\tTwo Tigers is a Chinese children's song about two tigers who are running fast. One of them is running without ears and the other one without a tail. How strange!<\/p>\n
\tPractice saying the words with their correct tones before singing. Singing tends to hide the tonal differences of words, so make sure you know the proper tones for the words first. Singing is a great way of learning new words and getting to know the language in a fun way, but remember that you can't pronounce words like they are sung because then the tones will come out incorrect most of the time.<\/p>\n
\tRead more about learning Chinese through music and lyrics.<\/p>\n
\tNOTES
\tChildren's songs are a great way to practice Chinese and even learn new vocabulary words for beginner-level Mandarin speakers. What lessons can Two Tigers offer?<\/p>\n
\tLet's look at the phrase, \u5169\u96bb\u8001\u864e (traditional) \/ \u4e24\u53ea\u8001\u864e (simplified) ( li\u01ceng zh\u012b l\u01ceoh\u01d4).<\/p>\n
\t\u5169 \/ \u4e24 (li\u01ceng) means "two". There are two ways to say "two" in Mandarin Chinese: \u4e8c (èr) and \u5169 \/ \u4e24 li\u01ceng. Li\u01ceng is always used with measure words, but èr does not usually take a measure word.<\/p>\n
\t\u96bb \/ \u53ea (zh\u012b) is a measure word for tigers, birds and some other animals.<\/p>\n
\tNow let's look at the phrase, \u8dd1\u5f97\u5feb (\u200bp\u01ceo dé kuài).<\/p>\n
\t \u5f97 (dé) has many roles in Chinese grammar. In this case, it is adverbial. Therefore, \u5f97 links \u8dd1 (p\u01ceo), which means to run, and \u5feb (kuài), which means fast.<\/p>\n
\tPINYIN
\tli\u01ceng zh\u012b l\u01ceoh\u01d4<\/p>\n
\tli\u01ceng zh\u012b l\u01ceoh\u01d4, li\u01ceng zh\u012b l\u01ceoh\u01d4
\tp\u01ceo dé kuài, p\u01ceo dé kuài
\ty\u012b zh\u012b méiy\u01d2u \u011brduo, y\u012b zh\u012b méiy\u01d2u w\u011biba
\tzh\u0113n qíguài, zh\u0113n qíguài
\tTRADITIONAL CHINESE CHARACTERS
\t\u5169\u96bb\u8001\u864e<\/p>\n
\t\u5169\u96bb\u8001\u864e \u5169\u96bb\u8001\u864e
\t\u8dd1\u5f97\u5feb \u8dd1\u5f97\u5feb
\t\u4e00\u96bb\u6c92\u6709\u8033\u6735 \u4e00\u96bb\u6c92\u6709\u5c3e\u5df4
\t\u771f\u5947\u602a \u771f\u5947\u602a
\tSIMPLIFIED CHARACTERS
\t\u4e24\u53ea\u8001\u864e<\/p>\n
\t\u4e24\u53ea\u8001\u864e \u4e24\u53ea\u8001\u864e
\t\u8dd1\u5f97\u5feb \u8dd1\u5f97\u5feb
\t\u4e00\u53ea\u6ca1\u6709\u8033\u6735 \u4e00\u53ea\u6ca1\u6709\u5c3e\u5df4
\t\u771f\u5947\u602a \u771f\u5947\u602a
\tENGLISH TRANSLATION
\tTwo tigers, two tigers,
\tRunning fast, running fast
\tOne without ears, one without a tail
\tHow strange! How strange!
\t <\/p>\n