"Story" • Chinese-English Dictionary

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故事 gù shi narrative / story / tale
层 céng to pile on top of one another / layer / stratum / floor (of a building) / story / (math.) sheaf / classifier for layers
楼层 lóu céng story / floor
通讯 tōng xùn communications / news story / dispatch / CL:個|个[ge4]
剧情 jù qíng story line / plot / drama (genre)
演绎 yǎn yì (of a story etc) to unfold / to play out / to develop (a technique etc) / to enact / (logic) to deduce / to infer
刊登 kān dēng to carry a story / to publish (in a newspaper or magazine)
本事 běn shì source material / original story
内幕 nèi mù inside story / non-public information / behind the scenes / internal
叙述 xù shù to relate (a story or information) / to tell or talk about / to recount / narration / telling / narrative / account
改成 gǎi chéng to convert / to turn into (sth else) / to adapt (a story to another medium)
成语 chéng yǔ Chinese set expression, typically of 4 characters, often alluding to a story or historical quotation / idiom / proverb / saying / adage / CL:條|条[tiao2],本[ben3],句[ju4]
启示 qǐ shì to reveal / to enlighten / enlightenment / revelation / illumination / moral (of a story etc) / lesson
片段 piàn duàn fragment (of speech etc) / extract (from book etc) / episode (of story etc)
要闻 yào wén important news story / headline
却说 què shuō and the story continues thus: (literary auxiliary particle 發語辭|发语辞)
波澜 bō lán billows / great waves (fig. of a story with great momentum)
加盖 jiā gài to seal (with an official stamp) / to stamp / (fig.) to ratify / to put a lid on (a cooking pot) / to cap / to build an extension or additional story
头条 tóu tiáo lead story (on the news)
奇闻 qí wén anecdote / fantastic story
趣事 qù shì entertaining anecdote / interesting story or incident
扬言 yáng yán to put about (a story, plan, threat etc) / to let it be known (esp. of threat or malicious story) / to threaten
典故 diǎn gù classical story or quote from the literature / the story behind sth
内情 nèi qíng inside story / inside information
短篇小说 duǎn piān xiǎo shuō short story
始末 shǐ mò whole story / the ins and outs
鬼故事 guǐ gù shi ghost story
专题报道  feature story
老套 lǎo tào hackneyed / well-worn (phrase etc) / same old story / stereotypical fashion
戏说 xì shuō dramatic form consisting of historical narration / history as jocular narrative / to stretch history for a joking story / amusing story with strained interpretations of history / to make an unreasonable comparison in jest
佳话 jiā huà story or deed that captures the imagination and is spread far and wide
原委 yuán wěi the whole story
单层 dān céng single layer / single story / single deck / single level
归结 guī jié to sum up / to conclude / to put in a nutshell / conclusion / end (of a story etc)
天方夜谭 tiān fāng yè tán fantasy story
狡辩 jiǎo biàn to deflect blame from oneself with a dishonest story / to make excuses
别论 bié lùn a different matter / another story / (old) objection
开讲 kāi jiǎng to begin a lecture / to start on a story
传话 chuán huà to pass on a story / to communicate a message
书馆 shū guǎn teashop with performance by 評書|评书 / story tellers / (attached to name of publishing houses) / (in former times) private school / library (of classic texts)
神话故事 shén huà gù shi mythological story / myth
路数 lù shù stratagem / method / approach / movement (martial arts) / social connections / (sb's) background story
石头记 Shí tou Jì The Story of the Stone, another name for A Dream of Red Mansions 紅樓夢|红楼梦[Hong2 lou2 Meng4]
就里 jiù lǐ inside story
说来话长 shuō lái huà cháng start explaining and it's a long story (idiom) / complicated and not easy to express succinctly
委曲 wěi qū sinuous / devious / full details of a story / to stoop
揭底 jiē dǐ to reveal the inside story / to expose sb's secrets
大闹天宫 Dà nào Tiān gōng Monkey Wreaks Havoc in Heaven, story about the Monkey King Sun Wukong 孫悟空|孙悟空[Sun1 Wu4 kong1] from the novel Journey to the West 西遊記|西游记
逸事 yì shì anecdote / lost or apocryphal story about famous person
民间故事 mín jiān gù shi folk story / folktale
三岔口 Sān chà kǒu At the Crossroads, famous opera, based on a story from 水滸傳|水浒传[Shui3 hu3 Zhuan4]
小人书 xiǎo rén shū children's picture story book / CL:本[ben3]
奇谈 qí tán odd story / exotic tale / fig. ridiculous argument
一言以蔽之 yī yán yǐ bì zhī one word says it all (idiom, from Analects) / to cut a long story short / in a nutshell
二十四史 Er4 shí sì Shǐ the Twenty-Four Histories (25 or 26 in modern editions), collection of books on Chinese dynastic history from 3000 BC till 17th century / fig. a long and complicated story
长话短说 cháng huà duǎn shuō to make a long story short (idiom)
胡编乱造 hú biān luàn zào to concoct a cock-and-bull story (idiom) / to make things up
附会 fù huì to add parallels and interpretations (to a story etc) / to develop and embellish / to interpret (often in a strained manner)
莫泊桑 Mò bó sāng Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893), French novelist and short story writer
根由 gēn yóu the whys and the wherefores / the detailed story / root cause
轶闻 yì wén anecdote / apocryphal story
串供 chuàn gòng to collude to fabricate a story
楼 lóu house with more than 1 story / storied building / floor / CL:層|层[ceng2],座[zuo4],棟|栋[dong4]
泄底 xiè dǐ to divulge the inside story
阘 tà door or window in an upper story
闒 tà door or window in an upper story
添油加醋 tiān yóu jiā cù lit. to add oil and vinegar / fig. adding details while telling a story (to make it more interesting)
不经之谈 bù jīng zhī tán absurd statement / cock-and-bull story
大题小作 dà tí xiǎo zuò to cut a long story short / a brief treatment of a complicated subject / fig. to treat an important question as a minor matter
轶事遗闻 yì shì yí wén anecdote (about historical person) / lost or apocryphal story
一面之词 yī miàn zhī cí one side of the story / one-sided statement
自圆其说 zì yuán qí shuō to make a story or theory consistent / to give a plausible explanation / to plug the holes in one's story
炒冷饭 chǎo lěng fàn to stir-fry leftover rice / fig. to rehash the same story / to serve up the same old product
都会传奇 dū huì chuán qí urban legend (translation of recent Western term) / story or theory circulated as true / same as 都市傳奇|都市传奇
头条新闻 tóu tiáo xīn wén top news story
一波未平，一波又起 yī bō wèi píng , yī bō yòu qǐ before the first wave subsides, a new wave rises (idiom) / a new problem arises before the old is solved / many twists and turns to a story / one thing after another
一言抄百总 yī yán chāo bǎi zǒng to cut a long story short
三位博士 sān wèi bó shì the Magi / the Three Wise Kings from the East in the biblical nativity story
塔刹 tǎ chà Buddhist ornamentation decorating the upper story of a pagoda
好故事百听不厌 hǎo gù shi bǎi tīng bù yàn The story is so good it's worth hearing a hundred times. / One never tires of hearing good new.
宰予昼寝 Zǎi Yǔ zhòu qǐn Zai Yu sleeps by day (idiom) / refers to story in Analects of Confucius remonstrating bitterly with his student for sleeping during lectures
察微知著 chá wēi zhī zhù to examine tiny clues to know general trends (idiom) / to deduce the whole story from small traces
对口径 duì kǒu jìng to arrange to give the same story
张二鸿 Zhāng Er4 hóng Jung Chang 張戎|张戎[Zhang1 Rong2] (1952-), British-Chinese writer, author of Wild Swans 野天鵝|野天鹅[Ye3 Tian1 e2] and Mao: The Unknown Story 毛澤東·鮮為人知的故事|毛泽东·鲜为人知的故事[Mao2 Ze2 dong1 · / Xian1 wei2 ren2 zhi1 de5 Gu4 shi5]
张戎 Zhāng Róng Jung Chang (1952-), British-Chinese writer, name at birth Zhang Erhong 張二鴻|张二鸿[Zhang1 Er4 hong2], author of Wild Swans 野天鵝|野天鹅[Ye3 Tian1 e2] and Mao: The Unknown Story 毛澤東·鮮為人知的故事|毛泽东·鲜为人知的故事[Mao2 Ze2 dong1 · / Xian1 wei2 ren2 zhi1 de5 Gu4 shi5]
徐星 Xú Xīng Xu Xing (1969-), Chinese palaeontologist / Xu Xing (1956-), Chinese short story writer
春风深醉的晚上 Chūn fēng Shēn zuì de Wǎn shang Intoxicating Spring Nights, 1924 short story by Yu Dafu 郁達夫|郁达夫[Yu4 Da2 fu1]
书馆儿 shū guǎn r teashop with performance by 評書|评书 / story tellers
东方三博士 Dōng fāng sān Bó shì the Magi / the Three Wise Kings from the East in the biblical nativity story
柳毅传 Liǔ Yì zhuàn story of Liu Yi, Tang fantasy fiction by Li Chaowei 李朝威, popular with dramatist of subsequent dynasties
标题新闻 biāo tí xīn wén headline news / title story
毛泽东·不为人知的故事  Mao Zedong, the unknown story by Jung Chang 張戎|张戎 / and Jon Halliday
毛泽东·鲜为人知的故事  Mao Zedong, the unknown story by Jung Chang 張戎|张戎 / and Jon Halliday
海伦·凯勒  Helen Keller (1880-1968), famous American deaf-blind author and activist (whose story is told in biopic The Miracle Worker)
琴书 qín shū traditional art form, consisting of sung story telling with musical accompaniment
说岳全传 Shuō Yuè Quán zhuàn "The Story of Yue Fei", biography of Song dynasty patriot and general Yue Fei 岳飛|岳飞[Yue4 Fei1]
起讲 qǐ jiǎng to start a story
逸话 yì huà rumor / anecdote (not in the official record) / apocryphal story
都市传奇 dū shì chuán qí urban legend (translation of recent Western term) / story or theory circulated as true / same as 都會傳奇|都会传奇
阿Ｑ A1 Q Ah Q, antihero of Lu Xun's influential 1921 novella The true story of Ah Q 阿Ｑ正傳|阿Ｑ正传[A1 Q zheng4 chuan2]
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