Mandarin Chinese Course: 横行的螃蟹 (Héngxíngde pángxiè) The Crab that Walks Sidewise
Key Learning Points (Preview):
螃蟹 (pángxiè) n. crab
难看 (nánkàn) adj. ugly
Yígè yuèguāng míngliàngde yèwǎn, xiǎo pángxiè zài shātān shàng zǒuzhe.
一个 月光 明亮的 夜晚， 小 螃蟹 在 沙滩 上 走着。
On a bright night, a little crab was walking on the beach.
Pángxiè māma kàndào xiǎo pángxiè hòu, jiàodào: “Háizi! Nǐ zěnme héngzhe zǒu ne?
螃蟹 妈妈 看到 小 螃蟹 后， 叫道：“孩子！你 怎么 横着 走 呢？
Duō nánkàn a! Huì bèi dàjiā xiàohua, yào zhízǒu ya!”
多 难看 啊！会 被 大家 笑话， 要 直走 呀！”
His mother saw him and yelled, “Child! How can you walk sideways? It’s so ugly! Others will laugh at you. Walk straight!”
Xiǎo pángxiè shuō: “Zhīdào le, māma.”
小 螃蟹 说： “知道 了，妈妈 。”
The little crab said, “Ok, Mom.”
Kěshì, xiǎo pángxiè háishì gǎobùdǒng zěnme zhízǒu.
可是，小 螃蟹 还是 搞不懂 怎么 直走。
But the little crab didn’t know how to walk straight.
Xiǎo pángxiè shuō: “māma, nǐ shìfàn yíxià hǎo ma?”
小 螃蟹 说：“妈妈，你 示范 一下 好 吗？”
The little crab said, “Mom, can you show me how to walk straight?”
Pángxiè māma shuō: “hǎode, hěn jiǎndān de!”
螃蟹 妈妈 说： “好的， 很 简单 的！”
His mother said, “Ok, it’s very easy.”
Pángxiè māma nǔlì de shìzhe zhízǒu, dànshì, wúlùn zěnme zǒu què dōu zhǐnéng
螃蟹 妈妈 努力地 试着 直走，但是， 无论 怎么 走 却 都 只能
héngzhe zǒu.
横着 走。
His mother tried hard to walk straight; however, no matter how hard she tried, she could only walk sideways.
Xiǎo pángxiè zhǐnéng gēnzài māma hòutou, xuézhe māma de yàngzi.
小 螃蟹 只能 跟在 妈妈 后头， 学着 妈妈 的 样子。
The little crab could only follow his mother and imitate her sideways walking.
Key Learning Points:
螃蟹 (pángxiè) n. crab
Example:
Yìzhī pángxiè jiázhùle xiǎo nánhái de jiǎo.
一只 螃蟹 夹住了 小 男孩 的 脚。
A crab nipped the little boy’s toe.
难看 (nánkàn) adj. ugly
Actually, there is a Chinese word with the same meaning as “难看 (nánkàn).” It is “丑 (chǒu)”.
Example:
Māma, zhè tiáo qúnzi zhēn nánkàn, wǒ xiǎngyào nà jiàn.
妈妈， 这 条 裙子 真 难看， 我 想要 那 件。
Mom, this dress is so ugly. I want that one.
In this Mandarin Chinese course, I learned the phrase “简单 (jiǎndān) easy.”