中國話 – Bilingual Lyrics Chinese/English

• By: S.H.E
• Album: PLAY

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the catchy rhythms of S.H.E's "中國話" to experience a fun and engaging way to learn Chinese! This song is special because it cleverly integrates traditional Chinese tongue twisters into a modern Mandopop, hip-hop, and rap style, offering a unique listening experience. By following the playful lyrics and practicing the tongue twisters, you can improve your Chinese pronunciation and tones while gaining insight into the language's growing global appeal. What makes this song truly stand out is its innovative fusion of ancient linguistic challenges with contemporary music, making language learning both enjoyable and memorable.

[English]

The shoulder pole is wide, the bench is long

The shoulder pole wants to be tied to the bench

The shoulder pole is wide, the bench is long

The shoulder pole wants to be tied to the bench

Mary in London bought a qipao for her mom

Vasiliy in Moscow fell in love with beef noodle dumplings

Various colors of skin, various colors of hair

What we say and speak is starting to popularize Chinese (Chinese)

For many years we practiced English pronunciation and grammar (yeah)

In recent years, they are rolling their tongues to learn the changes in tones

Flat, flat, rising, flat, flat, rising

Such smart Chinese people, such beautiful Chinese language

The shoulder pole is wide, the bench is long

The shoulder pole wants to be tied to the bench

The bench won't let the shoulder pole be tied to it

The shoulder pole insists on being tied to the bench

The bench stubbornly won't let the shoulder pole be tied to it

Is the shoulder pole wider, or is the bench longer?

Brothers sit in front of the slope

On the slope lies a goose, and a river flows below

The brother says, "The river is wide," the younger brother says, "The goose is white"

The goose wants to cross the river, the river wants to ferry the goose

Not sure if the goose crosses the river, or the river ferries the goose

The whole world is learning Chinese

Confucius's words are becoming more and more international

The whole world is speaking Chinese

What we say makes the world listen seriously

...

Suzanna in New York opened a Zen-style lounge bar

Wolfgang from Berlin plays the huqin with an electric guitar

Various colors of skin, various colors of hair

What we say and speak is starting to popularize Chinese (Chinese)

For many years we practiced English pronunciation and grammar (yeah)

In recent years, they are rolling their tongues to learn the changes in tones

Rising, rising, flat, rising, flat

Such smart Chinese people, such beautiful Chinese language

There’s a kid named Xiao Du who goes out to buy vinegar and cloth

Bought cloth, spilled vinegar, turned around to see an eagle catching a rabbit

Put down the cloth, set aside the vinegar, went to chase the eagle and the rabbit

The eagle flew away, the rabbit ran off, vinegar spilled, cloth got wet

Mouth says legs, legs say mouth, mouth says legs, loves to run errands

Legs say mouth, loves to sell words, only moving the mouth, not the legs

Only moving the legs, not the mouth, is worse than not having legs and a mouth

Which is it, the mouth saying legs, or the legs saying mouth?

The whole world is learning Chinese

Confucius's words are becoming more and more international

The whole world is speaking Chinese

What we say makes the world listen seriously

(The shoulder pole, the shoulder pole is wide, the bench is long)

(The shoulder pole, the shoulder pole is wide, the bench is long)

(The shoulder pole, the shoulder pole is wide)

The whole world is learning Chinese

Confucius's words are becoming more and more international

The whole world is speaking Chinese

What we say (makes it) let the world (listen) seriously

The whole world is learning Chinese (learning Chinese)

Confucius's words are becoming more and more international

The whole world is speaking Chinese

What we say (makes it) let the world (listen) seriously

...

[Chinese]

扁擔寬 板凳長

扁擔想綁在板凳上

扁擔寬 板凳長

扁擔想綁在板凳上

倫敦瑪莉蓮買了件旗袍送媽媽

莫斯科的夫司基愛上牛肉麵疙瘩

各種顏色的皮膚 各種顏色的頭髮

嘴裡念的 說的 開始流行中國話 (中國話)

多少年我們苦練英文發音和文法 (yeah)

這幾年換他們捲著舌頭學平上去入的變化

平平仄仄平平仄

好聰明的中國人 好優美的中國話

扁擔寬 板凳長

扁擔想綁在板凳上

板凳不讓扁擔綁在板凳上

扁擔偏要綁在板凳上

板凳偏偏不讓扁擔綁在那板凳上

到底扁擔寬 還是板凳長？

哥哥弟弟坡前坐

坡上臥著一隻鵝 坡下流著一條河

哥哥說 寬寬的河 弟弟說 白白的鵝

鵝要過河 河要渡鵝

不知是那鵝過河 還是河渡鵝

全世界都在學中國話

孔夫子的話 越來越國際化

全世界都在講中國話

我們說的話 讓世界都認真聽話

紐約蘇珊娜開了間禪風 lounge bar

柏林來的沃夫岡拿胡琴配著電吉他

各種顏色的皮膚 各種顏色的頭髮

嘴裡念的 說的 開始流行中國話 (中國話)

多少年我們苦練英文發音和文法 (yeah)

這幾年換他們捲著舌頭學平上去入的變化

仄仄平平仄仄平

好聰明的中國人 好優美的中國話

有個小孩叫小杜 上街打醋又買布

買了布 打了醋 回頭看見鷹抓兔

放下布 擱下醋 上前去追鷹和兔

飛了鷹 跑了兔 灑了醋 濕了布

嘴說腿 腿說嘴 嘴說腿 愛跑腿

腿說嘴 愛賣嘴 光動嘴 不動腿

光動腿 不動嘴 不如不長腿和嘴

到底是那嘴說腿 還是腿說嘴？

全世界都在學中國話

孔夫子的話 越來越國際化

全世界都在講中國話

我們說的話 讓世界都認真聽話

(扁擔 扁扁扁擔寬 板凳長)

(扁擔 扁扁扁擔寬 板凳長)

(扁擔 扁扁扁擔寬)

全世界都在學中國話

孔夫子的話 越來越國際化

全世界都在講中國話

我們說的話 (讓他) 讓世界 (認真) 都認真聽話

全世界都在學中國話 (在學中國話)

孔夫子的話 越來越國際化

全世界都在講中國話

我們說的話 (讓他) 讓世界 (認真) 都認真聽話

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
寬 /kʰwän/ A1	adjective - wide, broad
長 /t͡ʃʰɑŋ/ A1	adjective - long
綁 /b̥ɑŋ/ A2	verb - to tie, to bind
買 /maɪ/ A1	verb - to buy
送 /sʊŋ/ A1	verb - to give (as a gift)
愛 /aɪ/ A1	verb - to love
顏色 /jɛn sɤ/ A2	noun - color
皮膚 /pʰi fu/ B1	noun - skin
頭髮 /tʰu fa/ A1	noun - hair
流行 /liu xing/ B1	verb - to be popular, to be fashionable adjective - popular, fashionable
苦練 /kʰu liɛn/ B2	verb - to practice diligently, to study hard
英文 /ɪŋ wən/ A1	noun - English (language)
發音 /fa ɪn/ A2	noun - pronunciation
變化 /pian xuɑ/ B1	noun - change, variation
聰明 /tsʰʊŋ mɪŋ/ A2	adjective - intelligent, clever
優美 /jo mɛɪ/ B2	adjective - graceful, elegant
國際化 /kuo d͡ʒi xuɑ/ C1	verb - to internationalize adjective - internationalized
認真 /ʐən t͡ʂən/ B1	adjective - serious, earnest adverb - seriously, earnestly

Key Grammar Structures

• 扁擔寬 板凳長

  ➔ Adjective + noun (descriptive phrase)

  ➔ Using adjectives before nouns to describe qualities or characteristics.

• 平平仄仄平平仄

  ➔ Lexical pattern representing tonal or rhythmic structure

  ➔ A rhythmic or tonal pattern, often used in poetry or tonal languages like Chinese.

• 好聰明的中國人

  ➔ Descriptive phrase with a Relative clause (modifier + noun)

  ➔ Using a relative clause to describe the noun, emphasizing qualities.

• 全世界都在學中國話

  ➔ Subject + 在 + verb + object (progressive tense structure)

  ➔ Expressing an ongoing action with the progressive tense structure using '在'.

• 我們說的話 讓世界都認真聽話

  ➔ Relative clause + result clause (cause and effect)

  ➔ A relative clause describing the speech, followed by a result clause indicating impact.

• 到底扁擔寬 還是板凳長？

  ➔ Question with 到底 to emphasize inquiry about true nature

  ➔ Using 内到底 to intensify the question about the true state or nature of something.