Learn Chinese Through Songs: Zhōng Guó Huà S.H.E

Q: Who is the artist of the Chinese Song?

The artist are a band known as S.H.E .

Q: Who are S.H.E?

They are a female band made up of three girls. S.H.E is the initials of the three singers names, Selena, Hebe and Ella.

By Jane Li
Chinese Songs
April 20, 2020
3 Comments

Learn Mandarin using Music: Zhong Guo Hua S.H.E

A really fun way to learn Chinese is through songs. Today I want to recommend a song called 中国话: Zhōngguó huà by S.H.E, which means Chinese or Mandarin language.

It is a popular song in China and the singers are S.H.E, a female band made up of three girls, Selena, Hebe and Ella.

S.H.E are the initials of the three girls names.

To be able to understand the song your Chinese will need to be about HSK 3 or above.

It includes a lot of tongue twisters which make the song both easy and interesting to sing.

It’s a great way for you to practice your tones and pronunciation and the rhythm is easy to follow.

Zhong Guo Hua S.H.E | Verse
Zhong Guo Hua S.H.E | Tongue Twister Challenge
Zhong Guo Hua S.H.E | Chorus
Zhong Guo Hua S.H.E | Where to Listen
Zhong Guo Hua S.H.E | Another Tongue Twister
Zhong Guo Hua S.H.E | FAQ’s

S.H.E – Selena, Hebe and Ella

The song opens with an extract from a popular Chinese tongue twister:

扁担宽板凳长 (A shoulder pole is wide, a wooden bench is long) | Biǎndan kuān bǎndèngcháng

扁担想绑在板凳上 (Shoulder pole wants to be tied on wooden bench) | Biǎndan xiǎng bǎng zài bǎndèng shàng

Zhōng Guó Huà by S.H.E – Verse:

The first verse talks about how Chinese language and culture is becoming popular all over the world.

First verse:

Chinese	Pinyin	English
伦敦玛莉莲	Lúndūn mǎ lì lián	Marilyn from London
买了件旗袍送妈妈	Mǎile jiàn qípáo sòng māmā	buys a cheongsam for her mother
莫斯科的夫司基	Mòsīkē de fū sī jī	Viski from Moscow
爱上牛肉面疙瘩	Ài shàng niúròu miàn gēda	falls in love with beef dough dumpling soup
各种颜色的皮肤	Gè zhǒng yánsè de pífū	every kind of skin colour
各种颜色的头发	Gè zhǒng yánsè de tóu fà	all kinds of hair colour
嘴里念的说的	Zuǐ lǐ niàn de shuō de	mouths speaking and talking
开始流行中国话	Kāishǐ liúxíng zhōngguó huà	the Chinese language as it becomes popular

Second verse:

Chinese	Pinyin	English
伦敦玛莉莲	Lúndūn mǎ lì lián	Marilyn from London
买了件旗袍送妈妈	Mǎile jiàn qípáo sòng māmā	buys a cheongsam for her mother
莫斯科的夫司基	Mòsīkē de fū sī jī	Viski from Moscow
爱上牛肉面疙瘩	Ài shàng niúròu miàn gēda	falls in love with beef dough dumpling soup
各种颜色的皮肤	Gè zhǒng yánsè de pífū	every kind of skin colour
各种颜色的头发	Gè zhǒng yánsè de tóu fà	all kinds of hair colour
嘴里念的说的	Zuǐ lǐ niàn de shuō de	mouths speaking and talking
开始流行中国话	Kāishǐ liúxíng zhōngguó huà	the Chinese language as it becomes popular

Third verse:

Chinese	Pinyin	English
多少年我们苦练	Duō shào nián wǒmen kǔ liàn	many years spent practising hard
英文发音和文法	Yīngwén fāyīn hé wénfǎ	English pronunciation and grammar
这几年换他们卷着舌头	Zhè jǐ nián huàn tāmen juǎnzhe shétou	These recent years it’s now their turn to roll their tongues
学平上去入的变化	Xué píng shàngqù rù de biànhuà	to learn the differences between the tones
平平仄仄平平仄	Píng píngzè zè píng píngzè	evel and oblique tones
好聪明的中国人	Hǎo cōngmíng de zhōngguó rén	what clever Chinese people
好优美的中国话	Hǎo yōuměi de zhōngguó huà	how beautiful is the Chinese language

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Zhōng Guó Huà by S.H.E – Tongue Twister Challenge

The next part of the song is two Chinese tongue twisters.

If you’re able to recite these I’ll be very impressed!

Chinese	Pinyin	English
扁担宽板凳长	Biǎndan kuān bǎndèngcháng	A shoulder pole is wide, a wooden bench is long
扁担想绑在板凳上	Biǎndan xiǎng bǎng zài bǎndèng shàng	Shoulder pole wants to be tied to the wooden bench
板凳不让扁担绑在板凳上	Bǎndèng bù ràng biǎndan bǎng zài bǎndèng shàng	Wooden bench doesn’t allow shoulder pole to be tied to it
扁担偏要绑在板凳上	Biǎndan piān yào bǎng zài bǎndèng shàng	Shoulder pole still wants to be tied to the wooden bench
板凳偏偏不让扁担绑在板凳上	Bǎndèng piānpiān bù ràng biǎndan bǎng zài bǎndèng shàng	Wooden bench still doesn’t allow shoulder pole to be tied to it
到底扁担宽还是板凳长	Dàodǐ biǎndan kuān háishì bǎndèng cháng	In the end, is the shoulder pole wide or wooden bench long ?

One tip here: if a phrase with two characters are both the fourth tone, you change the first character from fourth tone to second tone.

We write 不让 bùràng, 不是 bùshì, 不动 bùdòng, but actually we say búràng, búshì, búdòng

Chinese	Pinyin	English
哥哥弟弟坡前坐	Gēgē dìdì pō qián zuò	Elder brother and younger brother sit in front of the slope
坡上卧着一只鹅	Pō shàng wòzhe yī zhī é	There is a goose on the slope
坡下流着一条河	Pōxià liúzhe yītiáo hé	A river flows down the slope
哥哥说宽宽的河	Gēge shuō kuānkuān de hé	Elder brother says the river is wide
弟弟说白白的鹅	Dìdi shuō báibái de é	Younger brother says the goose is white
鹅要过河河要渡鹅	é yào guò hé héyàodùé	The Goose wants to cross the river and the river wants to cross the goose
不知是那鹅过河还是河渡鹅	Bù zhī shì nà é guò hé hái shì hé dù é	I don’t know whether the goose crosses the river or the river crosses the goose)

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Zhōng Guó Huà by S.H.E – Chorus:

First chorus:

Chinese	Pinyin	English
全世界都在学中国话	Quán shì jiè dōu zài xué zhōng guó huà	The whole world is learning Chinese
孔夫子的话	Kǒng fūzǐ dehuà	Confucius’s language
越来越国际化	Yuè lái yuè guójì huà	Becoming more and more international
全世界都在讲中国话	Quán shìjiè dōu zài jiǎng zhōngguó huà	The whole world is learning Chinese
我们说的话	Wǒmen shuō dehuà	The language we speak
让世界都认真听话	Ràng shìjiè dōu rènzhēn tīnghuà	let the world listen carefully

Second chorus:

Chinese	Pinyin	English
纽约苏珊娜	Niǔyuē sūshānnà	Susanna from New York
开了间禅风lounge bar	Kāile jiān chán fēng lounge bar	opens a Zen style lounge bar
柏林来的沃夫冈	Bólín lái de wò fū gāng	Wolfgang from Berlin
拿胡琴配着电吉他	Ná húqín pèizhe diàn jítā	mixes huqin* with electric guitar
各种颜色的皮肤	Gè zhǒng yánsè de pífū	every kind of skind colour
各种颜色的头发	Gè zhǒng yánsè de tóu fà	all kinds of hair colour

*A huqin is a generic term for certain two stringed instruments in China such as the 二胡 (èrhú) and the 京胡 (jīnghú).

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Third chorus:

Chinese	Pinyin	English
嘴里念的说的	Zuǐ lǐ niàn de shuō de	their mouths speaking and talking
开始流行中国话	Kāishǐ liúxíng zhōngguó huà	the Chinese language as it becomes popular
多少年我们苦练	Duō shào nián wǒmen kǔ liàn	many years spent practising hard
英文发音和文法	Yīngwén fāyīn hé wénfǎ	English pronunciation and grammar
这几年换他们卷着舌头	Zhè jǐ nián huàn tāmen juǎnzhe shétou	These recent years it’s now their turn to roll their tongues
学平上去入的变化	Xué píng shàngqù rù de biànhuà	to learn the differences between the tones
平平仄仄平平仄	Píng píngzè zè píng píngzè	level and oblique tones
好聪明的中国人	Hǎo cōngmíng de zhōngguó rén	what clever Chinese people
好优美的中国话	Hǎo yōuměi de zhōngguó huà	how beautiful is the Chinese language

How do you feel about this song? Easy or challenge？Feel free to leave us a comment below please.

Zhōng Guó Huà by S.H.E – Where to Listen

The song is available on QQ Music, you just need to search for it.
You can also watch the music video on YouTube which is a great way to learn as you can see the Chinese characters. For this song the characters are written in traditional Chinese, so it’s a good opportunity to learn traditional characters!

PLAY

Chinese	Pinyin	English
有个小孩叫小杜	Yǒu gè xiǎohái jiào xiǎo dù	There is a child called Little Du
上街打醋又买布	Shàng jiē dǎ cù yòu mǎi bù	goes to the street to buy vinegar and cloth
买了布打了醋	Mǎile bù dǎle cù	buys the vinegar and cloth
回头看见鹰抓兔	Huítóu kànjiàn yīng zhuā tù	looks back and sees an eagle catching a rabbit
放下布搁下醋	Fàngxià bù gē xià cù	puts down the cloth and the vinegar
上前去追鹰和兔	Shàng qián qù zhuī yīng hé tù	goes forward to chase the eagle and rabbit
飞了鹰跑了兔	Fēile yīng pǎole tù	the eagle flies and the rabbit runs
洒了醋湿了布	Sǎle cù shīle bù	The vinegar got spilled, the cloth got wet

Zhōng Guó Huà by S.H.E – Another Tongue Twister

Chinese	Pinyin	English
嘴说腿腿说嘴	Zuǐ shuō tuǐ tuǐ shuō zuǐ	Mouth reproaches legs while legs reproach mouth
嘴说腿爱跑腿	Zuǐ shuō tuǐ ài pǎotuǐ	Mouth reproaches legs, says they love running
腿说嘴爱卖嘴	Tuǐ shuō zuǐ ài mài zuǐ	Legs reproach mouth, says they love talking
光动嘴不动腿	Guāng dòngzuǐ bù dòng tuǐ	only use month, don’t use legs
光动腿不动嘴	Guāng dòng tuǐ bù dòngzuǐ	only use legs, don’t use mouth
不如不长腿和嘴	Bùrú bù zhǎng tuǐ hé zuǐ	it’s better not to have mouth and legs
到底是那嘴说腿还是腿说嘴	Dàodǐ shì nà zuǐ shuō tuǐ háishì tuǐ shuō zuǐ	In the end does the mouth reproach legs or legs reproach mouth?

Zhōng Guó Huà by S.H.E – FAQ’s

What’s the meaning of Zhōng Guó Huà by S.H.E?

The song is about how the Chinese language is becoming more popular to learn and includes some tongue twisters which many Chinese people learn when they are children.

Who is the artist of the Chinese Song?

The artist are a band known as S.H.E.

What if I only speak basic Chinese, can I understand the song?

Don’t worry, even if you don’t fully understand the song it’s still great to recite and listen to, so that you can practice your tones and pronunciation.

Who are S.H.E?

They are a female band made up of three girls.

S.H.E is the initials of the three singers names, Selena, Hebe and Ella.

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