Chinese Graded Readers — 40 free short stories

Original stories written to the HSK 1–4 word lists, so you can finish one instead of giving up three sentences in. Every story has pinyin above each word, tap-a-word definitions, audio on every sentence, an English translation you can switch off, and a comprehension quiz. No sign-up.

100% Free

HSK 1

≈ CEFR A1 150 words · 10 stories

Short, present-tense stories built from the HSK 1 word list. Every sentence is one clause.

HSK 1 116 chars

My Family

我的家

Four people, one cat, and everyone is busy. The first story most learners can read end to end.
HSK 1 89 chars

My Day

我的一天

Get up, eat, study, sleep. Everyday routine in the simplest Chinese there is.
HSK 1 86 chars

At the Restaurant

在饭馆

Ordering food, asking the price, and discovering the tea is free.
HSK 1 92 chars

Going Shopping

买东西

One red shirt, one price question, one small negotiation.
HSK 1 104 chars

My Cat

我的猫

Xiaobai the cat sleeps all day and wakes up exactly when the fish appears.
HSK 1 95 chars

Learning Chinese

我学汉语

Characters are hard, tones are harder, and the teacher says the same thing every week.
HSK 1 88 chars

The Weather Today

今天的天气

It was hot, then it rained, and nobody had an umbrella.
HSK 1 100 chars

My Friend Lili

我的朋友丽丽

She's tall, she likes running, and she never says no when you need help.
HSK 1 99 chars

Going to School

去学校

A bus, a bicycle, and a decision made by the weather.
HSK 1 95 chars

A Phone Call

打电话

Mum calls at nine, asks four questions, and says the same thing she always says.

HSK 2

≈ CEFR A2 300 words · 10 stories

Past events, comparisons and 了 — still everyday topics, but the sentences join up.

HSK 2 145 chars

The Train to Shanghai

去上海的火车

Four hours, one window seat, and a stranger who shares his oranges.
HSK 2 137 chars

A Birthday Surprise

生日的惊喜

Everyone forgot her birthday — right up until she opened the door.
HSK 2 123 chars

My New Room

我的新房间

Small, on the fourth floor, and the window looks at exactly one tree.
HSK 2 129 chars

Going to the Doctor

去医院

A fever, a long queue, and a doctor with one very simple prescription.
HSK 2 155 chars

A Trip With Friends

跟朋友去旅行

Three days, one mountain, and a sunrise that was worth getting up at four for.
HSK 2 128 chars

A Rainy Day

下雨天

The plan was a picnic. The rain had other ideas, and the day turned out better.
HSK 2 152 chars

My Chinese Teacher

我的中文老师

She never gives the answer. Two years later, you understand why.
HSK 2 145 chars

At the Supermarket

在超市

A short list, a long queue, and one item nobody remembered to buy.
HSK 2 135 chars

My Weekend

我的周末

Two days off, one long list of plans, and an afternoon that quietly disappeared.
HSK 2 140 chars

Late for Work

上班迟到了

The alarm didn't ring, the bus didn't come, and the boss was already in the lift.

HSK 3

≈ CEFR B1 600 words · 10 stories

Real narrative: 把, 被, complements, and a story with something at stake.

HSK 3 189 chars

Moving House

搬家

Eight years of things in twenty-six boxes, and one that nobody wanted to open.
HSK 3 186 chars

The Job Interview

面试

Twenty minutes of prepared answers, and one question she hadn't prepared for.
HSK 3 186 chars

Losing My Phone

手机丢了

The phone was gone. Two hours later, it rang — and a stranger answered.
HSK 3 191 chars

The Neighbour Upstairs

楼上的邻居

Every night at eleven, the same noise — until she finally went up to complain.
HSK 3 174 chars

Learning to Ride a Bike

学骑自行车

She fell eleven times. Her father counted every one, and never once let go early.
HSK 3 179 chars

Mid-Autumn Festival

中秋节

The same moon, two cities, and a video call at exactly eight o'clock.
HSK 3 178 chars

A Letter From Grandmother

奶奶的信

In an age of instant messages, a paper letter arrives — written twice, because of one wrong character.
HSK 3 173 chars

Getting Lost

迷路

No signal, no map, and the only person on the street selling sweet potatoes.
HSK 3 156 chars

Helping a Stranger

帮一个陌生人

A woman with too many bags, a broken lift, and eleven floors of stairs.
HSK 3 170 chars

Shopping Online

网上买东西

The photo showed a large blue coat. What arrived was neither large nor blue.

HSK 4

≈ CEFR B2 1,200 words · 10 stories

Longer paragraphs, opinions and feelings — the level where reading starts to feel like reading.

HSK 4 239 chars

My First Speech

第一次演讲

Three hundred people, eight minutes, and a first sentence that came out backwards.
HSK 4 231 chars

Changing Jobs

换工作

A stable job, a smaller salary, and a decision his father did not understand for two years.
HSK 4 233 chars

An Old Photograph

一张老照片

Four people, one summer, and a name on the back that nobody can place.
HSK 4 229 chars

A Misunderstanding

一个误会

Two friends stopped speaking over a message. Neither of them had actually sent it.
HSK 4 213 chars

Keeping Up Running

坚持跑步

Day one lasted eight minutes. Day four hundred was a marathon — and he still doesn't like running.
HSK 4 194 chars

Going Back Home

回老家

Ten years away. The road is wider, the school is gone, and the dog still knows him.
HSK 4 212 chars

Facing Pressure

面对压力

She worked until two every night for six months. Then her body made the decision for her.
HSK 4 199 chars

Saying Goodbye

送别

Four years in one suitcase, a train at ten past nine, and neither of them said the word.
HSK 4 226 chars

Learning to Say No

学会说“不”

He agreed to everything for years, and slowly discovered that nobody thanked him for it.
HSK 4 243 chars

A Decision at Thirty

三十岁的决定

Everyone said it was too late to start. She counted the years anyway, and started.

How to use a graded reader

Reading is the fastest way to turn vocabulary you recognise into vocabulary you know — but only if the text is at the right level. The rule of thumb is 95% comprehension: if you are stopping to look up more than one word in twenty, the text is too hard and you are studying, not reading.

Pick the level below the one you are studying. If you are working through HSK 3 vocabulary, the HSK 2 stories should feel almost effortless — that is what you want. Read the story once with everything switched on, then read it again with the English toggled off, and finally with pinyin off too.

Not sure what your level is? Paste any Chinese text into the HSK Level Analyzer, or take the placement quiz on the Guided Learning Paths page.

Chinese reading practice — frequently asked questions

What is a Chinese graded reader?

A story written using only the vocabulary of a particular level — here, the official HSK 1–4 word lists. Because almost every word is one you already know, you can read for meaning instead of decoding character by character, which is what actually builds reading fluency.

Which HSK level should I read at?

One level below the one you are studying. Comfortable reading means understanding around 95% of the words without looking anything up. If you are stopping constantly, drop a level — the point is volume, not difficulty.

Do these stories have pinyin and audio?

Yes. Pinyin appears above every word in ruby format and can be switched off with one toggle, every sentence has an audio button, and tapping any word shows its English meaning from the same dictionary that powers the translator. The full English translation is there too, and also toggleable.

Are these real stories or textbook exercises?

They are original short stories written for this site — a lost phone, a neighbour's walking stick, a father letting go of a bicycle. Each one is built strictly from its level's word list, but it is a story with an ending, not a grammar drill in disguise.