Xiao Ming from a small town thinks his city is the best. After visiting Beijing with his teacher, he realizes how big the world is and understands the meaning of ‘frog in the well’.
井底之蛙：小城男孩的北京之旅
小明住在一个小城市。他有很多朋友，家人也在这里工作。小明觉得他的城市是最好的城市。他每天学习中文，他的中文老师很好。
有一天，小明的老师说：“你应该去北京看看。只有去北京，你才明白中国有多大。”小明不知道北京是什么样子，但他希望去看看。
小明和老师去了北京。北京很大，有很多高楼。小明看到很多学生在学习，很多人在工作。无论他去哪里，都看到新东西。无论多晚，也有人在工作。
回到小城后，小明对家人说：“我以前是井底之蛙。这个成语的意思是一个人只知道自己小世界的东西。现在我知道世界很大，我需要更多学习。”
Jǐng dǐ zhī wā: Xiǎo chéng nán hái de Běi jīng zhī lǚ
Xiǎo míng zhù zài yī gè xiǎo chéng shì. Tā yǒu hěn duō péng you, jiā rén yě zài zhè lǐ gōng zuò. Xiǎo míng jué de tā de chéng shì shì zuì hǎo de chéng shì. Tā měi tiān xué xí zhōng wén, tā de zhōng wén lǎo shī hěn hǎo.
Yǒu yī tiān, xiǎo míng de lǎo shī shuō: “Nǐ yīng gāi qù Běi jīng kàn kan. Zhǐ yǒu qù Běi jīng, nǐ cái míng bai zhōng guó yǒu duō dà.” Xiǎo míng bù zhī dào Běi jīng shì shén me yàng zi, dàn tā xī wàng qù kàn kan.
Xiǎo míng hé lǎo shī qù le Běi jīng. Běi jīng hěn dà, yǒu hěn duō gāo lóu. Xiǎo míng kàn dào hěn duō xué sheng zài xué xí, hěn duō rén zài gōng zuò. Wú lùn tā qù nǎ lǐ, dōu kàn dào xīn dōng xi. Wú lùn duō wǎn, yě yǒu rén zài gōng zuò.
Huí dào xiǎo chéng hòu, xiǎo míng duì jiā rén shuō: “Wǒ yǐ qián shì jǐng dǐ zhī wā. Zhè gè chéng yǔ de yì si shì yī gè rén zhǐ zhī dào zì jǐ xiǎo shì jiè de dōng xi. Xiàn zài wǒ zhī dào shì jiè hěn dà, wǒ xū yào gèng duō xué xí.”
The Frog in the Well: A Small-Town Boy’s Beijing Journey
Xiao Ming lives in a small city. He has many friends, and his family also works here. Xiao Ming thinks his city is the best city. He studies Chinese every day, and his Chinese teacher is very good.
One day, Xiao Ming’s teacher said: ‘You should go to Beijing to see. Only by going to Beijing will you understand how big China is.’ Xiao Ming didn’t know what Beijing was like, but he hoped to go see.
Xiao Ming and his teacher went to Beijing. Beijing is very big, with many tall buildings. Xiao Ming saw many students studying, many people working. No matter where he went, he saw new things. No matter how late, there were also people working.
After returning to the small city, Xiao Ming said to his family: ‘I used to be a frog in the well. This idiom means a person only knows things from their small world. Now I know the world is very big, I need to study more.’
Help
Use audio before and after reading.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 明白 | míng bai | to understand |
| 知道 | zhī dào | to know |
| 觉得 | jué de | to think, to feel |
| 希望 | xī wàng | to hope |
| 工作 | gōng zuò | to work, work |
| 学习 | xué xí | to study, study |
| 老师 | lǎo shī | teacher |
| 学生 | xué sheng | student |
| 朋友 | péng you | friend |
| 家人 | jiā rén | family members |
只有…才…
Expresses ‘only if…then…’ or ‘only when…then…’. It emphasizes that a certain condition must be met for something to happen.
只有去北京，你才明白中国有多大。
无论…都…
Means ‘no matter…all…’ or ‘regardless of…all…’. It indicates that something remains true under any circumstance.
无论他去哪里，都看到新东西。
井底之蛙
a narrow-minded person who thinks their small world is all there is. Origin: well bottom ‘s frog. This idiom is used when someone has limited experience or knowledge and mistakenly believes their small perspective represents the whole world.
Chinese Idioms (Chengyu)
井底之蛙 comes from a Zhuangzi fable about a frog living at the bottom of a well who believes the well is the entire world. In modern Chinese, it’s used to criticize people with narrow perspectives or limited experience who are unwilling to learn about the wider world. It teaches the value of broadening one’s horizons through travel and education.
- 小明住在哪里？ (答案)
- 谁建议小明去北京？ (答案)
- 小明在北京看到了什么？ (答案)
- 小明回到小城后说了什么？ (答案)
- 井底之蛙是什么意思？ (答案)
- 小明现在想做什么？ (答案)
- 小明觉得他的城市怎么样？
A. 不好 B. 最好 C. 很小 (答案) - 只有去北京，小明才明白什么？
A. 北京很小 B. 中国很大 C. 工作很难 (答案) - 无论小明去哪里，他都看到什么？
A. 老朋友 B. 新东西 C. 他的老师 (答案)
- 无论多晚，北京也有人做什么？
A. 学习 B. 工作 C. 吃饭 (答案) - 井底之蛙这个成语来自哪里？
A. 孔子 B. 庄子 C. 老子 (答案) - 小明现在明白了什么？
A. 他的城市最好 B. 世界很大 C. 不应该去北京 (答案)
- 小明觉得北京比他的城市好。 (答案)
- 小明的家人不在小城市工作。 (答案)
- 只有去北京，小明才明白中国很大。 (答案)
- 小明在北京没有看到学生。 (答案)
- 井底之蛙的意思是知道很多东西的人。 (答案)
- 小明希望更多学习。 (答案)
Keywords:
Keywords:
Keywords: