A story in Mandarin: A monstrous adventure

Join Fred on his adventure to discover some monsters through his magical glasses.

Fred: Hello (你好 Nǐ hǎo). My name is ( 我叫 Wǒ jiào) Fred and I live near a forest.

I wear glasses (眼镜 yǎn jìng) that help me to see ( 看到 kàn dào) creatures where nobody else can.

My bag is packed, my boots are on and I’m ready for an adventure.

Fred: What’s your name? (你叫什么？ Nǐ jiào shén me?)

Monster: My name is (我叫 Wǒ jiào) Clyro and I live in the trees.

I have six arms (手臂 shǒu bì) that help me to climb ( 爬 pá) where nobody else can and I am green ( 绿色的 lǜ sè de) so that I can hide in the trees.

Fred: What's your name? (你叫什么？ Nǐ jiào shén me?)

Monster: My name is (我叫 Wǒ jiào) Slidder and I live in the bushes.

I have a big nose (鼻子 bí zi) that helps me to smell ( 闻 wén) what nobody else can smell and I do not need eyes ( 眼睛 yǎn jīng) when I live in the dark.

Fred: What’s your name? (你叫什么？ Nǐ jiào shén me?)

Monster: My name is (我叫 Wǒ jiào) Swithe and I live in the water ( 水 shuǐ).

I have a lot of fins that help me to swim (游泳 yóu yǒng) where nobody else can swim and my eyes ( 眼睛 yǎn jīng) let me see ( 看到 kàn dào) at the bottom of the ocean.

Fred: What's your name? (你叫什么？ Nǐ jiào shén me?)

Monster: My name is (我叫 Wǒ jiào) Flite and I live where I land.

I have two wings (翅膀 chì bǎng) that help me to fly ( 飞 fēi) where nobody else can fly and my song ( 歌曲 gē qǔ) is the most beautiful in the world.

Fred: That’s enough for one day.

All this adventuring has made me hungry (饿 è).

Did you know?

In Mandarin, some pinyin can look very similar, but it is important to notice their differences, for example:

• 眼睛 yǎn jīng (eyes)
• 眼镜 yǎn jìng (glasses)

At a glance, these Mandarin words may look the same, but there is a difference in the tone over the 'i' and so they are pronounced differently.