | shuì | to persuade; variant of 說|说[shuo1] |
| 笑 | xiào | old variant of 笑[xiao4]; to laugh; to smile; to laugh at |
| 谈 | Tán | surname Tan |
| 愉 | yú | pleased |
| 快 | kuài | rapid; quick; speed; rate; soon; almost; to make haste; clever; sharp (of knives or wits); forthright; plainspoken; gratified; pleased; pleasant |
| 预祝 | yù zhù | to wish sb (success, bon voyage etc) |
| 成功 | chéng gōng | to succeed; success; successful; fruitful |
| 祝 | Zhù | surname Zhu |
| 一路 | yī lù | the whole journey; all the way; going the same way; going in the same direction; of the same kind |
| 平安 | Píng ān | see 平安區|平安区[Ping2 an1 Qu1] |
| 一定 | yī dìng | surely; certainly; definitely; fixed; settled; a certain ...; a given ... |
| 常 | Cháng | surname Chang |
| 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… |
| 信 | xìn | letter; mail; CL:封[feng1]; to trust; to believe; to profess faith in; truthful; confidence; trust; at will; at random |
| 啊 | ā | interjection of surprise; Ah!; Oh! |
| 跟 | gēn | heel; to follow closely; to go with; (of a woman) to marry sb; with; compared with; to; towards; and (joining two nouns) |
| 再 | zài | again; once more; re-; further; beyond this point of time; (before an adjective) more; then (after sth, and not until then); no matter how ... (followed by an adjective or verb, an… |
| 见 | jiàn | to see; to meet; to appear (to be sth); to interview; opinion; view |
| 哭 | kū | to cry; to weep |
| 回家 | huí jiā | to return home |
| 路上 | lù shang | on the road; on the way; en route |
| 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) |
| 有时 | yǒu shí | sometimes; now and then |
| 什 | shén | what |
| 么 | má | exclamatory final particle; variant of 麼|么[me5] |
| 能 | Néng | surname Neng |
| 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… |
Today I’m going to Jiang Ping’s house. Jiang Ping and I are highschool classmates. She’s my good friend, and she’s also good friends with everyone in our class. She studies very hard, she’s the best student in our class. She studies, she plays, and she also often helps others. The teacher and the other students like her. She recently participated in an examination for an American college. That test is very hard, but she did very well – she earned full marks. I heard that only three people in the whole world got full marks. This college gave Jiang Ping their highest scholarship. We’re all very happy for her.
Next week she’s going to study abroad in America, and all our classmates are going to see her off.
Jiang Ping’s house is on the east side of the city very far away from mine. I left my house a little after four o’clock in the afternoon, and didn’t get there until 5:30. When I arrived, the rest of our classmates were already there.
Jiang Ping warmly welcomed us. She hadn’t seen her classmates in a while, and after she greeted us, we talked and smiled, chatting happily. We wished Jiang Ping success. Wished her a pleasant trip. I said, Be sure to write often. Jiang Ping said, Of course. When she said “Goodbye”, she cried, and I also cried.
On my way home, I thought, We often say “Goodbye” [lit: see you again], but sometimes “Goodbye” is sad. When will Jiang Ping and I be able to see each other again?