HSK 2 ≈ CEFR A2 140 characters 11 sentences

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.

0:00 Tap any word for its meaning · 🔊 plays the sentence

上班迟到了

今天jīntiān早上zǎoshang迟到chídàole / liǎo / liào
I was late this morning.
昨天zuótiān晚上wǎnshang工作gōngzuòdàohěnwǎnshuì得很dehěnshǎo / shào
I worked late last night and slept very little.
de(possessive)手机shǒujī没有méiyǒuxiǎngdiǎn五十wǔshícáixǐng
My phone didn't go off and I didn't wake until ten to eight.
diǎnbàn必须bìxūdào公司gōngsī
I have to be at the office by half past eight.
hěnzhāo / zhaó / zhe / zhù / zhuóméichī早饭zǎofànjiùchūménle / liǎo / liào
I panicked and left without breakfast.
zàikǒuděng公共汽车gōnggòngqìchēděngle / liǎo / liào十分shífēnzhōngchēhái / huán没有méiyǒulái
I waited at the corner for the bus; after ten minutes it still hadn't come.
只好zhǐhǎozuò出租车chūzūchē花了huāle五十wǔshíkuàiqián
I had to take a taxi, which cost fifty yuan.
dào公司gōngsīde / dì时候shíhou已经yǐjīngdiǎn四十sìshíle / liǎo / liào
When I got to the office it was already 8:40.
pǎojìn电梯diàntī看见了kànjiànlede(possessive)经理jīnglǐ
I ran into the lift and saw my manager.
hěn不好意思bùhǎoyìsidì / deshuō:“对不起duìbuqǐ迟到chídàole / liǎo / liào。”
I said awkwardly, "Sorry, I'm late."
xiàozhāo / zhaó / zhe / zhù / zhuóshuō:“没关系méiguānxigāngdào。”
He smiled and said, "Never mind — I've only just got here myself."

Words to notice

Be late
Cell phone (mobile phone)
Move (tactic) / Touch (affected by - ignited) / ing (action in progress) / Make known (prove) / Wear (contact - send - apply - whereabouts)
Anxious (hurried - worried)
Already
Relations (relationship - bearing - relevance)
Drill this level's full word list on the HSK 2 vocabulary page or with HSK 2 flashcards.

Your reading speed

characters per minute


Did you understand it? — 3 questions

Three questions about what actually happened. Turn the English off first if you want a real test.

Correct: 0

More HSK 2 stories

Keep reading

Check how hard a text is with the HSK Level Analyzer, annotate your own reading in the Pinyin Annotator, look up the grammar behind these sentences in the Chinese Grammar Library, or follow a whole route through the site with Guided Learning Paths.