Learn Hardcore Chinese: Tā cóngxiǎo ài tīng gùshi, xiànzài xiǎng dāng xiǎoshuōjiā. - Ever since he was little, he has loved listening to stories, and now he wants to be a novelist.

It’s used as a time phrase:
- 他从小爱听故事。= He has loved listening to stories since he was little.
You can also see:
- 从小到大 = from childhood to adulthood
- 他从小在北京长大。= He grew up in Beijing since he was little.

Compared with some other ways:

从小时候起 / 从小的时候起 – more formal/explicit; 起 emphasizes “starting from that time”.
他从小时候起就爱听故事。= Starting from childhood, he has loved listening to stories.

In everyday speech, 从小 is short, natural, and very common.

Why is there no 了 (le) in “他从小爱听故事”? Shouldn’t we mark that it started in the past?

In Chinese, you don’t always need 了 to talk about past or ongoing habits.

从小爱听故事 describes a general, long-term habit or characteristic, not a single completed event.
For this kind of “has always liked…” idea, Chinese often uses present tense without 了:
- 他从小爱听故事。= He has loved listening to stories since childhood.
- 我一直喜欢画画。= I have always liked drawing.

If you said:

他从小就爱听故事了。
it sounds more like emphasizing, “Ever since he was a kid, he already loved listening to stories (and this surprised or impressed people).” The 了 there adds a bit of emotional or emphatic flavor, but it’s not required for the basic meaning.

What’s the difference between 爱听 (àitīng) and 喜欢听 (xǐhuan tīng) here?

Both 爱听故事 and 喜欢听故事 can work; the nuance is:

爱听故事
- 爱 here means “to really like / to be fond of,” often a bit stronger or more habitual.
- It can sound slightly more natural and idiomatic in this kind of sentence about a long-time preference.
喜欢听故事
- More neutral “to like listening to stories.”
- Perfectly correct; just a little more plain.

Example contrast:

他从小爱听故事。= He’s always been the kind of person who loves listening to stories.
他喜欢听故事，也喜欢看电影。= He likes listening to stories and also likes watching movies.

So the choice of 爱听 helps emphasize that this is a deep, long-term love, fitting the idea that he now wants to become a novelist.

Why is it 爱听故事 and not something like 爱故事?

In Chinese, you usually:

Love/like doing something → verb + verb-object
爱听故事 = literally “love to listen to stories.”

If you say 爱故事, it sounds like “love stories (as objects)” and is not the natural way to talk about enjoying hearing them as a child. Typical patterns:

爱听故事
爱看电影
爱吃辣的
爱打篮球

The activity verb (听, 看, 吃, 打) is important to make the sentence sound natural.

What’s the difference between 故事 (gùshi) and 小说 (xiǎoshuō) in this sentence?

Both translate to “story” in English, but they’re used differently:

故事
- General “story” (can be oral, written, long, short, for kids, adults, etc.)
- Includes fairy tales, anecdotes, legends, jokes, etc.
- 故事 doesn’t have to be in book form.
小说
- Specifically “fiction / (written) novel / short story” as a literary form.
- It’s about literary fiction, usually written text.

In the sentence:

爱听故事 – as a child, he liked hearing any kind of stories (maybe told by parents, grandparents, teachers).
当小说家 – as an adult, he wants to be someone who writes fiction (novels/stories) professionally.

So 故事 is the general content he enjoyed; 小说 is the specific literary form he wants to create.

What does 小说家 (xiǎoshuōjiā) literally mean, and what does the suffix 家 (jiā) do?

小说家 is:

小说 = fiction / novel
家 = specialist / professional / master in a field

So 小说家 literally means “a person who is a professional in fiction”, i.e. a novelist / fiction writer.

The suffix 家 (jiā) is often used for:

专业人士 (professionals):
- 音乐家 = musician
- 科学家 = scientist
- 画家 = painter
Or recognized “figures” in a field:
- 哲学家 = philosopher
- 思想家 = thinker

It usually implies some level of professionalism, expertise, or recognition, not just a hobby.
So saying 他想当小说家 suggests he wants to be a serious/real writer, not just someone who occasionally writes for fun.

Why is it 想当小说家 and not 想是小说家?

In Chinese, to talk about being a profession or role, you usually use 当 (dāng) (or sometimes 做 (zuò)), not 是.

当 = to serve as / to be (in the role of)
他想当小说家。= He wants to be a novelist.
Using 是 with professions is possible in statements:
- 他是小说家。= He is a novelist. ✅
But when you talk about aspiration or choosing a profession, you normally use 当/做, not 是:
- 他想当医生。= He wants to be a doctor.
- 他想做老师。= He wants to be a teacher.

So:

✗ 他想是小说家 – unnatural
✓ 他想当小说家 – correct and natural

What’s the difference between 当 (dāng) and 做 (zuò) for professions, like 当小说家 vs 做小说家?

Both can be used with professions, but there are subtle preferences:

当
- Often emphasizes taking on a role / position, sometimes with a sense of responsibility or identity.
- Very common with jobs and social roles:
  - 当老师，当医生，当翻译，当老板，当领导
做
- More general “to do / to work as / to be”.
- Often sounds slightly more casual or activity-focused:
  - 做老师，做翻译，做工程师

For 小说家:

他想当小说家。✅ (very natural)
他想做小说家。✅ (also okay; a bit more colloquial in feel)

If you’re not sure, 当 + profession is a very safe pattern when talking about “becoming / serving as” a profession.

In English we say “now he wants to be a novelist.” In Chinese, how does 现在 (xiànzài) work here in terms of time/tense?

现在 literally means “now”, but in this kind of sentence it can have a broader sense:

It contrasts the past state with the current/ongoing state:
- Past: 他从小爱听故事。(Since he was young, he loved listening to stories.)
- Present/Now: 现在想当小说家。(Now he wants to be a novelist.)

It doesn’t mean just “this very moment”; it can mean:

“these days”
“at this stage in life”
“nowadays for him”

So the sentence structure is:

(Background habit) + ， + 现在 (current intention/result).
Exactly like English “He loved listening to stories as a child; now he wants to be a novelist.”

Does 想 (xiǎng) here mean “to think” or “to want”?

In this sentence, 想 means “to want / to would like to / to wish to”, not “to think”.

他想当小说家。= He wants to be a novelist.

Common meanings of 想:

“to think” (mental activity)
- 我在想一个问题。= I am thinking about a question.
“to miss (someone)”
- 我很想你。= I really miss you.
“to want / to would like to”
- 我想喝咖啡。= I want to drink coffee.
- 他想当老师。= He wants to be a teacher.

You tell by context:

When it’s 想 + verb, especially with roles or actions (想当, 想去, 想学), it usually means “want to …”.

Why is the subject 他 (tā) only written once and not repeated before 现在想当小说家?

In Chinese, if two clauses share the same subject, you usually say it once and then omit it in the following clause(s), unless you need to avoid ambiguity or add emphasis.

So:

他从小爱听故事，(他)现在想当小说家。
→ natural to drop the second 他:
他从小爱听故事，现在想当小说家。✅

This is similar to English “He loved listening to stories as a child and now wants to be a novelist,” where we also drop the second “he”.

If you do repeat 他, it’s not wrong, but it can sound slightly more formal or emphatic:

他从小爱听故事，他现在想当小说家。

Why is there a comma between the two parts instead of using something like 所以 (suǒyǐ)?

The comma here is linking two related clauses:

他从小爱听故事，
现在想当小说家。

Chinese often omits explicit connectors like 所以 (so), 因此 (therefore), 因为 (because) when the logical relationship is clear from context.

If you want to make the cause-effect explicit, you could say:

他从小爱听故事，所以现在想当小说家。
= He has loved listening to stories since childhood, so now he wants to be a novelist.

Both versions are correct; the original is just more concise and natural in everyday writing and speech.

Could we say 他从小就爱听故事 instead of 他从小爱听故事? What does 就 (jiù) add?

Yes, 他从小就爱听故事 is very natural. The 就 adds a subtle emphasis:

他从小爱听故事。
= Since he was little, he has loved listening to stories. (neutral statement)
他从小就爱听故事。
= He already loved listening to stories from a young age. (slight emphasis, maybe implying it’s early or unsurprising that he became a novelist)

就 here often:

Emphasizes “starting from that time”
Sometimes suggests “already at that early stage”

So the version with 就 can feel a bit more expressive, but both are perfectly correct.