SPEAKING IN CONTEXT
Ask for directions in Chinese: exits, turns and confirmation
When asking for directions, identify the starting point and destination, listen for the order of turns, and repeat the part that could cause confusion. An estimated walking time is useful, but it cannot replace the exit and direction.
Listen firstListen, understand and shadow
Playable synthesized Mandarin audio, created from our original scripts. Not a human recording or an official exam. Listen before opening the transcript; repeat using the player’s speed controls when available.
从车站去图书馆
Listen once without the transcript, then repeat at 0.75× and shadow the sentence. Return to 1× to check natural timing.
Audio file (MP3)Chinese transcript
不好意思，请问图书馆怎么走？从车站南门出来，直走到第一个路口，再向左转。图书馆在银行旁边。大概要走多久？十分钟左右。好的，南门出来，第一个路口左转，谢谢。
Pinyin support
Bù hǎoyìsi, qǐngwèn túshūguǎn zěnme zǒu? Cóng chēzhàn nánmén chūlái, zhí zǒu dào dì yī ge lùkǒu, zài xiàng zuǒ zhuǎn. Túshūguǎn zài yínháng pángbiān. Dàgài yào zǒu duōjiǔ? Shí fēnzhōng zuǒyòu. Hǎo de, nánmén chūlái, dì yī ge lùkǒu zuǒ zhuǎn, xièxie.
English meaning
Excuse me, how do I get to the library? Leave the station through the south entrance, walk straight to the first intersection, then turn left. The library is beside the bank. About how long is the walk? Around ten minutes. Okay: south entrance, then left at the first intersection. Thank you.
Shadow this sentence
从南门出来，直走到第一个路口，再向左转。
Listening cues and practice method
Track the exit, turning point and direction in order. Beside the bank identifies the destination; ten minutes is an estimate.
Read the dialogue by role
- Visitor
不好意思，请问图书馆怎么走？
- Local person
从车站南门出来，直走到第一个路口，再向左转。图书馆在银行旁边。
- Visitor
大概要走多久？
- Local person
十分钟左右。
- Visitor
好的，南门出来，第一个路口左转，谢谢。
Listen in route order
Make a four-part note: 南门 → 直走 → 第一个路口左转 → 银行旁边. The bank is a landmark near the destination; it is not the place where the recording tells you to turn.
Ask for the missing detail
If you missed the turn, ask 不好意思，是左转还是右转？ If you missed the exit, ask 从哪个门出来？ A focused question is easier to answer than asking for the whole explanation again.
左右 after 十分钟 means approximately. It does not mean turning left and right. The route instruction 左转 uses 左 as a direction; interpret the phrase in its local context.
Repeat the route, then change one turn
Listen once with the transcript closed. Say the route from memory, then compare it with the four-part note. Next, change left to right in a new imagined route and confirm the new instruction explicitly. This is a fictional language exercise, not navigation advice for a real station.
Swap a phrase and change one condition
Change one condition at a time and keep the remaining facts consistent. These alternatives are not synonyms.
- 从南门出来 → 从北门出来
- 第一个路口左转 → 第二个路口左转
- 银行旁边 → 邮局旁边
Common pitfalls: wording, context and information
第一个路口左转。——好的，右转。
A response for this context
第一个路口左转。——好的，第一个路口左转。
The confirmation reverses the direction. Repeat the turn you heard before proceeding.
十分钟左右。——一定十分钟到。
A response for this context
十分钟左右。——大概十分钟，对吗？
左右 is an estimate, not a guaranteed arrival time. Keep that uncertainty in the recap.
Answer first, then check the reasoning
1. At which point should the visitor turn left?
Answer and explanation
At the first intersection after leaving the south entrance. Beside the bank describes the library’s location, not the turning point.
2. Is the walking time guaranteed to be exactly ten minutes?
Answer and explanation
No. 大概 and 左右 mark an estimate. The recording gives no guarantee about an individual walker’s exact arrival time.
3. Correct this summary: 北门出来，第二个路口右转。
Answer and explanation
南门出来，第一个路口左转。All three details changed in the incorrect summary; fixing just the direction is insufficient.
Answer three prompts in your own words
Speak first, then draft if helpful. Drafts stay on this page, are not uploaded and are not automatically graded. The references are possible answers, not the only answers.
1. Give a new route: leave through the east entrance, walk straight to the second intersection, turn right, and find the café opposite the bookstore. Then repeat the route as the visitor.
Reference and self-check
从东门出来，直走到第二个路口，再右转。咖啡店在书店对面。——好的，东门，第二个路口右转，书店对面。
Preserve east, second, right and opposite. Do not accidentally reuse south, first, left or beside from the recording.
2. You heard the destination but missed whether to leave from the south or north entrance. Ask one focused question.
Reference and self-check
不好意思，是从南门还是北门出来？
Ask about the uncertain exit rather than pretending you know it.
3. The route is north exit, straight ahead, second junction right, then opposite the post office. Repeat it in order.
Reference and self-check
北门出来，先直走，到第二个路口右转，目的地在邮局对面，对吗？
Preserve second, right and opposite. Do not carry left or first from the lesson recording into this new route.
Continue with this scenario
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Take the practice with you
Print for personal study or classroom practice, keeping the source credit. Reference expressions are not the only possible answers. These are not official exam papers or an AI accuracy benchmark.
- Listening evidence lab (PDF) 中文 / English
Three original HSK 4–6 study clips, nine questions, transcripts and explained alternatives. Bilingual PDF; audio links need internet.