HSK 4 · Lesson 24我竟然考了第一名！ I came first — can you believe it!

Feelings: joy, annoyance, surprise, envy. 竟然 “to my surprise”, 却 “yet”, 尽管…可是… “although…, still…”, 使 / 让 + someone “make someone feel”, 有什么好…的 “what’s there to…!”.

Speed:Male voice:

Dialogues

A surprising result

A
你猜怎么了？我竟然考了第一名！
Nǐ cāi zěnme le? Wǒ jìngrán kǎole dì-yī míng!
Guess what? I came top in the exam — can you believe it!
B
真的？太让人吃惊了！你复习的时间不多，成绩却这么好。
Zhēn de? Tài ràng rén chījīng le! Nǐ fùxí de shíjiān bù duō, chéngjì què zhème hǎo.
Really? That’s amazing! You didn’t revise much, yet you did so well.
A
我兴奋得一晚上没睡好。
Wǒ xīngfèn de yì wǎnshang méi shuìhǎo.
I was so excited I hardly slept all night.
B
别太得意了，下次还要努力。
Bié tài déyì le, xià cì hái yào nǔlì.
Don’t get too pleased with yourself — you’ll have to work hard next time too.
A
我知道。尽管成绩不错，可是我的口语还不太好。
Wǒ zhīdào. Jǐnguǎn chéngjì búcuò, kěshì wǒ de kǒuyǔ hái bú tài hǎo.
I know. Although my score is good, my speaking still isn’t great.

A bad mood

A
你怎么了？心情不好？
Nǐ zěnme le? Xīnqíng bù hǎo?
What’s wrong? In a bad mood?
B
烦死了！工作压力太大，经理对我很不满。
Fán sǐ le! Gōngzuò yālì tài dà, jīnglǐ duì wǒ hěn bùmǎn.
I’m so fed up! There’s too much pressure at work and the manager isn’t happy with me.
A
有什么好烦恼的？换个工作不就行了？
Yǒu shénme hǎo fánnǎo de? Huàn ge gōngzuò bú jiù xíng le?
What’s there to worry about? Just change jobs!
B
可惜我很喜欢这个工作，不想离开。
Kěxī wǒ hěn xǐhuan zhège gōngzuò, bù xiǎng líkāi.
The trouble is I really like this job and don’t want to leave.
A
那就别伤心了。走，我请你看电影，听说那个电影很感人。
Nà jiù bié shāngxīn le. Zǒu, wǒ qǐng nǐ kàn diànyǐng, tīngshuō nàge diànyǐng hěn gǎnrén.
Then don’t be sad. Come on, I’ll take you to the cinema — they say that film is very moving.
B
好，谢谢你！你这样做使我很感动。
Hǎo, xièxie nǐ! Nǐ zhèyàng zuò shǐ wǒ hěn gǎndòng.
OK, thank you! I’m really touched.

New words

📝 Worksheet for this lesson

Grammar

1. 竟然 “to one’s surprise”

竟然 before the verb expresses surprise: something unexpected happened: 我竟然考了第一名！ “I came first — who’d have thought!”, 他竟然忘了我的生日 “he actually forgot my birthday”.

他竟然忘了我的生日。
Tā jìngrán wàngle wǒ de shēngrì.
He actually forgot my birthday.

2. 却 “yet, but”

…, subject + 却 + predicate

却 contrasts the second part with the first, but unlike 但是 it goes after the subject: 你复习的时间不多，成绩却这么好 “you didn’t revise much, yet your score is so good”. Both can be used together: 但是…却….

他学了三年，说得却不太好。
Tā xuéle sān nián, shuō de què bú tài hǎo.
He studied for three years, yet he doesn’t speak very well.

3. 尽管…，可是 / 但是… “although…, still…”

尽管 means “although, even though” (more formal than 虽然): 尽管成绩不错，可是我的口语还不太好 “although my score is good, my speaking is still weak”, 尽管下着雨，他还是来了 “although it was raining, he still came”.

尽管下着雨，他还是来了。
Jǐnguǎn xiàzhe yǔ, tā háishi lái le.
Although it was raining, he still came.

4. 使 / 让 + someone + feeling “make someone feel”

使 (formal) and 让 (colloquial) + person + feeling mean “to make someone feel”: 你这样做使我很感动 “what you did really touches me”, 他让我很失望 “he really disappointed me”, 这件事让人吃惊 “this is surprising”.

他让我很失望。
Tā ràng wǒ hěn shīwàng.
He really disappointed me.
这个电影使很多人感动。
Zhège diànyǐng shǐ hěn duō rén gǎndòng.
This film moved many people.

5. 有什么好…的？ “what’s there to…!”

有什么好 + verb / adjective + 的？ is rhetorical: “there’s nothing to…”: 有什么好烦恼的？ “what’s there to worry about?”, 有什么好笑的？ “what’s so funny?”. As a statement: 没什么好担心的 “there’s nothing to worry about”.

有什么好笑的？
Yǒu shénme hǎoxiào de?
What’s so funny?
考试很简单，没什么好担心的。
Kǎoshì hěn jiǎndān, méi shénme hǎo dānxīn de.
The exam is easy — nothing to worry about.

Exercises

1. Listen and choose the translation

  1. Answer
    我真羡慕你！ Wǒ zhēn xiànmù nǐ! — I really envy you!

  2. Answer
    我很后悔没听你的话。 Wǒ hěn hòuhuǐ méi tīng nǐ de huà. — I really regret not listening to you.

  3. Answer
    一个人在家很无聊。 Yí ge rén zài jiā hěn wúliáo. — It’s very boring at home alone.

  4. Answer
    周末过得愉快吗？ Zhōumò guò de yúkuài ma? — Did you have a nice weekend?

2. Choose the correct option

  1. “He studied three years, yet doesn’t speak well”

    Answer
    他学了三年，说得却不太好。
  2. ___下着雨，他还是来了。

    Answer
    尽管
  3. “He really disappointed me”

    Answer
    他让我很失望。
  4. 这有什么好___的？别哭了。

    Answer
    伤心

3. Build the sentence

  1. I came first — can you believe it!

    Answer
    我竟然考了第一名！ Wǒ jìngrán kǎole dì-yī míng!
  2. There’s too much pressure at work.

    Answer
    工作压力太大了。 Gōngzuò yālì tài dà le.
  3. What you did really touches me.

    Answer
    你这样做使我很感动。 Nǐ zhèyàng zuò shǐ wǒ hěn gǎndòng.
  4. What’s there to worry about?

    Answer
    有什么好烦恼的？ Yǒu shénme hǎo fánnǎo de?

4. Dialogue: answer as the speaker

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

A
你怎么这么高兴？
Nǐ zěnme zhème gāoxìng?
Why are you so happy?
B
我申请的奖学金竟然通过了！
Wǒ shēnqǐng de jiǎngxuéjīn jìngrán tōngguò le!
My scholarship application went through — can you believe it!
A
太好了！我真羡慕你。
Tài hǎo le! Wǒ zhēn xiànmù nǐ.
Great! I really envy you.
B
你也申请了吧？
Nǐ yě shēnqǐng le ba?
You applied too, didn’t you?
A
申请了，可是没通过，有点儿失望。
Shēnqǐng le, kěshì méi tōngguò, yǒudiǎnr shīwàng.
I did, but I didn’t get it — a bit disappointing.
B
没什么好伤心的，明年再申请吧！
Méi shénme hǎo shāngxīn de, míngnián zài shēnqǐng ba!
Nothing to be sad about — apply again next year!

5. Translate into Chinese

  1. Although he’s very busy, he exercises every day.
    Answer
    尽管他很忙，可是他每天都运动。
  2. He actually left without saying goodbye.
    Answer
    他竟然没说再见就走了。
  3. What’s so funny?
    Answer
    有什么好笑的？

💡 Did you know?: “Report the good, not the bad”

Chinese people often show strong feelings with restraint, especially in public. There’s even the phrase 报喜不报忧 bào xǐ bú bào yōu — “report the joys, not the worries”: children living far away tell their parents only good news so they won’t worry. Happy events — weddings, births, getting into university — are celebrated loudly, with the whole family.

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