Telling a story

Telling a story in Chinese

To tell a story or narrate past events in sequence, use time connectors to link your sentences naturally.

Key connectors

• 首先 (shǒuxiān) — first of all
• 然后 (rán hòu) — then / after that
• 接着 (jiēzhe) — next (closely following)
• 最后 (zuìhòu) — finally / at the end
• 突然 (tūrán) — suddenly (for plot turns)
• 结果 (jiéguǒ) — as a result

Example narrative

首先，我去了火车站买票。然后，我发现钱包不见了！突然，有人叫了我的名字。结果，是我的朋友，他找到了我的钱包。最后，我们一起喝了咖啡。

Translation: First I went to the train station to buy tickets. Then I found my wallet was gone! Suddenly someone called my name. As a result, it was my friend — he had found my wallet. Finally, we had coffee together.

Narrative with 了

Each completed event in the narrative takes 了 after the verb:

• 首先，我去了图书馆。— First, I went to the library.
• 然后，我借了三本书。— Then, I borrowed three books.