Over the last few months I have been learning some Chinese nursery rhymes (童谣 tóng yáo) and children's songs to sing to Liam. Obviously it has taken some time since I have not blogged for many months! Here are a few favorites, with my attempt at making translations that are fairly accurate and (occasionally) rhyme in English:
小白兔 Little White Bunny
This is the first rhyme I said to Liam in Chinese. I found it online and thought it was cute. Liam's reaction was that of mild distractedness.
小白兔，白又白，
xiǎo bái tù, bái yòu bái,
两只耳朵竖起来，
liǎng zhī ěr duo shù qĭ lái,
爱吃萝卜爱吃菜，
ài chī luó bo ài chī cài,
蹦蹦跳跳真可爱。
bèng bèng tiào tiào zhēn kě ài.
Translation:
Little white bunny, oh so white
Two little ears that stand upright
He'll eat carrots, veggies too
Jumping, hopping, cute-a-lee-doo!
(I know, "cute-a-lee-doo" is not a real word.)
摇到外婆桥 Grandma's Bridge
This is kind of a Chinese "row your boat" song. The verse below is just one of the many versions/verses.
摇啊摇，摇啊摇
yáo a yáo, yáo a yáo
船儿摇到外婆桥
chuán'er yáo dào wài pó qiáo
外婆说好宝宝
wài pó shuō hǎo bǎo bao
外婆给我一块糕
wài pó gěi wǒ yī kuài gāo
Translation:
Row-a-row, row-a-row
To Grandma's Bridge our boat will go
Grandma says, good baby
Grandma gives some cake to me.
三轮车 Tricycle
Not the tricycle in the "Big Wheels" sense, more of a three-wheeled bike with a big platform on the back, usually piled high with vegetables, scrap iron, pig carcasses, etc.
三轮车 跑的快
sān lún chē páo de kuài
上面坐个老太太
shàng miàn zuò ge lǎo tài tai
要五毛给一块
yào wǔ máo gěi yī kuài
你说奇怪不奇怪
nǐ shuō qí guài bù qí guài
Translation:
The tricycle is real speedy
Ridden by an old lady
Asked for a nickel, got a buck
Isn't that just my luck?
(I played it kind of loose with this translation. The last line is more like "Isn't that weird?")
卖油条 Selling donuts
Chinese street donuts are not like Krispy Kremes. They are stretched out pieces of dough thrown into a pot of boiling oil, best enjoyed hot and dunked in a bowl of fresh soy milk. Yum!
街头巷尾 卖油条
jiē tóu xiàng wěi mài yóu tiáo
卖来卖去 卖不了
mài lái mài qù mài bú diào
哗啦啦啦啦啦
huā lā lā lā lā lā
变成老油条
biàn chéng lǎo yóu tiáo
Translation:
Selling donuts all over town
They sell and sell but never run out
La la la la la la
They become old donuts.
(I couldn't think of a good way to rhyme this.)
數字歌 Counting Song (shù zì gē)
This is a nice little song that teaches you to count to ten. Kind of like "One, two, Freddie's coming for you..." from Nightmare on Elm Street, but not scary.
一二三，爬上山
yī ér sǎn, pà shàng shān
四五六，翻跟头
sì wǔ liù, fān gēn tou
七八九，拍皮球
qī bā jiǔ, pāi pí qiú
伸出两只手
Shēn chū liǎng zhī shǒu
十个手指头
shí gè shǒu zhǐ tou
Translation:
1,2,3, climb the mountain
4,5,6, do a somersault
7,8,9, bounce a ball
Put out your two hands
Ten fingers!
(No way this can rhyme without changing the meaning entirely)
That's it for now. See you in another six months!
