HSK 4 · Lesson 35活到老，学到老 Live and learn

Life’s journey: memories, changes, dreams. 从来不 / 从来没…过 “never”, 往往 “as a rule”, 偶尔 “occasionally”, 重新 / 再次 “anew, again”, 已 / 仍然 “already, still” and short sentences without conjunctions: 不说我也知道.

Speed:Male voice:

Dialogues

Grandpa’s diary

A
爷爷，这是您的日记吗？
Yéye, zhè shì nín de rìjì ma?
Grandpa, is this your diary?
B
是啊，我从来没给别人看过。里面都是我年轻时候的回忆。
Shì a, wǒ cónglái méi gěi biérén kànguo. Lǐmiàn dōu shì wǒ niánqīng shíhou de huíyì.
Yes, I’ve never shown it to anyone. It’s full of memories of my youth.
A
您的一生经历了很多事情吧？
Nín de yìshēng jīnglìle hěn duō shìqing ba?
You’ve been through a lot in your life, haven’t you?
B
是啊。那时候日子很苦，可是我从中学到了很多。
Shì a. Nà shíhou rìzi hěn kǔ, kěshì wǒ cóngzhōng xuédàole hěn duō.
Yes. Life was hard then, but I learned a lot from it.
A
您后来从农村来到城市，适应吗？
Nín hòulái cóng nóngcūn láidào chéngshì, shìyìng ma?
Later you moved from the countryside to the city — did you adjust?
B
刚开始不熟悉，往往找不到路。从此我每天积累一点儿经验，慢慢就习惯了。
Gāng kāishǐ bù shúxi, wǎngwǎng zhǎo bu dào lù. Cóngcǐ wǒ měi tiān jīlěi yìdiǎnr jīngyàn, mànmàn jiù xíguàn le.
At first it was unfamiliar and I often got lost. From then on I gained a little experience every day and slowly got used to it.
A
您现在还回老家吗？
Nín xiànzài hái huí lǎojiā ma?
Do you still go back home now?
B
偶尔回去。老家已经改变了很多，可是我仍然很爱那儿。
Ǒu’ěr huíqu. Lǎojiā yǐjīng gǎibiànle hěn duō, kěshì wǒ réngrán hěn ài nàr.
Now and then. Home has changed a lot, but I still love it.

The dream is close

A
我昨天做梦，梦见自己用汉语跟中国人聊天儿！
Wǒ zuótiān zuòmèng, mèngjiàn zìjǐ yòng Hànyǔ gēn Zhōngguó rén liáotiānr!
I had a dream last night that I was chatting with Chinese people in Chinese!
B
这个梦就在眼前！你的汉语已经很不错了。
Zhège mèng jiù zài yǎnqián! Nǐ de Hànyǔ yǐjīng hěn búcuò le.
That dream is right in front of you! Your Chinese is already very good.
A
可是我的作文得重新写，老师说错得太多了。
Kěshì wǒ de zuòwén děi chóngxīn xiě, lǎoshī shuō cuò de tài duō le.
But I have to rewrite my essay — the teacher said there were too many mistakes.
B
没关系，重写一遍就会更好。学习就是一步一步来的。
Méi guānxi, chóngxiě yí biàn jiù huì gèng hǎo. Xuéxí jiù shì yí bù yí bù lái de.
Never mind — rewrite it once and it’ll be better. Learning goes step by step.
A
你说得对。我给自己做了一个学习时间表。
Nǐ shuō de duì. Wǒ gěi zìjǐ zuòle yí ge xuéxí shíjiānbiǎo.
You’re right. I’ve made myself a study timetable.
B
太好了！活到老，学到老。
Tài hǎo le! Huó dào lǎo, xué dào lǎo.
Great! Live and learn.

New words

📝 Worksheet for this lesson

Grammar

1. 从来不 / 从来没…过 “never”

从来不 + verb (habit) · 从来没 + verb + 过 (experience)

从来 is almost always negative. 从来不 is “never (do)”, a habit: 他从来不喝酒 “he never drinks”. 从来没…过 is “have never”, experience: 我从来没给别人看过 “I’ve never shown it to anyone”. The short written forms are 从不 / 从没: 他从不迟到.

他从来不喝酒。
Tā cónglái bù hē jiǔ.
He never drinks.
我从来没去过中国。
Wǒ cónglái méi qùguo Zhōngguó.
I’ve never been to China.

2. 往往 “as a rule” and 偶尔 “occasionally”

往往 is “usually, as a rule”: it happens regularly under certain conditions: 刚到一个新城市，往往找不到路. Unlike 常常, 往往 isn’t used for the future or in requests (not “以后我往往来”). 偶尔 is “occasionally, now and then”: 偶尔回去.

周末的时候，公园里往往人很多。
Zhōumò de shíhou, gōngyuán li wǎngwǎng rén hěn duō.
At weekends the park is usually crowded.
我偶尔喝一点儿咖啡。
Wǒ ǒu’ěr hē yìdiǎnr kāfēi.
I drink a little coffee now and then.

3. 重新 / 再次; 已 / 仍然

重新 is “anew, over again” (redoing): 重新写 “rewrite”, 重新开始 “start over”; in compounds just 重 chóng: 重写. 再次 is “once again” (a repeat): 欢迎再次来中国. 已 is the written “already” (= 已经): 他已离开. 仍 / 仍然 mean “still, as before”: 我仍然很爱那儿, 雨仍在下.

欢迎再次来中国！
Huānyíng zàicì lái Zhōngguó!
Welcome to China again!
雨仍在下。
Yǔ réng zài xià.
It’s still raining.
他失去了工作，可是没有放弃。
Tā shīqùle gōngzuò, kěshì méiyǒu fàngqì.
He lost his job, but he didn’t give up.

4. Short sentences without conjunctions; 不…也…

In speech the two parts of a complex sentence are often squeezed together with no conjunctions: 有问题找我 “if you have problems, come to me” (= 如果有问题，就找我), 你不去我去 “if you don’t go, I will”. With 不…也… it means “even without…, still…”: 不说我也知道 “you needn’t say — I know anyway”, 你不来也行 “it’s fine if you don’t come”.

有问题找我。
Yǒu wèntí zhǎo wǒ.
If you have any problems, come to me.
你不说我也知道。
Nǐ bù shuō wǒ yě zhīdào.
You needn’t tell me — I know anyway.

Exercises

1. Listen and choose the translation

  1. Answer
    我从来没去过中国。 Wǒ cónglái méi qùguo Zhōngguó. — I’ve never been to China.

  2. Answer
    欢迎再次来中国！ Huānyíng zàicì lái Zhōngguó! — Welcome to China again!

  3. Answer
    你不说我也知道。 Nǐ bù shuō wǒ yě zhīdào. — You needn’t tell me — I know anyway.

  4. Answer
    我给自己做了一个时间表。 Wǒ gěi zìjǐ zuòle yí ge shíjiānbiǎo. — I’ve made myself a timetable.

2. Choose the correct option

  1. 他___不迟到。

    Answer
    从来
  2. “Rewrite the essay”

    Answer
    重新写作文
  3. Where is 往往 used correctly?

    Answer
    周末公园里往往人很多。
  4. 老家改变了很多，可是我___很爱那儿。

    Answer
    仍然

3. Build the sentence

  1. I’ve never shown it to anyone.

    Answer
    我从来没给别人看过。 Wǒ cónglái méi gěi biérén kànguo.
  2. Home has changed a lot.

    Answer
    老家已经改变了很多。 Lǎojiā yǐjīng gǎibiànle hěn duō.
  3. Learning goes step by step.

    Answer
    学习就是一步一步来的。 Xuéxí jiù shì yí bù yí bù lái de.
  4. If you have any problems, come to me.

    Answer
    有问题找我。 Yǒu wèntí zhǎo wǒ.

4. Dialogue: answer as the speaker

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

A
学了这么久汉语，你有什么经验？
Xuéle zhème jiǔ Hànyǔ, nǐ yǒu shénme jīngyàn?
You’ve studied Chinese for so long — what have you learned from it?
B
每天学一点儿，从来不停。
Měi tiān xué yìdiǎnr, cónglái bù tíng.
Learn a little every day and never stop.
A
遇到困难的时候呢？
Yùdào kùnnan de shíhou ne?
And when it gets difficult?
B
那就重新开始，千万别放弃。
Nà jiù chóngxīn kāishǐ, qiānwàn bié fàngqì.
Then start again — and never give up.
A
你以后还会继续学吗？
Nǐ yǐhòu hái huì jìxù xué ma?
Will you keep learning?
B
当然，活到老，学到老！
Dāngrán, huó dào lǎo, xué dào lǎo!
Of course — live and learn!

5. Translate into Chinese

  1. I’ve never eaten Peking duck.
    Answer
    我从来没吃过北京烤鸭。
  2. Let’s start over.
    Answer
    我们重新开始吧。
  3. It’s fine if you don’t come.
    Answer
    你不来也行。

💡 Did you know?: “A journey of a thousand li begins with a single step”

This line from the Daodejing (道德经), attributed to the philosopher Laozi, is how Chinese people encourage anyone starting something big: 千里之行，始于足下 “a journey of a thousand li begins with a single step”. You’ve completed all of HSK 4 — a thousand new words. HSK 5 lies ahead: 活到老，学到老!

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