A: 当你问你的父母, 宝宝从哪里来? , 他们回答什么?
Dāng nǐ wèn nǐ de fùmǔ bǎobǎo cóng nǎlǐ lái, tāmen huídá shénme?
When you asked your parents where babies come from, what did they answer?
B: 我的父母是中国人. 他们说, “我们走自路上, 在路边我们看见了你. 然后, 我们把你带回了家.”
B: Wǒ de fùmǔ shì zhōngguó rén. Tāmen shuō, “Wǒmen zǒu zì lùshàng, zài lù biān wǒmen kànjiànle nǐ. Ránhòu, wǒmen bǎ nǐ dài huíle jiā.”
My parents are Chinese. They said, “We were walking down a road. On the side of the road, we saw you. Then, we picked you up and took you home.”
C: 我的父母是美国人。他们说, “母亲的一颗蛋和父亲的一颗种子结合在一起. 这是怎么做了宝宝.” 我还是孩子 . 我想, “做饭, 做宝宝, 好的. 但是, 一个鸡蛋?!”
Wǒ de fùmǔ shì měiguó rén. Tāmen shuō, “Mǔqīn de yī kē dàn hé fùqīn de yī kē zhǒngzǐ jiéhé zài yīqǐ. Zhè shì zenme zuò de bǎobǎo.” Wǒ hái shì háizi. Wǒ xiǎng, “Zuò fàn, zuò bǎobǎo, hǎo de. Dànshì, yīgè jīdàn?!”
My parents are American. They said, “An egg from the mother and a seed from the father come together. That is what makes a baby.” I was still a child. I thought, “Cook food, make a baby, okay. But a chicken egg?!”
A: (笑) 这些答案都不是很有帮助！我想知道他们为什么不告诉我们事实?
(Xiào) Zhèxiē dá’àn dōu bùshì hěn yǒu bāngzhù! Wǒ xiǎng zhīdào tāmen wèishénme bù gàosù wǒmen shìshí?
(Laughing) Neither of those answers is very helpful. I wonder why they didn’t tell us the facts?
读者 朋友，你的父母是怎么回答的？什么样的答案会更有帮助、更真实呢？
Dúzhě Pengyou, nǐ de fùmǔ shì zěnme huídá de? Shénme yàng de dá’àn huì gèng yǒu bāngzhù, gèng zhēnshí ne?
Dear Reader, what did your parents answer? What would have been a more helpful and true answer?
Authors: Tian Gan and Anne Giles
This post was inspired by discussions of the cartoon 中国人和外国人
zhōngguó rén hé wàiguó rén.
Benfang Wang and Amy contributed to translating this post.
This post includes 想 xiǎng, 知道 zhīdào, and 事实 shìshí, meaningful words on our list of universal human concepts. The word 想 xiǎng is also featured here.
If you are a user of Mandarin Blueprint, the content may be helpful in learning these characters:
Phase 3 Level 13 Character #117 想 xiǎng
Phase 4 Level 22 Character #305: 道 dào
Phase 4 Level 29 Character #438 实 shí
Phase 4 Level 29 Character #452: 事 shì
Phase 5 Level 33 Character #518 知 zhī
This post is part of our Meaningful Words 有意义的词 yǒu yìyì de cí series. In hopes of fostering empathy and understanding, the series features dialogues about universal human concepts in simplified Chinese characters, pinyin, and English. Posts in the Meaningful Words series are here. If you are interested in writing for the Meaningful Words series, please see these submission requirements.
Submissions are run by people proficient in Mandarin Chinese before publishing. Since the publisher is a beginning student of Mandarin Chinese, changes made may introduce new, undetected errors. Since posts use simple vocabulary to convey complex ideas, ambiguity may result. Posts are estimated to be 95% correct in terms of typography, vocabulary, grammar, and clarity.
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