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大理的小咖啡馆

The Little Café in Dali

A newcomer inherits a tiny family café and plans to leave. A stubborn local recipe and the regulars slowly turn it into home. Start from absolute zero Chinese.

Chapter 1A1

门开着

The Door Stays Open

Before you read
是: one word for am, is, are

是 never changes shape no matter who or what you are talking about: 我是林安 means I am Lin An, 这是咖啡馆 means this is a café. Just put 是 between the two things you are equating.

的: showing 's

Add 的 after a name or a noun to show it owns something: 奶奶的杯子 means Grandma's cup, 林安的 means Lin An's. You will see 的 constantly, and it never changes form either.

了: something happened, or something changed

了 sits right after a verb to say the action is done or a new state has begun: 来了 means has come, 开了 means opened. Without 了, 来 and 开 just name the action in general; with 了, something has actually happened.

很 before an adjective

Chinese adjectives usually want 很 in front of them, even when you are not saying very: 咖啡馆很小 usually just means the café is small, not very small. Beginners keep 很 in front so the sentence does not sound like a comparison.

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About this story

The Little Café in Dali is an A1 Chinese reader.

A newcomer inherits a tiny family café and plans to leave. A stubborn local recipe and the regulars slowly turn it into home. Start from absolute zero Chinese.

This free chapter contains 60 learner-friendly sentences. The complete book has 10 chapters.

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