Six flatmates share a home near Dongmen Station in Taipei: Amara, Meihui, Yuko, Junhao, Lucas, and their kind landlady, Mrs. Wang. Through everyday situations — cooking together, working, studying, exploring the city, celebrating small joys, and learning to live with each other — their stories capture the warmth of strangers becoming like family.
Series Overview: Dongmen Stories
This 28-episode graded reader series follows the lives of six flatmates sharing a home near Dongmen Station in Taipei. Through everyday situations — cooking, working, studying, exploring the city, and celebrating small joys — learners build practical Chinese vocabulary and natural grammar patterns while connecting with relatable characters from different backgrounds.
Vocabulary Focus:
- Daily life & household (kitchen, room, living room, refrigerator)
- Food & dining (xiaolongbao, bento box, scallion pancakes, ice cream)
- Travel & directions (station, go downstairs, convenience store, night market)
- Emotions & opinions (homesick, happy, warm, attentive, satisfied)
- Work & study (work, Chinese class, paint/draw, bank, salary)
- Relationships & communication (message, phone call, thank you, help, friend)
Grammar Focus:
- Essential sentence patterns (completed action marker, ongoing action marker, very, a little)
- Connector patterns (while…while, more and more, although…but)
- Time expressions (already, still/yet, then, immediately, often/frequently)
- Modals and imperatives (can, don’t, want, want to)
- Comparison structures (compared to before, same, different)
Course Structure
- Weekly Format: 7 stories per week (one per day) for systematic, immersive learning
- Week 1-2: Foundational vocabulary and basic sentence patterns. Introduce characters, the flat, and daily routines. Build confidence with short, simple sentences and high-frequency words.
- Week 3-4: Intermediate expressions and everyday situations. Deeper character development, emotional moments, and longer narratives. Introduce more complex vocabulary and natural conversational phrases.
Course Syllabus
Week 1
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Week 2
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Week 3
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Week 4
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Week 5
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Perfect For
- Learners building vocabulary for HSK 3.0 Band 1-2
- Those who want to move beyond textbook dialogues into real stories
- Students interested in practical Chinese for daily life in Taiwan
- Self-directed readers who want structured, engaging content with emotional depth
- Learners who benefit from repeated vocabulary in meaningful contexts