This dialogue between a man and a sailor drives home a quick life lesson: there’s risk in anything you do, so there’s no point in trying to avoid danger entirely. HSK 2-3.
一个人在海边遇见一个刚从海上归来的水手。他们开始聊天。那个人问水手：“你很喜欢大海吗？”
“当然。”水手回答说：“我的家人同我一样，也都爱海。”
“你父亲现在在哪里？”
“他死在海里。”
“你的祖父呢？”
“他死在大西洋里。”
“你的哥哥……”
“他在一场风暴中失踪了，那时他在印度洋捕鱼。”
“既然如此，”那个人说，“如果我是你，我决不会到海里去。”
“你愿意告诉我你的父亲死在哪里吗？”水手问那个人。
“啊，他在床上断的气。”
“你的祖父呢？”
“也是死在床上。”
“既然如此，”水手说，“如果我是你，我就永远也不到床上去。”
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 一个人 | yī gè rén | by oneself (without assistance); alone (without company) |
| 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) |
| 海边 | hǎi biān | coast; seaside; seashore; beach |
| 遇 | Yù | surname Yu |
| 见 | jiàn | to see; to meet; to appear (to be sth); to interview; opinion; view |
| 一个 | yī ge | a; an; one; the whole (afternoon, summer vacation etc) |
| 刚 | gāng | (literary) hard; firm; strong; exactly; precisely; barely; only just; just; only a short while ago |
| 从 | cóng | variant of 從|从[cong2]; surname Cong |
| 海上 | hǎi shàng | maritime |
| 归 | Guī | surname Gui |
| 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… |
| 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… |
| 水手 | shuǐ shǒu | sailor; seaman; mariner |
| 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 |
| 开始 | kāi shǐ | to begin; to start; beginning; start |
| 聊 | liāo | (coll.) to chat; (literary) somewhat; slightly |
| 天 | tiān | day; sky; heaven |
| 那个人 | nà gè rén | lit. that person; fig. the person you have been looking for; Mr Right; the girl of one's dreams |
| 问 | wèn | to ask; to inquire |
| 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.) |
| 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 |
| 大海 | dà hǎi | sea; ocean |
| 吗 | má | (coll.) what? |
| 当然 | dāng rán | only natural; as it should be; certainly; of course; without doubt |
| 回答 | huí dá | to reply; to answer; reply; answer |
| 说 | shuì | to persuade; variant of 說|说[shuo1] |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 家人 | jiā rén | family member; (old) servant |
| 同 | tóng | like; same; similar; together; alike; with; used in 衚衕|胡同[hu2 tong4] |
| 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 … |
| 样 | yàng | manner; pattern; way; appearance; shape; classifier: kind, type |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 都 | Dū | surname Du |
| 爱 | ài | to love; to be fond of; to like; affection; to be inclined (to do sth); to tend to (happen) |
| 海 | Hǎi | surname Hai |
| 父亲 | fù qīn | father; also pr. [fu4 qin5]; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 现 | xiàn | to appear; present; now; existing; current |
| 哪 | nǎ | how; which |
| 里 | lǐ | variant of 裡|里[li3]; lining; interior; inside; internal; also written 裏|里[li3]; surname Li |
| 死 | sǐ | to die; impassable; uncrossable; inflexible; rigid; extremely; damned |
| 海里 | hǎi lǐ | nautical mile |
| 祖父 | zǔ fù | father's father; paternal grandfather |
| 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… |
| 大西洋 | Dà xī yáng | Atlantic Ocean |
| 哥 | gē | elder brother |
| 场 | cháng | threshing floor; classifier for events and happenings: spell, episode, bout; variant of 場|场[chang2] |
| 风 | fēng | wind; news; style; custom; manner; CL:陣|阵[zhen4],絲|丝[si1] |
| 暴 | bǎo | violent; fierce; sudden; cruel; to expose; to spoil (bao4); to expose to the sun (pu4) |
| 中 | Zhōng | (bound form) China; Chinese; surname Zhong |
| 失 | shī | to lose; to miss; to fail |
| 踪 | zōng | variant of 蹤|踪[zong1]; (bound form) footprint; trace; tracks |
| 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 |
| 那时 | nà shí | then; at that time; in those days |
| 印 | Yìn | surname Yin; abbr. for 印度[Yin4 du4], India |
| 度 | dù | to pass; to spend (time); measure; limit; extent; degree of intensity; degree (angles, temperature etc); kilowatt-hour; classifier for events and occurrences |
| 洋 | yáng | ocean; vast; foreign; silver dollar or coin |
| 捕 | bú | to catch; to seize; to capture |
| 鱼 | Yú | surname Yu |
| 既然 | jì rán | since; as; this being the case |
| 如此 | rú cǐ | like this; so; such |
| 如 | rú | as; as if; such as |
| 果 | guǒ | fruit; result; resolute; indeed; if really |
| 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] |
| 决不 | jué bù | not at all; simply (can) not |
| 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… |
| 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… |
| 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);… |
| 愿 | yuàn | honest and prudent; variant of 願|愿[yuan4]; (bound form) wish; hope; desire; to be willing; to wish (that sth may happen); may ...; vow; pledge |
| 意 | yì | (bound form) idea; thought; meaning; sense; (bound form) intention; feeling; inclination; state of mind; (bound form) Italy (abbr. for 意大利[Yi4 da4 li4]) |
| 告 | gào | (bound form) to say; to tell; to announce; to report; to denounce; to file a lawsuit; to sue |
| 诉 | sù | variant of 訴|诉[su4]; to complain; to sue; to tell |
| 啊 | ā | interjection of surprise; Ah!; Oh! |
| 床 | chuáng | bed; couch (furniture that one can lie down on) (CL:張|张[zhang1]); bed; bottom (of rivers, oceans, gardens etc); frame; chassis; classifier for blankets, quilts etc; variant of 床[chuang2] |
| 上 | shǎng | used in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] |
| 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 |
| 气 | qì | gas; air; smell; weather; to make angry; to annoy; to get angry; vital energy; qi |
| 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… |
| 永远 | yǒng yuǎn | forever; eternal |
| 不到 | bù dào | not to arrive; not reaching; insufficient; less than |
| 上去 | shàng qù | to go up |
By the sea, a man came across a sailor who had just returned from the ocean. They started to chat. The man asked the sailor: “Do you like the sea?”
“Of course.” The sailor answered: “And my family is just like me, they all love the sea.”
“Where’s your father now?”
“He died in the ocean.”
“Your grandfather?”
“He died in the Western Seas.”
“Your brother…”
“He was lost during a big storm, at that time he was catching fish in the Indian Ocean.”
“In that case,” the man said, “if I were you, I would certainly never go to sea.”
“Are you willing to tell me where your father died?” the sailor asked the man.
“Oh, he stopped breathing in bed.”
“And your grandfather?”
“He also died in bed.”
“In that case,” the sailor said, “if I were you, I would never go to bed.”