Sometimes we think one choice is better, but the result turns out differently.
In today’s episode, a simple plan changes — and three very natural Chinese expressions appear:

不如 (it’d be better to)
不见得 (not necessarily)
反而 (on the contrary)

昨天晚上我本来打算在家工作。Zuótiān wǎnshàng wǒ běnlái dǎsuàn zài jiā gōngzuò.Yesterday evening, I originally planned to work at home.

我想：Wǒ xiǎng:I thought to myself:

“在家太安静了，
不如去咖啡店工作吧。”“Zài jiā tài ānjìng le,
bùrú qù kāfēi diàn gōngzuò ba.”“It’s too quiet at home —
it’d be better to work at a café.”

结果到了咖啡店，Jiéguǒ dào le kāfēi diàn,But when I got to the café,

人很多，也有点儿吵。rén hěn duō, yě yǒudiǎnr chǎo.there were a lot of people, and it was a bit noisy.

我心里想：Wǒ xīnli xiǎng:I thought to myself:

“这样工作效率不见得会更高。”“Zhèyàng gōngzuò xiàolǜ bújiànde huì gèng gāo.”“Working like this is not necessarily more efficient.”

可是奇怪的是，Kěshì qíguài de shì,But strangely,

我反而比在家更专心。wǒ fǎn’ér bǐ zài jiā gèng zhuānxīn.I was on the contrary more focused than at home.

最后我很快就把工作做完了。Zuìhòu wǒ hěn kuài jiù bǎ gōngzuò zuò wán le.In the end, I finished my work quickly.

有时候，Yǒu shíhou,Sometimes,

事情真的不见得跟你想的一样。shìqing zhēn de bújiànde gēn nǐ xiǎng de yíyàng.things are not necessarily the way you expect.

A small delay, a missed plan, and a quiet realization —

today’s episode shows how three very natural Chinese expressions appear in everyday life:

害得 (caused me to)
可惜 (what a pity)
到底 (after all / in the end)

Hello，大家好，我是Janine。Hello, dàjiā hǎo, wǒ shì Janine.Hello everyone, I’m Janine.

昨天我本来打算下班以后去见一个朋友。Zuótiān wǒ běnlái dǎsuàn xiàbān yǐhòu qù jiàn yí gè péngyou.Yesterday I originally planned to meet a friend after work.

可是工作的时候，Kěshì gōngzuò de shíhou,But while I was working,

我一直在回消息、看邮件，wǒ yìzhí zài huí xiāoxi, kàn yóujiàn,I kept replying to messages and checking emails,

害得我下班的时候已经很晚了。
hàide wǒ xiàbān de shíhou yǐjīng hěn wǎn le.which caused me to finish work very late.

朋友给我发消息说他已经到了，Péngyou gěi wǒ fā xiāoxi shuō tā yǐjīng dào le,My friend messaged me saying he had already arrived,

可是我还在公司。kěshì wǒ hái zài gōngsī.but I was still at the office.

最后我们只能取消见面。Zuìhòu wǒmen zhǐ néng qǔxiāo jiànmiàn.In the end, we had to cancel.

我心里觉得有点儿可惜。Wǒ xīnli juéde yǒudiǎnr kěxī.I felt it was such a pity.

不过我想了想，Búguò wǒ xiǎng le xiǎng,But then I thought about it,

到底还是我没安排好时间。
Dàodǐ háishi wǒ méi ānpái hǎo shíjiān.
After all, I didn’t manage my time well.

下次我一定早点儿走。Xià cì wǒ yídìng zǎodiǎn zǒu.
Next time, I’ll definitely leave earlier.

A ringing alarm, a quick decision, and something you really shouldn’t forget —today’s episode shows how three very common Chinese expressions appear in real life:

赶紧 (right away)
懒得 (too lazy to do)
千万 (make sure to / don’t forget to)

Hello，大家好，我是Janine。Hello, dàjiā hǎo, wǒ shì Janine.Hello everyone, I’m Janine.

今天早上闹钟一响，Jīntiān zǎoshang nàozhōng yì xiǎng,This morning, as soon as the alarm rang,

我睁开眼睛，看了一眼时间。wǒ zhēngkāi yǎnjing, kàn le yì yǎn shíjiān.I opened my eyes and checked the time.

已经八点半了。Yǐjīng bā diǎn bàn le.It was already 8:30.

我心里想：Wǒ xīnli xiǎng:I thought to myself:

“我得赶紧起床了。”“Wǒ děi gǎnjǐn qǐchuáng le.”“I need to get up right away.”

可是我躺在床上，Kěshì wǒ tǎng zài chuáng shàng,But lying in bed,

突然觉得特别困，tūrán juéde tèbié kùn,I suddenly felt really sleepy,

什么都懒得做。shénme dōu lǎnde zuò.too lazy to do anything.

这时候我突然想到，Zhè shíhou wǒ tūrán xiǎng dào,Then I suddenly remembered,

今天有一个很重要的会议，jīntiān yǒu yí gè hěn zhòngyào de huìyì,there was an important meeting today,

我对自己说：wǒ duì zìjǐ shuō:so I told myself:

“千万别再睡了！”“Qiānwàn bié zài shuì le!”“Make sure you don’t fall back asleep!”

于是我立刻起床，Yúshì wǒ lìkè qǐchuáng,So I got up immediately,

感觉整个人一下子清醒了。gǎnjué zhěng gè rén yíxiàzi qīngxǐng le.and instantly felt awake.