# Chinese Listening Practice for Beginners: 30 Real-Life Audio Clips You hear a café call your number, a subway announcement and a voice message that changes the plan, all at natural speed. Made for HSK 1–2 learners who read simple Chinese but lose track when it's spoken fast. Source: https://www.saymei.app/resources/downloads/chinese-listening-practice-for-beginners ## At a glance - Level: HSK 1 (new HSK) - Format: Workbook · PDF · 34 pages · US Letter (prints on A4) - Price: Free · free with a saymei account · updated Nov 4, 2026 ## Download Free with a SayMei account, on the workbook's page: https://www.saymei.app/resources/downloads/chinese-listening-practice-for-beginners. SayMei emails a copy too. ## A line from the workbook 请再说一遍。 (Qǐng zài shuō yí biàn.) — Please say that again. ## By the end you can - Order at a café and catch your number when it's called. Hear a fast 还是 question and pick one of the two choices, catch the price, and listen for 号 at the end of the call when your coffee is ready. 在这儿喝还是带走？ (Zài zhèr hē háishi dàizǒu?): For here or to take away? - Follow a voice message and spot a change of plan. Catch the time and the place, and hear the short 了 at the very end that means plans have changed: 我不去了 is "I'm not going after all". 我今天不回来吃饭了。 (Wǒ jīntiān bù huílái chīfàn le.): I won't be home for dinner today. - Catch subway announcements and buy at a market stall. Hear the station straight after 下一站 and the line as a number + 号线. At the market, know that 两块五 is 2.50 yuan and that prices are per 斤, half a kilo. 下一站，火车站。 (Xià yí zhàn, huǒchēzhàn.): Next stop, the train station. - Answer a waiter and a delivery call. Catch 几位 and 能吃辣吗 through the northern 儿 sound, answer the phone with a rising 喂, and tell the courier where to leave your parcel. 放门口就行。 (Fàng ménkǒu jiù xíng.): Just leave it at the door. - Understand a weather forecast and follow directions. Tell 十二 from 二十 at speed, catch the high, the low and the advice, then follow turns and distances, and hear 左 apart from 走. 到路口往右拐。 (Dào lùkǒu wǎng yòu guǎi.): Turn right at the crossing. - Ask someone to say it again and check what you heard. When a reply goes by too fast, ask for it again and check the key word with a 还是 question of your own. 请再说一遍，是左边还是右边？ (Qǐng zài shuō yí biàn, shì zuǒbian háishi yòubian?): Could you say that again? Is it left or right? - Chat with a neighbour and check in at a hotel. Hear 吃了吗 and 出去啊 as a friendly hello and answer with a question back, then catch room numbers where 1 is said yāo, breakfast times and floors. 吃了，您呢？ (Chī le, nín ne?): Yes, I have. And you? ## What's inside - Clip set 1: Key lines: At the Café: Key Lines · Listen: At the Café: Three Clips - Clip set 2: Key lines: A Voice Message: Key Lines · Listen: A Voice Message: Three Clips - Clip set 3: Key lines: On the Subway: Key Lines · Listen: On the Subway: Three Clips - Clip set 4: Key lines: Prices at the Market: Key Lines · Listen: Prices at the Market: Three Clips - Clip set 5: Key lines: The Waiter Asks: Key Lines · Listen: The Waiter Asks: Three Clips - Clip set 6: Key lines: A Delivery Call: Key Lines · Listen: A Delivery Call: Three Clips - Clip set 7: Key lines: The Weather Today: Key Lines · Listen: The Weather Today: Three Clips - Clip set 8: Key lines: Asking the Way: Key Lines · Listen: Asking the Way: Three Clips - Clip set 9: Key lines: A Chat with a Neighbour: Key Lines · Listen: Neighbour Chat: Three Clips - Clip set 10: Key lines: At the Hotel Desk: Key Lines · Listen: At the Hotel Desk: Three Clips - Review: A Busy Morning: Five Clips ## How to use this book Ten real situations, each a Key lines page and a Listen page. Play the slow lines and say each one back, then read the questions, play each clip twice and answer. At two sets a week, that's about five weeks. - Week 1: Café and voice messages. Sets 1 and 2. Missed a lot? That's normal at natural speed: catch the key word, check the answer key, then play the clip once more. - Week 2: Subway and market. Sets 3 and 4. Say each line number and price out loud as you hear it, before you circle the answer. - Week 3: Restaurant and deliveries. Sets 5 and 6. Practise answering the phone with a rising 喂 and telling the courier where to leave it. - Week 4: Weather and directions. Sets 7 and 8. Write down every number you hear, then check 十二 against 二十 in the audio script. - Week 5: Neighbours and the hotel. Sets 9 and 10. Answer each greeting with a question back, and write room numbers as you hear them. - Last session: A busy morning. Page 23. Play all five clips without stopping, answer, then play them again and say Lin Hao's reply after each one. ## Who it's for Adult beginners at about HSK 1–2 who can read simple Chinese but lose track when people talk at normal speed, and anyone getting ready to live, study or travel in China. Before you start: Some HSK 1–2 Chinese. Each set starts with slow key lines in characters, pinyin and English. The clips aren't printed on the Listen pages; they're in the audio script at the back, next to the answer key. ## Which situations are in the book? Ten, with three clips each: a café, voice messages, the subway, a market stall, a restaurant, a delivery call, the weather, asking the way, a chat with a neighbour and a hotel desk. The review adds five clips from one busy morning. ## How fast is the audio? Two speeds. The key lines are read slowly with a pause to say them back. The clips are at natural speed, with light tones, linked words and the 儿 sound, and each Key lines page has a note on how its lines sound when people talk fast. The audio is free on the book's page; the code on page 2 opens it. ## Are the clips printed in the book? Not on the Listen pages, so you really listen. Each set starts with slow key lines in characters, pinyin and English, and the clips themselves are in the audio script at the back, next to the answer key. ## How much Chinese do I need? Some HSK 1–2 Chinese. The book is for adult beginners who can read simple Chinese but lose track at normal speed, and for learners getting ready to live, study or travel in China. ## How long does it take? Ten sets, each a Key lines page and a Listen page. At two sets a week it takes about five weeks. The last session plays all five clips of a busy morning on page 23 without stopping, then again while you say Lin Hao's reply after each one. ## What if I can't catch a clip? That's normal at natural speed. Read the questions first so you know what to listen for, play the clip twice and catch the key word: a number, a place, a yes or no. Then check the answer key and the audio script at the back, and play it once more. ## Do I need a SayMei account? Yes, to download the PDF, and the account is free: sign up with Google, Apple or your email address. With it we email you a copy of the workbook, keep every workbook you download on your account on all your devices, save your place in the free online practice, and you can practise speaking with Mei Lin, SayMei's AI tutor. ## How do I print it? The PDF is US Letter size. On A4 paper, choose "Fit to page" (or "Scale to fit") in the print dialog so nothing is cut off. Print the whole workbook or only the pages you need; colour looks best, and black and white works too. Version 2026-11, updated Nov 4, 2026.