Study Chinese with Xiao Wanzi
Yingtao Xiao Wanzi (literally translated "Cherry Little Wad", or more gracefully, Little Cherry Pit) is a long-running TV cartoon from Japan
which is popular in Taiwan, where it is voiced over in Mandarin Chinese with traditional Chinese character subtitles.

The Yingtao Xiao Wanzi program tells the story of the often cocksure, but always cute and inquisitive Xiao Wanzi, an elementary school
girl (equivalent to 4th grade in the US, I think) learning life's lessons among her family and friends. The stories and characters resonate
with Japanese and Taiwanese audiences for their widely-appealing depictions of the common foibles and humorous tribulations of middle
class family and school life.

On this page we have one full episode, "Going to a Wedding", in three parts. Subtitles appear in the video, and an English translation is
provided in a scroll-down box on the right.

In this episode, Xiao Wanzi's relative -- probably a distant cousin, the precise relationship not being specified -- invites the family to her
wedding and asks Xiao Wanzi's father to give a speech representing the bride's relatives. With this set up, what follows is predictable
according to the major themes of the show: knowing and doing the appropriate thing in social situations and keeping up appearances in
public. Xiao Wanzi's dad flubs the speech, causing great embarrassment, but in the end coming through as well as any ordinary family
might expect. In this episode there is also plenty of the usual sweetness of Xiao Wanzi encountering afresh and anew one of life's big
events with wide-eyed wonder and misapprehension.
Downloadable videos:

"Going to a Wedding"
Part One
Click to
download 120 MB mpeg file
Xiao Wanzi: (00:08)
I'm home
Hm, we have a guest.
Who could it be?

Mom: (00:20)
Oh really!
That's wonderful!
Xiao Wanzi
After you put your book bag away, come in here and say hello.

Xiao Wanzi: (00:29)
Okay.
Welcome, welcome.

Gongzi Jiejie: (00:37)
Xiao Wanzi, long time no see

Xiao Wanzi: (00:40)
Wow, it's Gongzi jiejie
How can it be?
When did you get here?
How come no one told me?

Gongzi Jiejie: (00:49)
You've gotten so big, Xiao Wanzi.

Mom: (00:52)
When Gongzi jiejie moved away...
Xiaowanzi was still in kindergarten...
She cried every day, and made such a fuss...
Her favorite thing to do was to pester Gongzi jiejie...

Xiao Wanzi: (01:04)
I still like to!
Gongzi jiejie is a family relation
She used to live near us
and she often played with us
and helped mom take care of us
she was so pretty and gentle
and smart and feminine
ahhh... I hope when I grow up I can be just like Gongzi jie jie, that would be great

Gongzi Jiejie: (01:34)
Xiao Wanzi, I have something to tell you
In a few days, my boyfriend and I are getting married

Xiao Wanzi: (01:37)
What?

Gongzi Jiejie: (01:38)
Today I came here
hoping auntie and uncle will attend my wedding celebration on that day
Xiao Wanzi, you'll be sure to be there too

Xiao Wanzi: (01:52)
Wow, Gongzi jiejie is going to be a bride

(At school...)

Classmates: (02:01)
Wow, you're going to a wedding, that's great
Wow

Xiao Wanzi: (02:07)
It's funny...
Even though all of this marriage stuff is so far away from kids our age
just knowing someone who is getting married
I suddenly have this feeling that's kind of incredible
and I'm all excited about it

Classmates: (02:20)
wow, so you've been invited to a wedding
I love the bride's wedding dress, it's so beautiful

Meihuan: (02:28)
yeah...

to wear a white wedding gown is my life's dream

Xiao Wanzi: (02:50)
what she's thinking is written all over her face

Hualun: (02:54)
Ladies, are you talking about weddings?

Meihuan: (02:59)
Oh, Hualun, it's you

Hualun: (03:02)
Oh, uh, Meihuan, you're here, too, huh

Xiao Wanzi: (03:04)
Yeah, she's been here the whole time
She said that wearing a white wedding gown is her whole life's dream

Meihuan: (03:09)
Xiao Wanzi, please
How can you just blurt out that my life's dream is to be Hualun's bride?
Oh come on, please
I am so embarrassed

Hualun: (03:28)
Well then, did you know that a June wedding gives a bride good luck?

Xiao Wanzi: (03:34)
What? Why?

Hualun: (03:35)
Because from long, long ago there's been this tradition about June weddings, baby

Xiao Wanzi: (03:41)
you say this is an old tradition?
what tradition?
September or October weddings are just as good
I'd like to hear your explanation

Hualun: (03:50)
Come on, have a little imagination
people just have this tradition
and I can't say it's wrong

Xiao Wanzi: (03:58)
In June it rains all day every day
Nobody is getting married then
This idea is just made up and spread by people who do wedding banquets to get June business

Classmates: (04:06)
I think so, too

Hualun: (04:09)
No, it's because my mother got married in June
and as a result she had me
so I say it's really lucky!

Xiao Wanzi: (04:16)
Oh yeah? I was born in a different month, and I turned out fine

Classmates: (04:18)
Me too
Me too
Me too

(Going home...)

Xiao Wanzi: (04:29)
Oh yeah, I'd better ask mom to buy me a new outfit for the wedding
I'll tell her as soon as I get home, so I won't forget
(04:38) Mom, please buy me a new outfit, okay?
I can't wear my rotten old clothes to the wedding
everyone will laugh at me

Mom: (04:47)
What? How can you say your clothes are rotten?

Xiao Wanzi: (04:49)
Buy me a white dress, that'll be good

Mom: (04:52)
No, no. White is not good. I don't care what color it is, I'm not buying you new clothes

Sister: (04:57)
Xiao Wanzi, you can't wear white to a wedding

Xiao Wanzi: (05:01)
Why not?

Sister: (05:03)
That's because white is the bride's color

Xiao Wanzi: (05:08)
Mom, never mind the white

Mom: (05:12)
What are you babbling about?
By the way, don’t you have a dress up outfit that you like?
You can wear that
and we'll put your hair up
that will be cute
Oh, yeah -- Jie jie,
I have to go run some errands
look after things for me, will you?

Sister: (05:26)
Okay

Dad: (05:29)
Hey, Mother

Mom: (05:31)
Hm?

Dad: (05:32)
Don't forget to buy that thing, okay?

Mom: (05:34)
Okay

Dad: (05:37)
Don't forget

Xiao Wanzi: (05:38)
Dad

Dad: (05:39)
What do you want?

Xiao Wanzi: (05:40)
I caught you
You only buy things for yourself, you cheater

Dad: (05:46)
What?

Xiao Wanzi: (05:48)
Didn't you just tell mom to go buy you some new clothes for the wedding?

Dad: (05:52)
You dope, you have no idea how much you have to spend when you're invited to a wedding
Our family has four people attending
Just the wedding gift alone is one or two hundred bucks
You think we still have money to buy new clothes?
Even if I wanted to buy them, I couldn't afford it

Xiao Wanzi: (06:10)
Oh... really....
Then dad, what was it you asked mom to buy?

Dad: (06:15)
That... you don't need to know about that.
(end part one)

Scroll down to read the translation.
"Going to a Wedding" part one:
Scroll down to read the translation.
"Going to a Wedding" part two:
Scroll down to read the translation.
"Going to a Wedding" part three:
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"Going to a Wedding"
Part Two
Click to
download 140 MB mpeg file
"Going to a Wedding"
Part Three
Click to
download 130 MB mpeg file