Original Mandarin story series
Grandma's Dumplings
外婆的饺子
Grandma's Dumplings (外婆的饺子, Wàipó de jiǎozi) is a SayMei Original, written in simple Mandarin as a 3-chapter story with audio for learners at about HSK 2 (Elementary).
An original three-chapter story. Grandma no longer remembers Ajie's name — but she still remembers exactly how to fold a dumpling with eighteen pleats.
Meet the voices
- Ajie · 阿杰 — Comes home from Beijing to see his grandmother. Never learned to make dumplings — she always made them for him.
- Grandma · 外婆 — Eighty years old. Her memory is slipping away, one small thing at a time.
- Mom · 妈妈 — Ajie's mother, and Grandma's daughter. Tired, loving, and trying not to cry in front of either of them.
3 chapters, one journey
Chapter 1: Grandma Forgot My Name
外婆忘了我的名字
Ajie comes home to find his grandmother greeting him like a polite stranger — who insists on making dumplings for her guest.
Free to read
Chapter 2: Eighteen Pleats
十八个褶
Grandma teaches “the young man” to fold dumplings the way her own mother taught her — until, halfway through, her hands forget.
SayMei Stories
Chapter 3: One Pot of Dumplings
一锅饺子
A whole Spring Festival of folding, one pot of dumplings for the family, and one moment when Grandma knows exactly who is sitting beside her.
SayMei Stories
Key words in Grandma's Dumplings
Behind the story
An original SayMei story about family, memory, and one of China's best-loved foods.
In northern China, families fold jiaozi (饺子) together for New Year's Eve dinner. Dumplings are shaped like old silver ingots, so eating them is said to bring wealth in the new year.
Did you know?
- 外婆 (wàipó) is your mother's mother. 奶奶 (nǎinai) is your father's mother.
- Some families hide a clean coin in one dumpling. Whoever finds it is lucky all year.
- 褶 (zhě) means pleat. Neat pleats keep the filling sealed while the dumplings boil.