HSK 4 · Lesson 2我差点儿迟到了 I was nearly late

Exams: signing up, questions, scores. 差（一）点儿 “almost”, 只好 “had no choice but”, 正好 “just right”, 结果 “as a result” and 好好 “properly”.

Speed:Male voice:

Dialogues

The exam is coming

A
你报名参加下个月的汉语考试了吗？
Nǐ bàomíng cānjiā xià ge yuè de Hànyǔ kǎoshì le ma?
Have you signed up for next month’s Chinese exam?
B
报名了。可是我现在十分紧张。
Bàomíng le. Kěshì wǒ xiànzài shífēn jǐnzhāng.
I have. But I’m really nervous now.
A
别紧张，你的汉语那么好，一定能通过。
Bié jǐnzhāng, nǐ de Hànyǔ nàme hǎo, yídìng néng tōngguò.
Don’t worry — your Chinese is so good, you’ll definitely pass.
B
我听力还可以，可是阅读比较慢。
Wǒ tīnglì hái kěyǐ, kěshì yuèdú bǐjiào màn.
My listening is OK, but my reading is rather slow.
A
那你每天多做一些试题吧。要对自己有信心！
Nà nǐ měi tiān duō zuò yìxiē shìtí ba. Yào duì zìjǐ yǒu xìnxīn!
Then do more practice questions every day. Believe in yourself!
B
好，我一定好好准备。
Hǎo, wǒ yídìng hǎohǎo zhǔnbèi.
OK, I’ll prepare properly.

After the exam

A
考得怎么样？
Kǎo de zěnmeyàng?
How did the exam go?
B
别提了！路上堵车，我差点儿迟到，只好跑过去。
Bié tí le! Lùshang dǔchē, wǒ chàdiǎnr chídào, zhǐhǎo pǎo guòqu.
Don’t ask! There was a traffic jam, I was nearly late and had to run.
A
考试的时候紧张吗？
Kǎoshì de shíhou jǐnzhāng ma?
Were you nervous during the exam?
B
有点儿。我太粗心了，有一个答案写错了。
Yǒudiǎnr. Wǒ tài cūxīn le, yǒu yí ge dá’àn xiěcuò le.
A bit. I was too careless and wrote one answer wrong.
A
没关系，只要大部分答案正确就行。分数什么时候出来？
Méi guānxi, zhǐyào dà bùfen dá’àn zhèngquè jiù xíng. Fēnshù shénme shíhou chūlai?
Never mind, as long as most answers are right. When will the scores come out?
B
下个星期。六十分就合格了。
Xià ge xīngqī. Liùshí fēn jiù hégé le.
Next week. Sixty points is a pass.

New words

📝 Worksheet for this lesson

Grammar

1. 差（一）点儿 “almost, nearly”

差（一）点儿 + verb

差点儿 (in full 差一点儿) means “almost”: the event nearly happened but didn’t. With something unwanted you may add 没 and the meaning stays the same: 我差点儿迟到 = 我差点儿没迟到 “I was nearly late” (but made it). With something wanted there is a difference: 我差点儿就通过了 “I very nearly passed” (but failed), while 我差点儿没通过 “I nearly failed” (but passed).

路上堵车，我差点儿迟到。
Lùshang dǔchē, wǒ chàdiǎnr chídào.
There was a traffic jam and I was nearly late.
这次考试太难了，我差点儿没通过。
Zhè cì kǎoshì tài nán le, wǒ chàdiǎnr méi tōngguò.
The exam was so hard I nearly failed (but passed).
他差一点儿就考上了。
Tā chà yìdiǎnr jiù kǎoshang le.
He very nearly got in (but didn’t).

2. 只好 “had to” and 正好 “just right”

只好 means “had no choice but to”: 没有车了，我们只好走路 “there were no cars, so we had to walk”. It goes before the verb. 正好 means “just, right, exactly, as it happens”: 你来得正好 “you’ve come at just the right time”, 我正好有空 “I happen to be free”, 正好十点 “exactly ten o’clock”.

外边下大雨，我们只好在家里休息。
Wàibian xià dà yǔ, wǒmen zhǐhǎo zài jiā li xiūxi.
It was pouring outside, so we had to stay at home.
你来得正好，我们正在讨论这道题。
Nǐ lái de zhènghǎo, wǒmen zhèngzài tǎolùn zhè dào tí.
You’ve come at the right time — we’re discussing this question.

3. 结果 “as a result” and 好好 “properly”

结果 is a noun “result” (考试的结果), but at the start of the second clause it means “as a result, in the end”, often about something unexpected or bad: 我没好好复习，结果没通过. 好好 + verb means “properly, well”: 好好学习, 好好休息, 好好准备. More words: 正确 “correct” (not wrong), 准确 “accurate, exact” (准确的时间); 仔细 “careful, thorough” — the opposite of 粗心 “careless”; 及时 “in time, promptly”.

我没好好复习，结果没通过。
Wǒ méi hǎohǎo fùxí, jiéguǒ méi tōngguò.
I didn’t revise properly, and as a result I failed.
考完以后要仔细检查。
Kǎowán yǐhòu yào zǐxì jiǎnchá.
When you finish, check carefully.
有问题要及时问老师。
Yǒu wèntí yào jíshí wèn lǎoshī.
If you have questions, ask the teacher right away.

Exercises

1. Listen and choose the translation

  1. Answer
    我差点儿迟到。 Wǒ chàdiǎnr chídào. — I was nearly late.

  2. Answer
    没有车了，我们只好走路。 Méiyǒu chē le, wǒmen zhǐhǎo zǒulù. — There were no cars, so we had to walk.

  3. Answer
    每年六月，中国有一千多万考生参加高考。 Měi nián liùyuè, Zhōngguó yǒu yìqiān duō wàn kǎoshēng cānjiā gāokǎo. — Every June over ten million candidates take the college entrance exam in China.

  4. Answer
    你来得正好。 Nǐ lái de zhènghǎo. — You’ve come at just the right time.

2. Choose the correct option

  1. “It rained, so I had to stay home”: 下雨了，我___在家。

    Answer
    只好
  2. “I nearly failed (but passed)”

    Answer
    我差点儿没通过。
  3. “Get a good rest”

    Answer
    你好好休息吧。
  4. 他太___了，写错了三个字。

    Answer
    粗心

3. Build the sentence

  1. I was nearly late.

    Answer
    我差点儿迟到了。 Wǒ chàdiǎnr chídào le.
  2. When you finish, check carefully.

    Answer
    考完以后要仔细检查。 Kǎowán yǐhòu yào zǐxì jiǎnchá.
  3. I didn’t revise properly, and as a result I failed.

    Answer
    我没好好复习，结果没通过。 Wǒ méi hǎohǎo fùxí, jiéguǒ méi tōngguò.
  4. Have you signed up for the exam?

    Answer
    你报名参加考试了吗？ Nǐ bàomíng cānjiā kǎoshì le ma?

4. Dialogue: answer as the speaker

You are speaker B. Pick the right reply and the conversation goes on.

A
你明天考试，准备得怎么样了？
Nǐ míngtiān kǎoshì, zhǔnbèi de zěnmeyàng le?
Your exam is tomorrow — how’s your preparation going?
B
差不多了，可是我有点儿紧张。
Chàbuduō le, kěshì wǒ yǒudiǎnr jǐnzhāng.
Almost done, but I’m a bit nervous.
A
别紧张，你要对自己有信心。
Bié jǐnzhāng, nǐ yào duì zìjǐ yǒu xìnxīn.
Don’t worry, believe in yourself.
B
谢谢！今天晚上我早点儿睡，好好休息。
Xièxie! Jīntiān wǎnshang wǒ zǎo diǎnr shuì, hǎohǎo xiūxi.
Thanks! I’ll go to bed early tonight and get a good rest.
A
考试的时候一定要仔细，别粗心。
Kǎoshì de shíhou yídìng yào zǐxì, bié cūxīn.
Be careful in the exam — don’t be careless.
B
放心吧，写完以后我会再检查一遍。
Fàngxīn ba, xiěwán yǐhòu wǒ huì zài jiǎnchá yí biàn.
Don’t worry — when I finish I’ll check it all again.

5. Translate into Chinese

  1. I nearly forgot my passport.
    Answer
    我差点儿忘了带护照。
  2. The shop had closed, so I had to go home.
    Answer
    商店关门了，我只好回家了。
  3. I happen to be free.
    Answer
    我正好有时间。

💡 Did you know?: The gaokao — an exam that decides a lot

The 高考 gāokǎo is China’s national college entrance exam. It is held every year from 7 June, over two to four days; in recent years there have been more than 13 million candidates. The total score decides which university you can enter, so students prepare for years. On exam days the streets near schools fall quiet: drivers are asked not to honk, and parents wait at the gates.

Phrase audio — Microsoft speech synthesis (voices Xiaoxiao, Yunyang, Yunxi); syllables and some words — native recordings (audio-cmn, CC BY-SA).