163/365-5 Essential Chinese Songs that Chinese Kids Know — Basic Chinese Learning Material
Have you ever wondered what songs Chinese kids grow up singing, akin to the universally cherished “Wheels on the Bus” in English? Explore the world that not only teach language fundamentals but also bring joy and laughter to the learning experience!
Engaging in children’s songs and rhymes in a second language provides an enjoyable method for acquiring the sounds and rhythms of that language. Singing these songs not only helps with learning but also fosters a positive relationship with the language — often, laughter accompanies the singing as kids and families sing together.
Curious about popular and lighthearted Chinese songs and rhymes from her childhood, we consulted our Taiwanese manager, who recommended these five essential ones that teach the days of the week in Chinese, counting in Chinese, the seasons in Chinese and the weather in Chinese!
Let’s give them a try and sing along with it!
１、The Song for Learning The Days of Weeks: 星期歌（Xīngqí gē）
- P.S. The original version for Saturday（星期六 Xīngqī liù） was to go to a place in Taiwan called 斗六（Dòu liù）. Since foreign language learners may not be familiar with those specific terms, the modern versions tend to replace it with other general words, such as to hang out （遛遛 liù liù）.
星期一，猴子穿新衣（Xīngqī yī, hóuzi chuān xīn yī）
Monday, the monkey wears new clothes
星期二，猴子肚子餓（Xīngqī èr, hóuzi dùzi è）
Tuesday, the monkey’s stomach is hungry
星期三，猴子去爬山（Xīngqī sān, hóuzi qù pá shān）
Wednesday, the monkey goes mountain climbing
星期四，猴子去考試（Xīngqī sì, hóuzi qù kǎo shì）
Thursday, the monkey goes for a test
星期五，猴子去跳舞（Xīngqī wǔ, hóuzi qù tiào wǔ）
Friday, the monkey goes dancing
星期六，猴子去遛遛（Xīngqī liù, hóuzi qù liù liù）*
Saturday, the monkey hangs around
星期日，猴子過生日（Xīngqī rì, hóuzi guò shēng rì）
Sunday, the monkey celebrates its birthday
２、The Song for Learning to Count: 數蛤蟆（Shǔ hámá）
- P.S. When I was learning it in kindergarten, it was ‘frog’ (青蛙 Qīngwā), but in modern versions, they all sing about ‘toads’ (蛤蟆 Hámá) in the second part. I wonder why there’s this inconsistency.
- P.S.S. 兒（ér）and 兮（xī）are characters that carry no specific meaning. They are often used in traditional Chinese songs and poems primarily for their phonetic qualities to match the rhymes.
一隻青蛙一張嘴（Yì zhī qīngwā yì zhāng zuǐ）
A frog with one mouth,
兩個眼睛四條腿（liǎng ge yǎnjīng sì tiáo tuǐ,）
Two eyes, four legs,
乒乒乓乓跳下水！（Pīng pīng pāng pāng tiào xià shuǐ）
Hop and jump into the water!
蛤蟆不吃水，太平年（Hámá bù chī shuǐ, tàipíng nián）*
Toads don’t eat water in peaceful years,
蛤蟆不吃水，太平年（Hámá bù chī shuǐ, tàipíng nián）
Toads don’t eat water in peaceful years,
荷兒梅子兮，水上飄（Hé ér méi zǐ xī, shuǐ shàng piāo）**
Lotus and plum blossoms, drifting on the water,
荷兒梅子兮，水上飄（Hé ér méi zǐ xī, shuǐ shàng piāo）
Lotus and plum blossoms, drifting on the water,
３、The Song for Learning To Count With Fingers: 五指歌（Wǔzhǐ gē）
- P.S. The appropriate measurement here should be 隻（zhī）instead of 個 （ ge）because squirrels are alive animals.
一二三四五，上山打老虎（Yī èr sān sì wǔ, shàngshān dǎ lǎohǔ）
One, two, three, four, five, climb up the mountains to beat the tigers,
老虎打不到，打到小松鼠（Lǎohǔ dǎ bú dào, dǎ dào xiǎo sōngshǔ）
Didn’t beat the tigers, but the little squirrels.
松鼠有幾個？讓我數一數（Sōngshǔ yǒu jǐ ge? Ràng wǒ shǔ yì shǔ）*
How many squirrels are there? Let me count,
數來又數去（Shǔ lái yòu shǔ qù）
Counting back and forth,
一二三四五（Yī èr sān sì wǔ）
One, two, three, four, five
４、The Song for Learning Weather Terms: 下雨歌（Xià yǔ gē）
- P.S. 了（le）is often pronounced as （liǎo）in traditional Chinese songs because it sounds more rhymical.
淅瀝淅瀝，嘩啦嘩啦（Xīlì xīlì, huālā huālā）
Drip, drip, splash, splash
雨下來了（Yǔ xià lái liǎo）*
The rain is falling
我的媽媽，拿著雨傘來接我（Wǒ de māmā, ná zhe yǔsǎn lái jiē wǒ）
My mom, holding an umbrella, comes to pick me up,
淅瀝淅瀝，嘩啦嘩啦，啦啦啦！（Xīlì xīlì, huālā huālā, lālālā!）
Drip, drip, splash, splash, la la la!
５、The Song for Learning the Seasons: 春神來了（Chūn shén lái liǎo）
This one is slightly harder. But it’s one of my favorite nursery rhymes and I believe you would like it after understanding the context :)
春神來了怎知道？（Chūn shén lái liǎo zěn zhīdào?）
How do we know when the God of Spring arrives?
梅花黃鶯報～到（Méihuā huáng yīng bào～dào）
Plum blossoms and yellow orioles make their debut
梅花開頭先含笑（Méihuā kāitóu xiān hánxiào）
Plum blossoms smile as they bloom,
黃鶯接着唱新調（Huáng yīng jiēzhe chàng xīn diào）
Yellow orioles follow, singing a new tune
歡迎春神試身手（Huānyíng chūn shén shì shēnshǒu）
Welcome the God of Spring to show its skills
來把世界改～造（Lái bǎ shìjiè gǎi～zào）
And transform the world.
Even if the words are initially unfamiliar, Taiwanese children gradually grow accustomed to the language’s rhythm and the texture of its words in a stress-free manner.
Learning songs that many children in the target language grew up singing also enables the learners to immerse themselves in the culture.
When you or your students meet someone who shares that language background, they can bond over singing these familiar songs together!
Have fun singing!
This blog post is tailored for Chinese language learners and educators.
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