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HSK 2 · Elementary

游泳YóuyǒngTalking About Swimming in Chinese

HSK 2 reading practice · 95 words · ~2 min
以前yǐqiánhuì游泳yóuyǒng但是dànshì丈夫zhàngfuyóude非常fēichánghǎo
I couldn't swim before, but my husband swims very well.
duìshuō游泳yóuyǒngduì身体shēntǐhěnhǎo一起yìqǐba
He said to me, "Swimming is good for your health — come with me!"
上个月shàng ge yuè我们wǒmen开始kāishǐměige星期xīngqīyóuliǎng
Last month we started going swimming twice every week.
开始kāishǐde时候shíhouyóu分钟fēnzhōngjiùlèile
At the beginning, I got tired after swimming for just one minute.
现在xiànzài已经yǐjīngnéngyóuhěncháng时间shíjiānle
Now I can already swim for a long time.
昨天zuótiān丈夫zhàngfukàn游泳yóuyǒngxiàozheshuōyóudezhēnhǎo
Yesterday my husband watched me swim, and he said with a smile, "You swim really well!"
觉得juéde游泳yóuyǒngshìzuì快乐kuàilède运动yùndòng
I think swimming is the happiest sport of all.
🔊 Audio uses your device's Chinese voice for now — teacher recordings are coming. Tap any word to see its meaning.

Key words 生词

游泳yóuyǒngto swim; swimming
丈夫zhàngfuhusband
huìcan (learned skill)
time (occurrence)
lèitired
zuìthe most

Grammar note 语法点

会 — a skill you have learned

会 means 'can' for learned skills like swimming or speaking a language: 我以前不会游泳,现在会了.

我以前不会游泳。— I couldn't swim before.
次 — measure word for times

次 counts how many times something happens; the number goes before it: 两次 (twice), 每个星期去两次.

我们每个星期去游两次。— We go swimming twice every week.

Check yourself 小测验

1. Who swims very well?
2. How often do they go swimming?
3. What does the writer think of swimming now?
Fei — Mandarin teacher
After this reading

Reading is the easy part. Speaking is where you get stuck.

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