Birthday Offer Get 30% OFF

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

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

Zhong Guo Hua SHE
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:

ChinesePinyinEnglish
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:

ChinesePinyinEnglish
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:

ChinesePinyinEnglish
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
Idol Producer, Youth With You - What's The Deal? Thumbnail

Idol Producer, Youth With You – What’s The Deal?

Idol Producer, Youth With You: the most Popular Survival Show in China If you closely follow Chinese social media (or even from afar, actually) you probably already stumbled upon the name of “Idol Producer” or “Youth With You”. In short,…

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!

ChinesePinyinEnglish
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

ChinesePinyinEnglish
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)
iQiyi Review // China’s Netflix vs Actual Netflix Thumbnail

iQiyi Review // China’s Netflix vs Actual Netflix

iQiyi Review | The best way to learn a language is immersion. We take a look at how China’s version of Netflix, iQiyi, compares to the Netflix.

Zhōng Guó Huà by S.H.E – Chorus:

First chorus:

ChinesePinyinEnglish
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:

ChinesePinyinEnglish
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).

QQ Music Review (2023) 🥊 QQ Music vs Spotify Thumbnail

QQ Music Review (2023) 🥊 QQ Music vs Spotify

QQ Music Review. Learning Chinese through listening to Chinese songs is one of the best ways to learn Chinese like a native.

Third chorus:

ChinesePinyinEnglish
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!
ChinesePinyinEnglish
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

ChinesePinyinEnglish
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.



Want more from LTL?

If you wish to hear more from LTL Mandarin School why not join our mailing list.

We give plenty of handy information on learning Chinese, useful apps to learn the language and everything going on at our LTL schools! Sign up below and become part of our ever growing community!

3 comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  1. Tereza
    Reply

    New one for me, thanks LTL

      1. Tereza
        Reply

        Ooo thanks, will check these out

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.

Learn More