Rào kǒu lìng 绕口令 or Chinese tongue twisters are a great way to improve your Chinese pronunciation. It will not only help you pronounce words correctly, but it will also help you understand what is being said, expand your vocabulary, and help you master Chinese tones.
These tongue twisters are famous in China, and hearing how the words should be said and trying to pronounce the tongue twisters yourself is a good way to improve the way you pronounce Chinese words.
Learning a couple of Chinese tongue twisters is also an icebreaker in China. Telling the tongue twister to your Chinese friends or colleagues will surprise them and bring some humor when you communicate with them.
Showing you are willing to learn and know Chinese culture makes a good impression and builds trust.
In this article, we present 10 of the most popular tongue twisters in China
1 Fěnfènghuáng 粉凤凰 The Red Phoenix
Hóng fènghuáng huáng fènghuáng fěnhóng fènghuáng fěn fènghuáng fēi.
红凤凰黄凤凰粉红凤凰粉凤凰飞。
There was a red phoenix, a yellow phoenix, and a pink phoenix. The pink phoenix flew away.
2 Lǎo Táng duān dàntāng 老唐端蛋汤 Old Man Tang Served Egg Soup
Lǎo Táng duān dàntāng, tà dèng dēng bǎotǎ, zhī yīn dèng tài huá, tāng sǎ tāng tàng tǎ.
老唐端蛋汤, 踏凳登宝塔, 只因凳太滑, 汤洒汤烫塔。
Old Man Tang served egg soup and stepped on a stool to climb the pagoda. The soup spilt because the stool was too slippery, and the soup burned the pagoda.
3 Sìshí yǔ shísì 四十与十四 40 and 14
Sìshí shì sìshí, sìshí búshì shísì, shísì búshì sìshí, shísì shì shísì.
四十是四十，四十不是十四，十四不是四十，十四是十四。
Forty is forty, forty is not fourteen, fourteen is not forty, and fourteen is fourteen.
4 Chī pútáo 吃葡萄 Eating grapes
Chī pútáo, tǔ pútáo píér.
吃葡萄,吐葡萄皮儿。
Bù chī pútáo, bù tǔ pútáo píér.
不吃葡萄，不吐葡萄皮儿。
Chī pútáo, bù tǔ pútáo pí ér.
吃葡萄，不吐葡萄皮儿。
bù chī pútáo, dào tǔ pútáo pí ér.
不吃葡萄。倒吐葡萄皮儿。
Eat grapes and spit out their skins.
Don’t eat grapes, and don’t spit out their skins.
Eat grapes, don’t spit out their skins,
Don’t eat grapes, yet spitting out their skins.
5 Sūzhōu yǒu gè Sū húzi 苏州有个苏胡子 A bearded man with the last name Su lives in the city of Suzhou
Sūzhōu yǒu gè Sū húzi.
苏州有个苏胡子。
Húzhōu yǒu gè Hú húzi。
湖州有个胡胡子
Sūzhōu Sū húzi jiā lǐ yǒu gè hú shūzi.
苏州苏胡子家里有个胡梳子 。
Súzhōu de Hú húzi xiàng Sūzhōu de Sū húzi jiè shūzi shū húzi。
湖州的胡胡子向苏州的苏胡子借梳子梳胡子。
A bearded man with the last name Su lives in the city of Suzhou.
And there is a bearded man named Hu who lives in the city of Huzhou.
Su, who lives in Suzhou, has a beard comb at home.
The bearded man Hu from Huzhou borrows a beard comb from the bearded man Su from Suzhou.
6 Zào fángzi 造房子 Building a house
Jiǎn kē xiǎo shízǐ,
捡颗小石子,
zài dìshàng huà gè fānggézǐ,
在地上画个方格子,
huàhǎole gézi zào fángzi,
画好了格子造房子,
huà gè dàfāng gézǐ zào gè dà fángzǐ,
画个大方格子造个大房子,
huà gè dàfāng gézǐ zào gè dà fángzǐ,
画个小方格子造个小房子,
lóushàng de fángzi fēngěi gēzi,
楼上房子的分给鸽子,
lóu xià de fángzi fēngěi xiǎo tùzǐ。
楼下的房子分给小兔子。
I grabbed a small rock,
on the ground, I drew a square,
built a house, drew a square,
built a big house, drew a big square,
drew a small house, then built it.
The pigeons were given top floor of the house.
The rabbits were given the ground floor of the house.
7 Gē kuà guā kuāng guò kuān gōu 哥挎瓜筐过宽沟 The elder brother crossed the wide moat
Gē kuà guā kuāng guò kuān gōu, gē kuà guā kuāng guò kuān gōu, gǎnkuài guò gōu kàn guài gǒu。
哥挎瓜筐过宽沟, 哥挎瓜筐过宽沟，赶快过沟看怪狗。
Guāng kàn guài gǒu guā kuāng kòu，guā gǔn kuāng kòu gē guài gǒu。
光看怪狗瓜筐扣, 瓜滚筐扣哥怪狗。
The elder brother, holding a basket for melon, was crossing a moat. The elder brother, holding a basket for melon, crosses the wide moat and hurries across the wide moat to watch the strange dog.
While only looking at the strange dog, the melon basket overturned, the melon rolled, the basket overturned, and the elder brother blamed the dog.
8 Bā bǎi biāobīng 八百标兵 Eight Hundred Parade Guards
Bā bǎi biāobīng bèn běipō,
八百标兵奔北坡，
pàobīng bìngpái běibian pǎo.
炮兵并排北边跑。
Pàobīng pà bǎ biāobīng pèng,
炮兵怕把标兵碰，
biāobīng pà pèng pàobīng pào.
标兵怕碰炮兵炮。
Eight hundred parade guards are running towards the slope in the north,
Artillerymen are running with them on the north side.
Artillerymen are afraid of touching the parade guards,
And the parade guards are so scared of touching the artillerymen’s cannons.
9 Lí yǔ ní 梨与泥 The Pear and the Mud
Shù shàng yǒu lí, dì shàng yǒu ní.
树上有梨，地上有泥。
Fēng guā lí，lí luò dì。
风刮梨，梨落地。
lí gǔn ní, ní zhān lí.
梨滚泥， 泥沾梨。
On the top of the tree, there is a pear. On the ground, there is mud,
The wind blows at the pear, and the pear falls to the ground,
The pears roll on the mud, and the mud sticks to the pear.
10 Niǎo yǔ māo 鸟与猫 The Bird and the Cat
Shù shang yì zhī niǎo, dì shang yì zhī māo.
树上一只鸟，地上一只猫。
dì shang de māo xiǎng yǎo shù shang de niǎo, shù shang de niǎo xiǎng zhuó māo de máo.
地上的猫想咬树上的鸟，树上的鸟想啄猫的毛。
The bird in the tree, and the cat on the ground
The cat on the ground wants to bite the bird in the tree. And the bird in the tree wants to peck at the cat’s hair.
Learn more Chinese at the Chinese Summer Camp 2022
We at LC Chinese School are hosting a Summer Camp Program, tailored and designed to the needs of young students. With the LC Chinese School, Summer Camp Program students will study the language for 2 hours a day Monday to Friday, followed by a 1.5-hour Fun Class.
The LC Chinese School Summer Camp Program is open for children from 7 to 17 years of age
The program’s goal is to assist them in learning the language so that they can communicate in Chinese in everyday situations. In the program we emphasize language development through the study of grammar and vocabulary, as well as engaging in fun activities. You can read more about the Summer Camp 2022 here.
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If you want to learn Mandarin Chinese, feel free to REGISTER FOR A TRIAL CLASS HERE or send us an email: info@lcchineseschool.com
We offer private lessons and group classes at all levels, HSK 1-6, children, adults, and business. All Mandarin Chinese classes are offered either in classrooms or online.
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