ChinesePod dialogues for HSK 1-3
Posted on October 17, 2015ChinesePod is an absolutely excellent resource for students of Chinese. It provides tons and tons of dialogues at all levels, from Newbie to Advanced; each dialogue is accompanied by an explanation (in English at the lower level, in Chinese at the highest levels, and in a mixture of English and Chinese at the intermediate levels) as well as a vocabulary list, grammar exercises, etc. I can highly recommend it.
However, although the dialogues are organized by level, those levels do not correspond to the HSK levels. Coming up with a list of dialogues per HSK level is a non-trivial task; ideally such a list would satisfy a number of requirements:
- It should cover as much of each HSK level as possible
- It should use as few dialogues as possible to achieve that coverage
- It should use dialogues that use as little non-HSK vocabulary as possible
Some additional design goals are
- Use only vocabulary that actually appears in the dialogue. (Initially I attempted to use only the dialogue’s “key” vocabulary, but that excluded too many HSK words; now I use also words from a dialogue’s “supplemental” vocabulary, but only if it actually appears in the dialogue).
- If we have to pick a lesson with vocabulary outside the HSK level we’re studying, then vocabulary that is in another HSK level is preferable to vocabulary that is not included at any HSK level, and vocabulary at a lower HSK level is preferable to vocabulary at a higher HSK level.
- Dialogues on different kinds of topics
Satisfying any one of these requirements is easy, but satisfying all of them all is a difficult balancing act. It’s almost impossible to do by hand, so I wrote a piece of software to help me with it; it’s available from GitHub if you’re curious. The construction of the list is still not fully automated, because there are still many decisions that require some thought; for instance, if the HSK curriculum includes 冬 and 夏 then it’s okay to pick a ChinesePod dialogue that includes 冬天 and 夏天 instead, but if the curriculum includes 东 and 西 then including a dialogue with 东西 is not okay. So it becomes a computer aided process, but not an automated process.
Anyway, below is the list of dialogues I constructed. For each HSK level I record how much of the HSK curriculum is covered by the dialogues (and which words are not covered), how many dialogues are included, and the percentage of HSK vocabulary against the total vocabulary used in the dialogues (i.e., a value of 100% means the dialogues used only HSK vocabulary; a percentage of 50% means the ratio HSK vocabulary to non-HSK vocabulary is 1:1, etc.). (HSK words are not covered either if there are no dialogues that include them, or if they are only covered in dialogues with a very low HSK to non-HSK vocabulary ratio.)
The links point to the dialogues on the ChinesePod website; you will need a ChinesePod account to access (most of) them. In addition, for those of you who use Pleco for studying Chinese, I also provide a Pleco flashcard file. After importing that into Pleco you will get a new “ChinesePod” category in your flashcards, with subcategories for HSK1, HSK2, and HSK3, and subsubcatgories for each individual dialogue. (The flashcards include only the vocabulary that appears in the dialogue; vocabulary in the lesson’s supplemental vocabulary that does not appear in the dialogue is not included.)
HSK 1 (92% coverage, 39 dialogues, 51% HSK vocabulary)
For the HSK1 list I gave preference to Newbie dialogues over Elementary dialogues, and included no dialogues of a higher than Elementary level.
- I want to buy this one (Newbie)
- Dialect Party Mix (Newbie)
- I love China! (Newbie)
- This is mine! (Newbie)
- Requesting a Glass of Water (Newbie)
- Wrong Change (Newbie)
- My Dog (Newbie)
- What’s tomorrow? (Newbie)
- Knowing the Teacher (Newbie)
- How many people are in your family? (Newbie)
- Before Noon, After Noon (Newbie)
- Fruit Salad (Newbie)
- When will he return? (Newbie)
- Who is that? (Newbie)
- Taking a Shower (Newbie)
- How’s the weather? (Newbie)
- Counting Coins (Newbie)
- Where Did You Go? (Newbie)
- Away on Business (Newbie)
- Where is the Supermarket? (Newbie)
- Taxi to the Airport (Newbie)
- Explaining Your Job (Newbie)
- Taking the Train to Beijing (Newbie)
- Shanghai Sightseeing (Newbie)
- Tables and Chairs (Newbie)
- Serving Tea (Newbie)
- How Long Have You Been in Shanghai? (Newbie)
- Which City Do You Like? (Newbie)
- Which Character Is That? (Newbie)
- Say It Again, Please (Newbie)
- A Self-Introduction (Newbie)
- What Do You Want To Eat? (Newbie)
- Introducing One’s Children (Elementary)
- Common Measure Words (Elementary)
- Excited About Traveling (Elementary)
- Character Amnesia (Elementary)
- Where Did You Learn Chinese? (Elementary)
- Preparing for the HSK (Elementary)
- Help Backing Up a Car (Elementary)
The following HSK 1 words are not covered by this list: 读, 些, 医院, 饭店, 米饭, 商店, 电脑, 中午, 电影, 后面, 电视, 苹果. Some words were covered in a slightly different form: 什么时候 instead of 时候, 你的 instead of 的, 多少 instead of 少, 下个月 instead of 月; 看见 is covered by the combination of 看 and 听不见, and finally 上 and 下 are both covered in various combinations (下午, 一下, 上海, 晚上, 上午, etc.).
HSK 2 (94% coverage, 58 dialogues, 38% HSK vocabulary)
For the HSK 2 list I consider all HSK 1 vocabulary known (but not the non-HSK vocabulary that was covered in the dialogues we picked for the HSK 1 vocabulary). For this list I gave preference to Newbie and Elementary levels, and included one Intermediate level dialogue.
- New Year (Newbie)
- I like beef (Newbie)
- Happy Birthday (Newbie)
- I Got Married (Newbie)
- What are you doing? (Newbie)
- Power Outage (Newbie)
- Didn’t Hear Clearly (Newbie)
- Sweet Watermelon (Newbie)
- My Cat (Newbie)
- How do you take your coffee? (Newbie)
- Eating Tofu (Newbie)
- How many people are in your family? (Newbie)
- Time for Class (Newbie)
- Chinese Green Eggs and Ham (Newbie)
- Are You Tired? (Newbie)
- Formal Introduction (Newbie)
- Sing and Dance (Newbie)
- Finding a Taxi (Newbie)
- Taking the Train to Beijing (Newbie)
- Weekend Activities (Newbie)
- Let Me Sleep a Little Longer (Newbie)
- Who’s That Over There? (Newbie)
- Haggle For A Good Deal (Newbie)
- The Traffic Jam (Elementary)
- Do I look good in this? (Elementary)
- Pronunciation Correction (Elementary)
- Directions with a Map #2 (Elementary)
- Consoling the Bereaved (Elementary)
- Flags and National Anthems (Elementary)
- Hard of Hearing (Elementary)
- Hungry Traveler: Xinjiang (Elementary)
- Introducing the Managers (Elementary)
- How Many Zeroes? (Elementary)
- What do Foreigners Like? (Elementary)
- No TV Before Your Test! (Elementary)
- A Thanksgiving Phone Call (Elementary)
- Medicine Doses (Elementary)
- Finishing Work for the Weekend (Elementary)
- Giving up a Seat on the Bus (Elementary)
- An Email Introduction (Elementary)
- City Districts in Shanghai (Elementary)
- Don’t Eat the Snow (Elementary)
- Introducing Kids to Each Other (Elementary)
- Didn’t you get my email? (Elementary)
- Can I Have your Phone Number? Please? (Elementary)
- Favorite Sports (Elementary)
- Commuting Options (Elementary)
- Lessons Per Week (Elementary)
- Where’s My Takeout? (Elementary)
- Washing Clothes on the Road (Elementary)
- Rice with Soy Sauce (Elementary)
- Classic Haggling (Elementary)
- Shanghai Weather Forecast (Elementary)
- Ticket to Ride (Elementary)
- It’s a Boy! And a Girl! (Elementary)
- A Visit to the School (Elementary)
- Can Your Kid Speak Yet? (Elementary)
- City Comparison (Intermediate)
The following HSK 2 words are not covered by this list: 公共汽车 (though 公交车 is included instead), 妻子, 铅笔, 正在, 打篮球, 跑步, 帮助, 事情, 着, 高 (though 高兴 is included). Some words were covered in a slightly different form: 足球 and 踢 as two separate words instead of 踢足球, 外卖 (and 老外) instead of 外, 晴天 and 阴天 instead of 晴 and 阴, 问题 instead of 题, 出去 instead of 出, 每天 instead of 每.
HSK 3 (93% coverage, 108 dialogues, 29% HSK vocabulary)
For the HSK 3 level I consider all HSK 1 and HSK 2 vocabulary known (though not the additional vocabulary covered by the above dialogues). I have used dialogues at Newbie, Elementary and Intermediate level; none of higher level.
- Useful Phrases #1 (Newbie)
- Finding a Cheap Hostel (Newbie)
- Thirsty for Water (Newbie)
- Buying Bread and Butter (Newbie)
- St. Patrick’s Day (Newbie)
- Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes (Newbie)
- Colors Song (Newbie)
- Sweet Watermelon (Newbie)
- Giving up a Seat (Newbie)
- Forget It (Newbie)
- Turn on the Light, Turn off the Light (Newbie)
- Cat in the Hat (Newbie)
- Don’t push me! (Newbie)
- What Time is It Now? (Newbie)
- Which country are you from? (Elementary)
- My boss isn’t satisfied (Elementary)
- What’s your type? (Elementary)
- Your turn to pay! (Elementary)
- Surfing Online (Elementary)
- Cooking (Elementary)
- Morning Hygiene (Elementary)
- I want to play (Elementary)
- Making Copies (Elementary)
- Directions with a Map #1 (Elementary)
- Consoling the Bereaved (Elementary)
- Man or Woman? (Elementary)
- Wang Wei’s Diary: Food and Girls (Elementary)
- Getting Dressed (Elementary)
- Yang Jie’s Diary: He’s Not Stupid (Elementary)
- Don’t Litter (Elementary)
- Art Museum (Elementary)
- Yang Jie’s Diary: The Final Episode (Elementary)
- Hungry Traveler: Xinjiang (Elementary)
- How Many Zeroes? (Elementary)
- Blow out Your Candles (Elementary)
- Juiced! (Elementary)
- Language Exchange (Elementary)
- Picking Up a Friend at the Airport (Elementary)
- The North Has Central Heating (Elementary)
- What have you done in 2009? (Elementary)
- Giving up a Seat on the Bus (Elementary)
- Reviewing in Class (Elementary)
- Which Subway Exit (Elementary)
- You’ve been everywhere! (Elementary)
- Your First Mooncake (Elementary)
- Toothache (Elementary)
- Dining and Dropping (Elementary)
- Handsome Foreign Student (Elementary)
- 5000 Years of History (Elementary)
- Asking Height and Weight (Elementary)
- Hospitality Series 5: Searching for Shopping (Elementary)
- Asking About the New Job (Elementary)
- Asking for Sick Leave (Elementary)
- A Simple Tour of the Office (Elementary)
- Recognizing a Blind Date (Elementary)
- Questioning a Child (Elementary)
- A Snake Discovery (Elementary)
- Can You Help Me Move? (Elementary)
- Umbrella Opportunism (Elementary)
- Season Preferences (Elementary)
- Story Time (Elementary)
- I’ll Call You Back (Elementary)
- I Said COLD Cola (Elementary)
- Shampoo and Cut (Elementary)
- Full for Real (Elementary)
- The Year of the Horse (Elementary)
- No Parking Here (Elementary)
- Changing the Plate (Elementary)
- No Tampons?! (Elementary)
- Changing your Profile Picture (Elementary)
- Can you hear that? (Elementary)
- Borrowing Money From a Friend (Elementary)
- Signing for Someone Else’s Package (Elementary)
- The Cycling Holiday (Elementary)
- The Dolphin Show at SeaWorld (Elementary)
- Not Studious Enough (Elementary)
- City Comparison (Intermediate)
- Shopping (Intermediate)
- Future Goals (Intermediate)
- Standing in Line (Intermediate)
- Old Friend (Intermediate)
- Using a Dictionary (Intermediate)
- Chicago (Intermediate)
- Beauty Pageant: It’s a Mess (Intermediate)
- Personal Ad (Intermediate)
- Excuses for Being Late (Intermediate)
- Visiting a Friend at the Hospital (Intermediate)
- Hot Pot Chitchat (Intermediate)
- Meeting the Girlfriend’s Parents (Intermediate)
- Music Corner in the Park (Intermediate)
- Walking the Bird (Intermediate)
- Considering an iPad (Intermediate)
- Farewell Dinner (Intermediate)
- Funerals and Consolation (Intermediate)
- Substitute Teacher (Intermediate)
- Snoring Again (Intermediate)
- Discussing a Work Out Plan (Intermediate)
- The Tea Scam (Intermediate)
- Calling a Moving Company (Intermediate)
- Earthquake Evacuation (Intermediate)
- The Life of a Programmer 4: A New Opportunity (Intermediate)
- Discussing the Ayi (Intermediate)
- Chinese Class Placement (Intermediate)
- No Time for Questionnaires (Intermediate)
- Photos with Animals (Intermediate)
- I’m Being Followed! (Intermediate)
- Participating in a Marathon (Intermediate)
- Eating Dinner with a Client (Intermediate)
The following HSK 3 words are not covered by this list: 多么, 照相机 (but 照片 is included), 行李箱 (but 行李 is included), 黑板, 刮风, 黄河, 不但, 船, 西, 东, 树, 极, 矮, 个子, 街道, 皮鞋, 几乎, 成绩, 中间, 起飞 (but 起 and 飞 have both been covered already), 段, 环境. Some words were covered in a slightly different form: 多久 instead of 久, 瓶 instead of 瓶子, 夏天 instead of 夏, and similarly for 冬天, 春天 and 秋天, 邮件 and 电子书 instead of 电子邮件, 南京 instead of 南, 口渴 instead of 渴, 地址 and 地铁 instead of 地, 刻钟 instead of 刻.