故事 (gùshi) — story

HSK 3 | noun | a story, tale, or narrative

故事 (gùshi)

故事 refers to a story or tale, whether fictional or true, short or long, told aloud or written down.

Meanings

  1. [noun] story; tale; narrative
  2. [noun] plot (of a book or film)

Example Sentences

爷爷每晚给我讲故事。 Yéye měi wǎn gěi wǒ jiǎng gùshi. Grandpa tells me a story every night.

这个故事很有趣,我很喜欢。 Zhège gùshi hěn yǒuqù, wǒ hěn xǐhuān. This story is very interesting; I like it a lot.

她把自己的故事写成了一本书。 Tā bǎ zìjǐ de gùshi xiě chéngle yī běn shū. She turned her own story into a book.

这部电影的故事发生在古代中国。 Zhè bù diànyǐng de gùshi fāshēng zài gǔdài Zhōngguó. The story of this film takes place in ancient China.

Collocations

Collocation Meaning
讲故事 to tell a story
听故事 to listen to a story
故事书 storybook
爱情故事 love story
真实故事 true story

Memory Hook

故 means "old/past" and 事 means "matter/event" — a story is simply an old matter retold.