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Tea and hospitality: ask first

How can you receive a guest and leave room for their preferences?

This lesson introduces sharing within Chinese tea practices. The fictional visit does not prescribe one drink or one serving rule for everyone.

These are editorial reading bands, not exam levels.

Ask about the guest’s choice

Fictional story · local synthesized audio, listening review pending

Lin welcomes her new neighbor Sam at the door.

小林在门口欢迎客人。

Mandarin pronunciation · Device-generated pronunciation (depends on browser and system voices)

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Translation and pinyin

Xiao Lin greets a guest at the door.

Xiǎo Lín zài ménkǒu huānyíng kèrén.

Lin offers tea or water and waits for Sam to choose.

她说:“请坐。你想喝茶还是水?”

Mandarin pronunciation · Device-generated pronunciation (depends on browser and system voices)

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Translation and pinyin

She says, “Please sit down. Would you like tea or water?”

Tā shuō: “Qǐng zuò. Nǐ xiǎng hē chá háishi shuǐ?”

In the evening, Sam chooses water and declines tea.

客人说:“喝水,谢谢。我晚上不喝茶。”

Mandarin pronunciation · Device-generated pronunciation (depends on browser and system voices)

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Translation and pinyin

The guest says, “Water, thank you. I do not drink tea in the evening.”

Kèrén shuō: “Hē shuǐ, xièxie. Wǒ wǎnshang bù hē chá.”

Lin places a cup of water on the table for her guest.

小林把一杯水放在桌上。

Mandarin pronunciation · Device-generated pronunciation (depends on browser and system voices)

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Translation and pinyin

Xiao Lin puts a glass of water on the table.

Xiǎo Lín bǎ yī bēi shuǐ fàng zài zhuō shàng.

Lin and Sam talk about the places where they grew up.

他们聊起各自的家乡。

Mandarin pronunciation · Device-generated pronunciation (depends on browser and system voices)

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Translation and pinyin

They talk about their hometowns.

Tāmen liáo qǐ gèzì de jiāxiāng.

Windows into different homes frame this visit as one imagined example.

这是一个想象的待客故事,不是每个家庭的规定。

Mandarin pronunciation · Device-generated pronunciation (depends on browser and system voices)

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Translation and pinyin

This is an imagined story about receiving a visitor, not a rule for every family.

Zhè shì yī ge xiǎngxiàng de dàikè gùshi, bù shì měi ge jiātíng de guīdìng.

Supporting vocabulary

各自 — each person’s own

待客 — receiving visitors

欢迎 · 客人 · · · · · 谢谢 · 家乡 ·

Find evidence in the text

Turn the story into an exchange

These are authored dialogue tasks, not live AI. Respond one turn at a time.

The budget applies to a new session; an existing session keeps its current budget.

Main scenario

Receive a guest in Chinese

A friend visits your home. You have tea and water. Invite them to sit and ask what they would like.

Receive the guest, ask preferences, and respect their choice.

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A different setting

Variation: a new reading-group member

Open a task to discover the new conditions and adapt your response.

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Cultural notes and sources

UNESCO describes drinking and sharing as parts of China’s tea-related practices.

Traditional Tea Processing Techniques and Associated Social Practices In China

Is there a similar or different practice in your life? You may invent an example or skip this question.

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